SHAMAR WEDDERBURN'S STORY
“Choose to be big, and not shrink for the comfort of others. Give yourself permission to take up space and bloom wildly without regret”
Shamar Wedderburn is described as the ‘People Developer’. He is a Public Speaking Consultant, Commonwealth Caribbean Policy Enthusiast, and Global Young Leader hailing from the Caribbean island of Jamaica.
Shamar acknowledges the roots of his story being found in becoming enamored In the rule of law, the constitution, and debate- as he competed in Jamaica’s televised premier National debating competition on national priorities areas of development.
In 2016, Shamar became a mentor in the Debate Mate Jamaica Programme. Here he worked to improve student confidence, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and conflict resolution skills through peer-to-peer debate mentoring by college students.
As he became an official Ambassador for the University of the West Indies (UWI), he transitioned to Vice-President of Alumni Relations and later President of the regional UWI Students’ Today, Alumni Tomorrow (STAT) Vice-Chancellor’s Ambassador Corps.
SHAMAR EMBODIES BLOOMING INTO OUR PURPOSE
It is these roles, along with being named a a Jamaican delegate to the sixth Caribbean Youth Leaders’ Summit and a Commonwealth Peace Ambassador, that Shamar identifies allowed him to ‘blossom’ as he not only discovered his innate talent and skills for galvanizing and leading teams towards achieving specific project targets and objectives, but also his people-centric ability which allows him to help others to develop their own intrinsic motivation to step into their best selves.
It is on this basis that Shamar in 2021, would go on to be the Founder of ‘Equipped to Speak’ – a platform where he delivers public speaking coaching and training for working professionals and Youth. Through this, he has spoken in front of audiences nationally, regionally and internationally.
"GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO SHOW UP BRIGHTLY WITHOUT REGRET.
YOUR NAME IS BEING CALLED IN ROOMS YOUR FEET HAVE YET TO ENTER."
Throughout his journey so far, Shamar constantly grounds himself with the reminder that across everything you do, always take it seriously and be confident enough to give it everything – As you never know who could be watching and waiting to give you an opportunity.
Owing to his keen focus and work in regionalism, Shamar is now the Vice-Chairperson in charge of Policy and Advocacy for the Caribbean Regional Youth Council- leading the Caribbean’s advocacy agenda as the council strives to be the premier strategic youth governance movement.
MAY YOU NEVER THINK ANYTHING IS BEYOND YOUR REACH
Shamar has been fortunate enough to so far have deep experience spanning 4 years of offering international value towards achieving targeted results through excellent analytical communication and interpersonal skills- appearing and collaborating with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations conference on trade and development (UNCTAD), the Caribbean climate Justice project and more.
He has enhanced his leadership and
presentation skills and now is sought after to speak to, or moderate audiences, facilitate training workshops, and to educate and empower youthful audiences.
