The powerful story behind regional conference keynote speaker

Kieran Joseph, who established Guardian Ballers in 2021 – which has gone on to help thousands of young people through wellbeing and basketball sessions, will give the keynote address at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Annual Business & Economic Conference on November 14.

The event, which is taking place at the IXL Events Centre in Southam, will bring together business and civic leaders from across the city and county and will feature a series of speakers and panel sessions.

It will cover everything from driving growth in the regional economy through to a conversation with local MPs on the future of Coventry and Warwickshire.

Kieran has been asked to provide the conference’s keynote speech after Guardian Ballers picked up The Not-For-Profit Champion Award, proudly sponsored by Coventry Building Society, at this year’s inaugural Coventry & Warwickshire Business and Community Awards.

He will describe how his life took a pivotal turn in 2019 when he decided to resign as a teacher in the city after volunteering in Rwanda and working with refugee children in Seattle in the previous year.

“I came back and everything looked different,” he said. “I resigned from my job knowing I wanted to do something different but then Covid hit and, for a short period I was stacking shelves.

“The idea came to me in a dream around using sport to support young people by giving them a safe place to talk and feel empowered.”

Guardian Ballers was born as a social enterprise combining sport and mental health support for young people.

The organisation was launched with Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire Mind in 2021. It now reaches 2,000 young people annually and is expanding into Wales – where Kieran grew up before he moved to the Midlands.

“Mental health services can often feel too clinical,” he said. “By using sport, we can unlock people because it’s such an amazing way of connecting. We’ll go into schools with basketball and wellbeing resources, and we’ll reach young people in a way that feels natural and empowering.”

His keynote address will also touch upon the time he served as chaplain at Coventry City FC, where he supported players and staff.

“I hope to mobilise hearts and minds at the conference,” he said. “I want to inspire people not just on the day but to act afterwards – whether that is by volunteering their time or providing funding. We can all play a part in making a positive social impact.”

Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are really pleased to have Kieran as our keynote speaker at the conference and were incredibly happy to see Guardian Ballers crowned as The Not-for-Profit Champion at our awards earlier this year.

“As a Chamber of Commerce, we’re here to champion every aspect of our amazing region and as such we wanted to give him this platform to tell his story.

“He’s such an inspiring, passionate and entrepreneurial individual and has already achieved so much here in our region.

“It promises to be another great conference with a wide range of speakers and topics at a time when we need to drive growth in our economy.”

For more information or to book a place go to: https://www.cw-chamber.co.uk/events/annual-business-economic-conference-2025/