Celebrating our 13th mentoring cohort: 'What's hanging in the air'

On Wednesday 29th January 2025 - which also marked Chinese New Year as we entered the year of the snake - we organised the Celebration Event for our 13th Mentoring Cohort. It was a beautiful evening that brought mentors and mentees together in person, giving everyone a chance to reflect on the programme and mark the web of connections that have been created through working together.

Below is Wieke’s poem ‘What’s hanging in the air’, which was read at the celebration event to mark this moment. It’s inspired by the individuals and their experiences on the programmes, and also captures the external local and global events that took place during these 4 months.

What’s hanging in the air
For the 13th Routes Mentoring Cohort, January 2026

We tell our children
The stars will look after them
But what if we can’t see the stars

We encourage children to dream big
But what if a bunch of tech-savvy guys
Take that cue and aim for Mars

What if what is hanging in the air

Is storm
Hay fever
And uncertainty

What if employment is a distant dream

Without the right to work
And pathways of clarity

This is when we get together
When we pool our privileges and resources
Our expertise and connections

For making waves across a London
That’s banking on the Thames

This is when we try for a tripod
And a light box

To paint new pictures
Share new dishes

This is when we meet with other women
To share our wishes

This is when what is hanging in the air
Is not left unsaid – but listened to

When we listen with intent
And speak words of encouragement too

For we all understand the importance
Of autonomy

Of being able to make your own decisions
Follow your passions
With your own precision

Provide for your family

To live a life of dignity
In a country
Where refugee rights
Need to be restored

Where what is hanging in the air -
Is our opportunity

For individuals
Businesses
Organisations

To get on board

When we build our own technologies
Of relationships and community

Of accessible opportunities
To bring new professionals on board

In healthcare and psychology
In finance, college and university
In hospitality and content creation

As we do our own design thinking
Receive good news
Or are kept waiting

When we celebrate winter solstice, and Christmas
Missing those that are usually with us

In the cold, and the dark, and the sunlight
Of this moment

This is when we tell each other

We get to pursue our goals
We get to pick our own stars
And build support around them

Build a fire, that is keeping us warm
That can light up, instead of burning down

For we all know the value of a cease-fire
Holding in our hearts this widespread solidarity
This wish of safety for all

As we have seen, in one country, a liberation
Knowing the meaning of ‘hob’, meaning freedom

Where we can focus on building, not breaking
Where we can work on crafting, and making

At this Lunar New Year
We need this wisdom
Of reptile transformation

Like the snakes who circle and circle
Like the moon illuminates
And the wood of trees can stand tall, if we let them

We know
We have been building this something
Made up of strength, and courage, and shared learning 

That no crypto coin can ever monetise
That can only be nurtured, and mentored

For what’s hanging in the air tonight

Is a bold determination
To the power of our connection

And women making waves
Of finding new ways
To building new lives

That can hold us all together

That can hold all the places
That we are a part of

And that the stars
Will be happy
To shed their light on