I am not one to talk on politics, dare I say be the one to even know what is actually going on behind the walls of the Government. I think it is easy to blend in the background and go with the flow of things yet I do have moments whereby I question myself by asking ‘why can’t I use my voice for the prosperity of my own nation, for change, for the greater good of humanity?’. I wish I was taught political literacy in my school days. Moreover, I tend to shy away from vocalising my opinion in fear of being judged, or perhaps simply intimidated by the confidence apparent among the masses today. As I reflect on my own life, it has been heavily shaped by the environments I’ve been brought up in and I tend to be rather ignorant of Politics being a major umbrella over my education, jobs, healthcare, living situation and all the practical things we all need in life to sustain ourselves. But it doesn’t have power over my own voice. And when I came across Matt Bergamini of ‘Shout Out UK’, he is not hesitant to show the ropes on how to use your voice in this crazy world we live in today. He gave a really good talk at a UPF event I attended in London and he gave me permission to record what he said surrounding trust and it’s necessity in politics. Firstly here is a bit about Shout Out UK below, taken from their website (you can access here for more information) :

http://www.shoutoutuk.org

A little outline…

‘Shout Out UK (SOUK) are a multi-award winning education brand providing world class training and programmes on Media & Political literacy and a platform to voice opinion and incite positive change.’

Our mission..

‘Political Literacy (like being literate in a language) ensures that everyone, who can vote has a basic understanding of the political system they live under, as well as the tools to critically engage with the media (media literacy).

Currently, Political Education is still not being taught in any, but the top end private schools. This instigates a class divide, as it ensures that those able to pay know how to influence the system and are Politically Literate, while the rest are not. We aim to change this.

We are on a mission to help schools implement Political Literacy in the easiest and most cost-effective way possible, whilst providing young people with a platform to share information, debate and discuss issues they are passionate about.’

Founder and CEO of Shout Out UK

‘Matteo Bergamini is the Founder and CEO of the youth network Shout Out UK, a company he set up at 22. The network has grown rapidly, securing a variety of projects, from the high-profile Channel 4 Youth Leaders’ Debate to the creation of a Political and Media Literacy Course for schools across the UK. A dedicated promoter of Political Literacy amongst young people, Matteo has won a number of awards for his entrepreneurship and work in political education. He has a BA in Politics & History, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Law.’

Here, I will write down what Matteo mentioned at the event I attended,( I started recording about a few mins in..):

‘..Because what we are seeing is now, rather than going towards an element of trust, and trying to connect and collaborate with each other, regardless whatever age demographic, ethnicity or anything you come from, we are actually entrenching ourselves in further. Look at, for example, the way politicians are now , where the political parties, the garbage they are putting out at the moment is so inflammatory. Every single political party is guilty there and you see them put out fake statistics,misinformed facts because they are essentially appealing to people’s fears, people’s dislikes to another group they’ve never met. They are appealing to fears, there are just no basis of reality in those fears, for they know that emotions when ruffled up are more important than facts. I remember hearing one academic once say ‘we’re living in a post factual society where facts don’t really matter, it’s not about what’s real, it’s when some one makes you believe it’s real ’, and that for me is so ridiculously true. It’s true in 2016, its true now. And the way we move forward from that, I think, all of us are responsible and the way we move forward from that is making sure we communicate with different groups that we don’t normally communicate with . We as an organisation, we try and strive to ensure that young people communicate with older people because one of the biggest issues now is there is a complete generational disconnect. You’ve got the (…) generation that constantly hear about young people being soft or snowflakes and all this kind of rubbish..it’s so easy because you got a phone. And the young people on the other hand say, well, you can get by so easy because you could buy a house for 9 grand where as now I can buy a cardboard box for that amount.But it’s different generations and different problems for different privileges from when they were born and when they were at. It’s not a problem for that communication is not there . The only information you constantly get is from the media and frankly the media have a hell of a lot to answer for because they soak that fear, and as soon as you remove the media from those conversations, like what we did when we brought a bunch of young people together, suddenly, we are talking about human beings. Because the media will only ever talk about a politician when he’s fiddling expenses, or gets caught with prostitutes and cocaine in hotels for example, which, don’t get me wrong , they should be exposed to those kind of issues but when you are consistently fed that kind of narrative , is it really that shocking that young people don’t engage in politics ? Is it really that shocking that our voting turn out is about 60%. And up until the youth quake in 2017, youth turn out in politics was about 30%, and since the youth quake has gone up 50%. We’ve got a massive crisis with our democracy, whereby we have completely destroyed and eroded the trust of an entire generation in our political structure, and healing that is how you start to build trust. And anchoring trust is how you start to build peace. Because without trust, without communication, without intergenerational dialogue, about dialogue between different parties, ideals, you’re never gonna have peace.And that’s why organisations, political parties of all these kind of groups, fresh groups need to come together and be like, hold on, let’s have an actual conversation. Let’s not consistently focus on the negative, let’s not go down to the lowest common denotative and focus on emotions and feelings and focus on things that will trigger someone just because they don’t like a certain group or for whatever reason. Let’s try and bring people together from different groups because we actually do have a lot more in common than we actually think or do and that, building that trust and bridge of communication is imperative in the first step to building peace. And for me, one of the biggest steps to building trust within, not specifically our political system alone, i think it’s got a lot of issues but building trust in that we are in a country, we are in a place where you can change society for the better, if you want to , have a lot of freedom since then. That’s part of education, that for me political literacy being the answer to a lot of things. If you bring political literacy to schools, we will empower people to have a voice, have a say on how society works. You teach them how to engage ,but you teach how they can be elected if they wanted to, how to vote, how to have a voice, how to campaign. You suddenly empower people to change society for the better rather than this feeling of complete helplessness and hatred towards this system we live on. Thank you very much.’

I really commend Matteo’s efforts in providing political literacy in schools and world class training and programmes on Media and political literacy. I feel hopeful when we have people like Matteo running such organisations as Shout Out UK, whereby one can be offered the platform to stand up for their what they believe is right to them, and right for our society in a peaceful manner, developing trust between those running our country.

The soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there’s some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England’s, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke, 1914

‘The poem “The Soldier” is one of English poet Rupert Brooke’s (1887–1915) most evocative and poignant poems—and an example of the dangers of romanticizing World War I, comforting the survivors but downplaying the grim reality. Written in 1914, the lines are still used in military memorials today.’(https://www.thoughtco.com/the-soldier-by-rupert-brooke-1221215)

Remembrance Day is a significant day where people across the UK stop and think of those who have served previous wars including the 1st and 2nd world wars, and have sadly died in them. We think also of those who have died in recent years, battling on the frontline in conflicting countries across the Middle East like Afghanistan and Iraq.

Here are 10 facts about Remembrance Day you may find interesting to know . I got them from a website (http://www.stgeorges.co.uk/blog/london-student-life/10-facts-about-Remembrance-Day-and-poppies) :

1. Remembrance Day is on the 11th of November every year.

2. It is an event that commemorates the end of World War 1, which ended on ‘the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month’ in 1918.

3. A 2 minute silence is held at 11am to remember all the soldiers who died in all wars (not just the First World War). This 2 minute silence is normally observed throughout London and The UK and in some parts of The Commonwealth.

4. Today, Remembrance Day is on Tuesday, but ‘Remembrance Sunday’ is always held on the second Sunday in November (the nearest Sunday to the 11th of November)

5. On Remembrance Sunday, HRH The Queen, members of The Royal Family, top politicians and V.I.P.s attend a big ceremony at The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London (this is very near to The Houses of Parliament, Downing Street where the Prime Minister lives and Buckingham Palace). This memorial service is always shown on live television in the UK.

6. It is also called Poppy Day. The poppy is the symbol of the fallen soldier from World War One.

7. Poppies grew in many of the fields in Flanders, Belgium where battles took place. The red colour of the poppies symbolised the blood spilled in the war.

8. Poppies were mentioned in the First World War poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ by Lieutenant Colonel John McRae from Canada. The poem was very popular at the time and so the poppy was used to raise money for soldiers.

In Flanders Fields

BY JOHN MCCRAE
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

9. Paper poppies are sold every year in the weeks before Remembrance Sunday to raise money for soldiers and families of soldiers.

10. All TV presenters, politicians and lots of people around the UK wear a poppy in the weeks before Poppy Day. You can even buy a Remembrance Poppy to put on the front of your car. 

My thoughts on Remembrance Day.

To lose a loved one; whether it be a brother, sister or a friend is tough. An immeasurable pain comes as a consequence to a passing of a loved one. When I think of those who’ve sacrificed their lives for the sake of the nation, I cannot begin to comprehend the aching hearts of their mothers, wives, husbands, fathers, children, siblings or friends. The life of each and every soldier who serves, is so worthy of being loved and recognised for their efforts on this special day. Through reflection, I realise how fortunate I am to be in a righteous country as the UK, whereby the dedication of past soldiers till present is so tenderly moving.

It’s emotional and every time I think of how many lives have been lost, my heart sinks. I sincerely hope for their families to live securely, comforted in knowing these soldiers are at peace, and they have left behind a legacy recognised by all of us. They are so loved. They are never forgotten, and I pray to the skies His presence can comfort the hearts of their families.

War is a struggle, but the bravery and courage of these soldiers shines, as the beauty of their character behind their name shines. I wish for peace in the world but above all I wish for peace in the hearts of those who need it most. A poppy, I wear with gratitude. A poppy, I wear for their families. A poppy, I wear for them, and the legacy each and every soldier has left behind.

God Bless All.

In the painting above, I copied a black and white photograph of a soldier on the frontline. I decided to paint his uniform with gold, bronze and shimmery white as I wanted to show how precious they are to us. Serving with courage to save their nation, they are eternal treasure to us all. I will leave you with a poem I wrote few years ago for Remembrance Day. I apologise for my calligraphy skills. I’m very beginner. I hope you can read it. Enjoy.