Dangerous Times Festival! Sat 31st May

How to Build an Urban Youth Movement?

Tuition fees, rising inequality, police harrassment, stigma and stereotyping - these are just come of the issues young people are facing in Britain today. Unite the Youth is a new group trying to build an urban youth movement to challenge this and fight for the interests of young people.

Come to their event at the Dangerous Times Festival on Saturday May 31st. There are still a few free tickets available for young people - who will get free entry to any event over the entire weekend. Other sessions include

- Carole Duggan, aunt of Mark Duggan, on the police, power and racism.

- Woman and austerity: glass ceilings and sticky floors Ellie Badcock and Jess McCabe from the f-word

- Comedian and disability activist Francesca Martinez on What the f**k is normal anyway?

- A spoken word session from Different Skies.

To get a free ticket register here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/unite-the-youth-at-dangerous-times-festival-tickets-11736406909.

We visited Shell on the 20th Anniversary of Ken Saro-Wiwa's last arrest

Here's a great minute and a half video of the poetry intervention that made with people from Shake! and Platform - activism, education and the arts outside the Shell Shareholder meeting last week, as part of the #ActionSaroWiwa launch. Read more about what happened on the day here

                       

Some useful tips for interacting with the unemployed

To all the employed people. Here are some useful tips for interacting with the unemployed:

• Do not remind them, their degree is useless (they've probably now figured this out)

• Do not ask them have they considered an internship? (If they could afford this and are young and lacking in experience they probably have, otherwise they can't afford it!!)

• Depending on the length of time they are unemployed if it's only recently, then s'alright but if it's been a while or re-occurring it sounds a bit ridiculous, don't ask 'how's the job hunt?' If it goes in any way differently, they'll say otherwise it is shit.

• If they have been unemployed longer than a few months, do not tell them they are looking for jobs that are 'too good', they will already have realised this and explored the nether regions of gumtree and spend a lot of time bunched up their duvet realising actually helping people or in some small way trying to fulfill their human potential will be impossible for a good while.

• This is an internal thing and probably isn't real and only exists only in my mind, but do not think 'it's well for some' because the unemployed person can have a lie in or more time to play the guitar or whatever. Even if they're financially secure, they probably crave some type of certainty or stability in their future. 

• Do not ask them if they have considered an internship? Besides the money and even if they could afford it, especially depending on their age they might have a lot of experience, they might not need anymore, they might have removed an entire chunk off their c.v. because they've already done so much unpaid work, they might find the idea of even more, disillusioning, disheartening and exploitative. They might have a little teeny tiny bit of hope that if they only hang on refreshing these jobs websites, they won't have to turn that way again.

Good luck job hunting everyone or should I say .... Foraging in a near nutritionless desert... Like vultures on decaying carcasses.

By Orla Price - Read more from her:
www.play-spaces.weebly.com and www.sillical.blogspot.com

Event: New Narratives: Re-imagining the Story

Anyone who knows Shake! knows that we are about change: from the tiny moments of growth and self-transformation that we go through on every Shake! intensive, to the structural changes we aim to make in society. We don't go for traditional approaches to education, and we place a lot of emphasis on dialogue and inter-generational learning.With this in mind, we invite you to our first ever New Narratives, an experimental social policy seminar that looks to re-imagine the needs of young people, and to refresh the structures in society that affect us.

Interactive youth led sessions and artistic exercises will provide a safe space for dialogue and an opportunity to develop strategies to incorporate into practice.
 
New Narratives #1 features sessions led by:

Orla Price - Well-Being and Mental Health
Nathaniel Chapman - Homelessness
Selina Nwulu - tbc

Date:  Saturday 31st of May
Time: 10:30 -5pm
Where: Platform Office, Tower Bridge
Refreshments and lunch included.
 
Here is the link to fb page -  please forward to like minded people.

Platform office has limited capacity, so first come first serve, please RSVP platformshake@gmail.com