E: Okay great, thank you. So the first question is what are your hopes and fears for the future?
C:
I think starting off with fears kind of sounds not more natural for me but especially with just how like topical lots of things have been in like the news and literally playing out in society for example, it raining so much in June but it's summer, climate change, that sort of thing but when it comes to fears I guess I really don't like the idea of living in a position where we're having a lot of regret about what was done previously and what was done in the present and like we can only control what's going on in the present and like big things that play on my mind are like government responses to things like conflicts and like humanitarian issues and like the implications that are coming from this sort of stuff and like there's just so much widespread suffering going on and especially for the people being affected, the consequences are crazy and knowing that our current government can play a role in positively aiding that's something that I most definitely want to help happen because obviously like yeah I want good things for humanity and I don't want us to be living in a future where we're like oh we wish we did this or especially with things like World War One, World War Two, everyone's like oh you have to learn from the past, you have to learn from mistakes but what's currently going on in the present is just so mind-blowing and clouding and that's the case for like there are just too many people living in really unfortunate positions that don't deserve any of like the suffering they're having to go through.
Another thing is action and response to things like climate because I feel like obviously the climate crisis is obviously super big but there are definitely small changes I feel like could be implemented that could have really big consequences that really aren't being done and that annoys me so much like packaging is a big one. I literally get a tea bag and then the packaging and like paper around is huge and it's one of those things where it's very unnecessary the amount of packaging that's going into it like I get if it's something where there needs to be like with crisps for example I think there like legally has to be a certain amount of air in the bag whatever but things like tea bags you don't need that and I even had a tiny what you call it sweetener droplet thing why was the bag that it was in I kid you not eight times the size like it's not even a bad piece of paper like it was just such unnecessary and so wasteful.
I guess another thing fear wise regret humanitarian responses I guess what the future of AI will look like and just hoping it's regulated in a way that's safe because things like digital exploitation like the way AI is developing is way faster than any human will and just with how like technological the world is becoming things like regulations online safety especially for people like kids like that is a big thing and just like hoping that AI can progress slash be managed in a way that has positive implications because I feel currently even though things like the Online Safety Bill have come out and have actually made a difference there are still more upcoming issues with AI so I'm just hoping that in the future this is something that can be better aided.
Then hopes for the future, definitely like the converse of everything I just said but I'm just hoping that we have a more thoughtful society like I love when you meet really nice people when they're being nice and like there's no inherent benefit that they're getting from being nice to you like you know when you go to shop you just get amazing customer service and it's like and they'll always be like oh you have a good day it's like no you have a good day which is so sweet but yeah I want people to be like more mindful and more conscious especially in times of uncertainty times of discomfort for many people another hope things like cost of living I guess this also works as a fear for the future but when it comes to hope, hope that more things can seem achievable and attainable because I feel like lots of people feel very demotivated seeing what the current state of the world which is really understandable.
Then another hope I guess yes similar to my converse to what I was saying about climate. I hope that there can be more safe free enjoyable spaces that can be accessed like it's accessibility like I love going to pop-ups for example and lots of them are free and like I always find them really fun but obviously for some people accessibility might be a factor that's limiting them location might be a factor that's limiting them so I just hope for more like extensive what's the word I'm looking for reach isn't the word but yeah greater accessibility to like support yeah enjoyment yeah and support and beneficial services like health care.
E:Yeah, no I totally agree with a lot of those I think there needs to be a lot more done in specific areas and do you think that young people have the power to make change or do you think that they might need some extra support from government or politicians?
C:
I definitely think young people do have the power to make change but I think that support is needed and especially just because those are the people that currently have the power and the influence currently like obviously it will eventually shift but there's still a really big time chunk before that happens.
E: Yeah definitely it's a lot and I feel like young people put a lot of pressure on themselves because they're not seeing them made by politicians and stuff um yeah no definitely um so my next question is this is quite a big one uh what changes would you like to happen to have a better life so it kind of links into what you were talking about already but if you have anything else to add.
C:
I feel like I'd want more I'm trying to think how I want to word this, greater government interaction with what young people want because I know there are so many groups of young people advocating for relatively similar things but I feel like when it comes to the priority list very often those concerns can seem relatively neglected or put on the backbencher which isn't that nice especially because lots of these things can have positive consequences from addressing them like say you were to do more to help tackle the climate crisis that can have so many positive knock-on effects for things like mental health and well-being which can further benefit like what's going on with the NHS which is crazy and so saddening and so stressful.
E:Do you think that youth leadership and opportunities for young people does have an impact on all aspects of their lives? Do you think it's important that young people get opportunities to be leaders and take part in leadership activities?
C:
One thousand per cent and I really like how especially in recent years, I feel like opportunities for youth boards, young people's action groups, those have been coming up increasingly and I think that's so great because it cultivates a space where young people can get involved in this sort of thing and develop relationships with other people who care about similar topics so that what they do together can have really big positive consequence which is great.
E:No definitely, the power of youth! So, do you have any goals, or anything for the future? What sort of expectations or outcomes would you like to see personally?
C:
Yeah, do you mean in my personal life or a goal that I'd want to see from government?
E: Both
C:
Oh I guess for my personal life I know that I definitely really want a job that allows me to have some sort of social impact and I want to do some sort of social action work just because I feel like there are so many problems in the world and I feel like really thankful that I definitely do have enough, that I can even try and make a small difference and even if you're doing something that's really small for someone else that can be really big.
When it comes to government, I want there to be greater empirical, not evidence but showcasing and clear input that shows what young people are saying matters and valued by them.
E: Yeah, I guess that they're also held accountable for their actions as well and it'd be really important, but yeah definitely
C:
Yeah that's definitely a big one, I feel like accountability is like not given as much attention as it deserves and especially knowing the implications that certain actions are contributing towards it's definitely super saddening knowing that the consequences these people are facing really don't amount to anything.
E: Yeah, do you think that like politicians and like government and stuff should listen more to young people and like how give them opportunities to like have their say like higher up more
C:
No for sure and I feel like how it's done should be really important because it shouldn't feel like it's like a tokenistic sort of thing. I feel like from the ground up that's something that should be implemented a lot more.
E:Yeah and I feel like it's important that young people see what they're saying is actually being taken into account and that is I guess it kind of links into that accountability thing doesn't it. Yeah, it’s definitely important, so my next question is how are you involved in making decisions about what matters to you
C:
I'm personally involved in quite a few young people's action groups, so doing that and like having involvement there is really fun and important to me because like I said earlier you get to be involved in these sorts of spaces and these sorts of discussions even get to even getting to like help implement policy at a smaller scale like you don't necessarily know what knock-on effects this sort of thing can have so like for example I'm part of London's violence reduction units young people's action group and something that we've currently been working on is a London inclusion charter which um is all about fostering feelings of safety and belongings in school because obviously things like school exclusions those are like skyrocketed and then once again that's only having negative implications and then with the state of society things like cost of living um that um like those two things being paired are only just having negative consequences for young people so by target helping to target such issues that's something that feels really dear and then how what we're currently about to do next week Saturday is we're going to do like a pilot launch on how we can help schools design their own inclusion charters so they can like have this sort of thing like underpinned in what they do as a school in their school culture which is really exciting and like that has had um like lots it's been really well received by boroughs which is really exciting to know that like they do care about such issues
E: that's really good no that sounds really exciting and really important and like I feel like that's just like one step and then hopefully other schools like will take on board that as well like even that aren't in London they'll be like inspired they'll be like oh maybe we should do that here um because I don't think we really have anything like I got in Northern Ireland either what was it like what made you want to get like involved in that specific group like I know everybody has like they're kind of different like obviously passions and like interests and how did you kind of get involved in like helping to create it
C:
So, also do you mean how I got yeah how did you because why do I like with the project in particular
E: Both like how did you get involved with the the group and then how did that kind of like stem into this project
C:
So with the group I've like lived in London my whole life and yeah I'm doing obviously it's a city but I feel like there's like 25 million different countries in one city like it's very diverse and something that's like definitely big and super apparent is like the amount of disparities that are so evident and are in such close conjunction with each other like you hop on a bus and it's like how is this place in this place in the same borough it's not making sense and especially when you see certain trends like for example attainment levels in certain areas it's like that these places are all in the same city they're all in such close proximity but the disparities are so, so, so apparent like even if you just hop on a bus to go from one place to another like the differences can be really crazy so I feel like being aware of disparities that's something that like really made me want to get involved in wanting to understand them further and wanting to take action in how I can help aid them and I know like especially as I grow older I do want to do more of that sort of thing so I'm glad to have that sort of like start deepening my understanding from a younger age so hopefully when I'm older I'm like greater equipped and can hopefully do more to like help aid disparities that have those sorts of consequences and then with the project in particular the violence reduction unit they have different sectors that they operate in so they have an education team, policing and community safety team, violence against women and girls team, parenting team, youth work team, lots of different teams and they're all about like helping violence prevention in the capital so we were contacted by members of the education team they asked about any bus had interested interest in supporting this sort of thing and my degree is in education but the name is like kind of deceiving because you probably think oh teaching you can become teacher straight after like sadly you can't like you still have to do all the same teacher training all that sort of stuff but my degree is also about like understanding different social, political, economical, psychological foundations of why things are how they are in the world, why we know what we know, how our learning experiences have helped shaped us so being involved in a project like this also felt like really complimentary as my degree which I really like so that also really made me want to get involved.
E: Yeah it's really like good like additional like experience and like you seem to like be really enjoying it like really passionate about it as well so I guess that really helps you as well like feel motivated to get involved and yeah I know it sounds really good I'm really excited to like I'm gonna look up at night and like do some research afterwards and so my last question is what does like your typical day look like I know you said you've got your degree but like what does what does your kind of day-to-day until now?
C:
Oh sorry I just finished first year so sadly I haven't got my degree yet.
E: Nice.
C:
I was literally on my bed an hour ago thinking how have I still got two years of uni left?
E: I mean I've got three so.
C:
Bless you.
Oh we're in this together but day in the life I mean now like exams for me ended not last week Friday but the Friday before that or maybe it was the Friday before that but anyways yeah ended last Friday of May so now it's really fun because like I procrastinate but I don't feel bad okay no this is making me sound so bad but
E: Everybody does it
C:
Yeah, I guess something that has especially with exam season even though there were like lots of current affairs things I cared about I feel like I had to take a step back from my sort of like involvement and knowledge I knew about that sort of thing just because I didn't want things like affect my mood and then that affect how much studying I'm doing and that affects the grades I get and saying that makes it sound like oh grades are everything exams everything which they most definitely are not but it's so sad because they contribute to what can be a lot so that's something that's like really annoying but especially now that I have finished exams I feel like I've had a lot more time to actually look into and reflect on matters I care a lot about which feels really nice and like since we've got the summer holidays we've now got an election coming up super soon there's definitely a lot going on very topical time so I'm just interested to equip myself with like more knowledge and make greater informed decisions so that involves me doing like more like wider reading more exploration and immersion like especially when you're revising you're always like cooped up in your room so it's really nice to like go out chat with friends have conversations that you wish you could have had but because of things like exams you sadly couldn't have and just learn more about the world I guess through different means whether that's reading a book chatting to friends going out and meeting new people that sort of thing
E: yeah definitely it can be really difficult to get the balance I feel like sometimes and it's actually made me think about like burnout and stuff because I know that's kind of been like talked about quite a lot recently and like activism burnout and stuff like obviously like you've got your exam burnout and you know like revision and stuff but I think people don't often talk about like activism burnout as well um so yeah have you ever like experienced that or like do you know anybody who's like experienced that
C:
Yeah um I guess this still kind of covers this question but yeah semi segue but I feel like I have relatively recently met quite a few people who share the same like sentiment of do I really want to step into this sort of work further as I because I feel like me now still feels a bit more like a learning baby stage but knowing that I do want to do more social action social impact sort of work as you learn more you learn about more uncomfortable saddening topics it's like do I really want this to become my life my job and especially if it is your job you are gonna have lots of exposure and be consumed by that sort of thing which is quite sad but I guess on a positive note it is really nice I feel like especially being at uni I've met a lot more people who care about these sorts of topics and share the same sentiments so even though like feeling the early stages of burnout um already feels a bit like saddening kind of hard it's nice to know that you have people who are upholding and supporting you which makes it feel more worth it because they also understand and care so you know you're not alone which feels really special so I feel like community and activism is like super important
E: it is definitely you kind of need that kind of activism bubble to like kind of keep you grounded and like help you kind of develop yourself as well I feel like it is really important definitely I know personally it's really helped me having like other people who are like caring about the same things and um yeah it can really help you to kind of and also like help you to kind of vent about things as well you're like oh my goodness I'm so angry about this topic like I need to just talk to you about it because you'll get it
C:
Exactly
E: Yeah, oh no but thank you so much for chatting with me that is the end I was going to stop recording