Laureation address: Sarah Macaulay Brown BSc FRCOG FRCPCH

Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws
Laureation by Professor Ali Watson OBE, School of International Relations

Tuesday 14 June 2022

Vice-Chancellor, I have the honour to present for the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Sarah Brown.

Sarah Brown is someone who spends her life on the things that matter. Whether in her global campaigning for better health outcomes for mothers and babies, or for improved educational opportunities for children and young people, Sarah Brown has taken the wide-ranging skills developed during a career as a communications expert and businesswoman to truly marry the fields of advocacy, of philanthropy, and of social justice. 

Born in Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, Sarah Brown spent part of her young childhood in Tanzania, East Africa with annual trips back to family here in Fife and in Edinburgh. When she subsequently returned to the UK it was to North London and to school there prior to embarking on a Psychology degree at Bristol University and then on to a highly successful career in design and public relations that included becoming Managing Director of one of Britain’s most dynamic independent communications companies and subsequently leading a global arts PR firm that specialised in clients working on social causes.

Sarah’s fundamental belief that all of us have a part to play in driving forward change soon led her to make the move from working with organisations with a social focus to creating them herself. In 2002 Sarah founded the charity PiggyBankKids with the aim of supporting scientific and community research to help give kids across the UK the best possible chance to live happy and healthy lives. This included the establishment of the Jennifer Brown Research Laboratory based at the University of Edinburgh, whose advances in maternal health and newborn care continue to save lives every day. PiggyBankKids subsequently became Theirworld, a global charity that Sarah chairs and that is committed to addressing the global education crisis and building opportunity for future generations. This includes their Global Youth Ambassador Programme which supports young people in developing the skills they need to be able to address educational change at both the local and the global level. As Sarah herself says: “every child everywhere deserves a safe place to learn”.

In 2016 Theirworld led a campaign, driven by an 11 million signature petition, to support funding for education during emergencies; whilst an innovative approach to schooling – Double-Shift Schools - has allowed hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugee children to access education. At the same time as chairing Theirworld’s operations, Sarah also serves as Executive Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education bringing together more than 100 companies from across the globe to work for better quality education for the world's children and youth. 

Sarah continues her support and advocacy for numerous other organisations including Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres and SHINE Education Trust, an education charity working with teachers, schools, and other organisations to help disadvantaged children in the North of England fulfil their true potential. In addition she is also a writer, the host of the podcast Better Angels, an avid tweeter, and a mum.

Vice-Chancellor, in recognition of her major contribution as a campaigner and advocate for better global health and education, I invite you to confer the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa on Sarah Brown.