Introducing Britain on Trial Court Sketch Artist: Patricia Bongani

As well as a packed programme full of poetry, speed-lectures, film, workshops, creative writing, discussions, dialogue, movement, presentations, food, tea, exhibitions, intergenerational & interdisciplinary dialogue - phew! - we were also able to commission the artistic talents of a young poet to be our Court Sketch Artist.

Here is a preview of one of Patricia Bongani's sketches featuring doctor, academic, author, writer, activist, organiser - and after his successful debut on Saturday - now performance poet!!! - Dr Carl Hylton. 

In addition to being an artist, Patricia Bongani is also a poet - and was in fact Team Captain for the Leeds Young Authors team that hoped to travel to Brave New Voices in 2011 as well as being a successful member of the LYA team that won the UK National Slam in 2010 and also a two-time winner of the UK's longest running youth team slam & literature festival with Ralph Thoresby school at Voices of A New Generation in 2009 & 2010.

Check Pati performing her powerful poem "The Loudest Silence"which speaks to many of the themes discussed at Britain On Trial:

BRITAIN ON TRIAL- The Charge - Young Voices Speak Out!

BRITAIN ON TRIAL- The Charge - Young Voices Speak Out!, a set on Flickr.

The first photos are up on flickr featuring snapshots of the first order of the day - THE CHARGE:

Welcome by: Esther Stanford-Xosei
-co-Vice-Chair of PARCOE (the Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition in Europe)

Outline of the day by: Jane Trowell
- Shake! coordinator/ Platform Education coordinator

+ on the gavel/ strict 5 minute time keeping Tibetan chimes!!! - Khadijah Ibrahiim
- Artistic Director Leeds young Authors

Mini-lectures by young people and activists/academics on:

> Racism, young people and the police
featuring:
Selina Nwulu - poems: Britain on Trial/ Thou Shalt Not Kill 
Rotimi Skyers - poems: Ignite/ Hug 
Zodwa Nyoni - A Letter for Mama Oluwale - poem dedicated to David Oluwalwe

> Consumer Capitalism, advertising, and young people; Media portrayal of youth
featuring:
Sai Murai - overview of consumer capitalism + powerpoint presentation on evils of advertising 
Samia Aziz - talk on women & consumerism (ref: UNICEF report + Consumer Kids book)
Paris Kaur - poem: Barbie Girl

> History of displacement; contemporary refugee/asylum seeker realities
featuring:
Dr Carl Hylton - overview of history of displacement: trans-atlantic Afrikan enslavement 
Dr Stuart Hodkinson - Britain's immigration system on Trial inc. powerpoint presentation
Germain Naruhana - harrowing personal testimony of asylum seeker experience

STOP PRESS! Britain on Trial event in The Guardian

The piece was in The Northerner blog of the Guardian yesterday
"Young people air views on racism, 18 years after Stephen Lawrence murder"

Book your places now! Email platformshake@gmail.com

Britain on Trial: Young People Speak Out: Full Programme details

The Carriageworks, Leeds, this Saturday 29th October, 11.30 - 7pm

Anyone wanting to listen to young people and discuss with us how to take a stand and foster creative resistance to institutional racism – you should come to this. The re-trial for justice for Stephen Lawrence is beginning in November. The country is trying to pretend the ‘riots’ never happened. In Britain on Trial, we ask “where are we now” through a day of workshops and an evening performance to expose Britain’s injustices. 


Hosted by an incredible coalition of Leeds Young Authors, London’s “Shake! Young Voices in Arts, Media, Race & Power” and Leeds University academics from the MA Activism and Social Change, with collaborators from Leeds Bi-Centenary Transformation Project, and Leeds Black Film Club. Chaired by outstanding activist and speaker Esther Stanford-Xosei of Pan-Afrikan Reparations Coalition of Europe.

FULL PROGRAMME HERE

This day is a unique rich mix of politics, art & creativity, and history, driven by young people's own experiences and analyses in collaboration with leading artists and campaigners. Don't miss out.   


Book now, email platformshake@gmail.com

The Unheard: more great feedback

Ro, Kadish, Selina on the panel

The emails are still coming in about Shake's event "The Unheard: Youth, the 'riots', and the media" at Rebellious Media Conference on 9th October.

"...I was over at the Rebellious Media Conference and caught the discussion on the London riots that you  guys were involved in facilitating. It was fantastic....."  From Rabble Magazine  (Dublin)

"...I went to your session about the media and the london riots at the Rebellious Media Conference and I can honestly say I cannot rave enough about the session and the issues discussed.  I have literally told every person I've seen since then about how impressed I was!  Since getting back to Glasgow I spent my whole morning at work learning about the the work you do and about all the people involved, this has only increased my admiration for the organisation and makes me a little gutted that I don't live in London to get involved..."

Samia tells it

gripped...

 Cairsti (Glasgow)

We're waiting for some audio, and video... keep an eye out.

Nigeria Festival, and SLC in the news

The Nigeria Festival looks amazing, happening next week. Get over to The Albany, Deptford if you can...Check out the varied arts and culture programme


And it was great to see Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust featured in a whole page 'top story'  in yesterday's Daily Mirror, promoting the bursaries scheme. 


The Mirror is partner for this year's SLCT 18:18 Gala at London Zoo on 20th October, which marks 18 years since Stephen's murder...

Praises for Shake event at Rebellious Media Conference

Well, we seemed to have totally hit the spot on Sunday with our session "The Unheard: Youth, the 'riots' and the media" at Rebellious Media Conference.

+ here's one of many praising tweets, and an extract from same person on a blog review of the conference:

@RUDY2HATS Best workshop of the RMC, many thanks...

http://rudy2shoes.wordpress.com/2011/10/10/rebellious-media-conference/

...On Sunday I went to the forum on alternative voices from ‘the riots’ this was a focused and well organised session; probably worthy of the trip in itself.  A number of young people talked about their experiences of the riots, their interpretations of mainstream media as well as their analysis of the causes.  They expressed themselves in a variety of ways, including using video and poetry.  This was the ‘rebellious media’ I was looking for, not mirroring the current inadequacies but finding common ground with others and allowing their own expression to be the media.  Concerns of those close to events were raised, not mediated through some elite journalist with a decontextualised catchphrase. This is what a radical media conference should look like as voices from the heart of relevant issues command centre stage while networking and organising follow...  

Mainstream Media Coverage of UK "Riots" compared to War Reporting: John Pilger & Greg Philo at the Rebellious Media Conference

We had an amazing and inspiring experience at the Rebellious Media Conference this weekend and a full house and lively discussion for our session on Unheard Voices: Youth,‘The Riots' and the Media. A proper write up and review of that event and more links soon but for now here is the discussion on the mainstream media's coverage of the UK August uprisings featuring John Pilger and Greg Philo. A more complete video featuring the same discussion is also available here.