Bruce Walker – We Are The Future
Bruce Walker certainly isn’t lacking ambition. We asked him what the upcoming We Are The Future event on the 20th of November was all about,
Read MoreA year on from the riots: have things improved?
Photo by hughepaul.
This time last year there were riots breaking out across London which would later spread to other parts of the UK. Windows were smashed in, shops were looted, and buildings were set on fire.
Many questions are still being asked about the start of the riots and how they got to the scale they did, but we want to ask you what you think they meant, and whether things have improved since then.
How they spread.
You can see how the riots spread on social media with this interactive graph showing the conversations happening on Twitter.
In the same way, social media was used to gather people to clean up after the riots, showing the way it can be used for positive and negative things in a short space of time.
And that’s something that is talked about in this video from Catch21. Miguel Beia says the riots were, “young people making something happen, in a negative way.”
So is the way to improve things about giving young people the opportunity to use that drive to make things happen and to apply it positively?
Stephen McCarthy's work on Pictograms led him to document the riots in pictures. Click on the image to find out more.
What’s happened?
This article says that a year on, Tottenham still struggles to shake off the legacy of the riots.
UnLtd organised a round-table discussion after the riots to get people talking about why the riots happened and what should happen next.
“we gave these celebrities the power – we need to give people who actually care, who actually talk for us, the power”
How are young people perceived?
Perhaps part of the problem is that young people are dismissed before they even try anything.
This report from the Independent talks about the Reclaim Our Name campaign, an attempt to break down negative perceptions of young people.
This video from vInspired asks young people how they think they are seen by others and how they are represented in the media. They have launched the Reverse Riots, a chance for you to challenge these negative perceptions.
“People like to spread bad news more than they like to spread good news…a lot of projects are going on and a lot of people are doing big, powerful things but they’re just unseen and unheard of.”
Do you agree? Maybe you could spread the word about some of the projects we’ve backed to try and help change that!
One year on
How have things changed? This article from the Huffington Post has taken images from the present day and a year ago to compare the locations of the riots with how they looked at the time and how they look now.
This report in the Metro asks four young people from Live Magazine to reflect on what took place a year ago. One of the main messages is that young people want their voices heard.
Two people from Live Magazine also reflect on the riots in this video.
And Emanuel Candengue talks about the riots in Peckham a year on.
Some people are suggesting that a sense of community is being created by the Olympics, and that this will “steer young people away from disorder”. What do you think of that?
What’s next?
Figuring out how we can improve unemployment amongst young people could be one of the answers.
Two Live UnLtd Award Winners are behind that idea, and they both attended the Youth Debate held a couple of week ago at the Houses Of Parliament to discuss it.
Luke Rodgers
You can read about what Luke Rodgers thought of that here, and you can find out more about Peter Olawaye and his project to try and stop cycles of crime called Aiming Skywards here.
At the Youth Debate there were many topics discussed, including how the government could improve things to help young people find employment, but there was another side discussed – what young people can do for themselves.
Tell us what you think about all of this. We want to hear from you:
Were you affected by the riots?
Do you think your area has improved in the past year?
Has the Olympics made you feel like you’re more a part of a community?
Your Call Your Community.
Could you change something in your area? Do you have an idea for a project to make that change happen?
Your Call Your Community is about being the change you want to see in your area. Head here to find out more, or get started with you project below.
