Today, he’s building a movement.

When Zibusiso Lujika Dube first imagined a cultural inclusion club at his school, Stewart’s Melville College, he knew it sounded ambitious and maybe even impossible. A lunchtime gathering? A handful of students? It didn’t look like the beginning of anything monumental. But for Zibusiso, it was never just about one club. It was about creating a system that could outlast any one teacher, any one year group, any one student.

In 2023, he co-founded the Ethnic Scotland Opportunities Committee (ESOC), a student-led movement driving sustainable cultural inclusion in schools across Scotland. What started small has already grown into a multi-school initiative, rooted in identity, leadership, and the conviction that young people shouldn’t just participate in conversations about inclusion alone but should also lead them.

Under his leadership, ESOC has delivered milestone events that prove what’s possible when students are trusted with power:

*Edinburgh’s first inter-school ESOC Conference, bringing together students and teachers for meaningful dialogue.

*Stewart’s Melville’s first-ever Culture Day, raising funds for Passion 4 Fusion and celebrating identity through food, art, and fashion.

*A World Cup-style Cultural Football Tournament, where over 60 players, 8 culturally themed teams, and 20+ volunteers turned a pitch into a festival of diversity, complete with food stalls, art, and community storytelling.

Every detail was planned and delivered by students. Not as a school project, but as architects of real change.

Behind it all is Zibusiso’s two-part framework: The System, which ensures ESOC can run across schools using a simple playbook long after its founders have moved on, and The Organisation, the engine that powers events, partnerships, and leadership development.

Recognition has followed. He’s received the James Laurenson and Jean Thow Awards for Service to the Community from ESMS Schools, and earned a nomination for Young Person of the Year at the Black Scottish Awards. But titles aren’t what matter to him. What matters is that young people see themselves as leaders now, not just someday.

In May, Zibusiso met with MSP Foysol Choudhury to explore a national rollout of ESOC. His message to policymakers and educators was as clear as it was urgent:

“Inclusion can’t rely on one teacher, one term, or one moment. It needs structure. It needs systems. And young people must lead them.”

Zibusiso has just finished school, but the legacy he is already shaping is proof that change doesn’t wait for adulthood.

Because the future of Scotland’s inclusion isn’t coming — it’s already here, in the voices and visions of its young people. And Zibusiso is making sure those voices are heard.

In 2024, she gave a TEDx Talk titled Too Dark for Daytime TV. It was more than a title, it was a truth many related to. Her words sparked conversation and called for change in how stories are told and whose voices are heard.

When she’s not on air, Afua volunteers at her daughter’s school, reads books, watches basketball, and never misses a good manicure. Her story is proof that being bold isn’t the problem, it’s the point.

This is Afua's Black Scottish Story and we celebrate her!