Walthamstow Labour activist Ushan Samson (@ooshan) sets out his vision for a youth unemployment project in Walthamstow, following his attendance at a Movement for Change training session earlier this year.
A couple of months ago an email landed in my inbox. It read Labour and I immediately assumed it was another mass email informing me how I could help the cause. At a closer look, I found that it was in fact a refreshing change. It was an offer to meet Kathryn and discuss my story, what I had done with labour and what I wanted from it. This led to an invigorating conversation where I, for the first time truly thought why it was that I was part of this movement.
Then came the opportunity to go on a training session with movement for change and sit with others who wanted to discuss their stories and get to know their fellow members, something that has been somewhat lost in the regular bureaucracy of politics. It was during these sessions that I was first introduced to the idea of “cold anger”. It is that anger, that feeling inside of you, the injustice you see which deep inside you, you know you can do something about and you want to do something about. It’s this anger that is pure fuel, looking for a spark from fellow activists, which can create a fire that can burn bright in these dark times. This is exactly what we started to discuss, with anger spewing forth concentrated on very real issues of very real community members.
I had not gone into these meetings with a particular issue in mind, I’m not sure if my fellow activists had as well. But listening to these stories made me feel comfortable enough to share my own anger, my very personal, very real issue.
That which is squarely focussed on the despair of our youth. I am part of the generation that is struggling to find employment and more frustratingly, even struggling to find work experience. Those positions that exist either ask for prior work experience, if you want to work in an established industry or there is so much red tape that eventually one must just give up. But this is a problem we can solve using the movement for change’s ethos, which is to create relationships, lasting relationships based on a common goal. That common goal is for the youth and those that are worried about the future of our country and its resources to take an active role. To create if not job opportunities, then work experience opportunities. If we can’t do that, we can certainly seek to create relationships with businesses and industry leaders to create those opportunities.
Each large industry comes with its own Corporate Social Responsibility covenant, one which seeks out such to take part in such philanthropy missions. If that does not work, we can petition the government and as a nation we can fuel the fire, we can keep the coals burning and turn this nation around. Our country is worth more, our generation is worth much more
I would like to invite you to take part in this revolution with me, to take things into our own hands and help not only ourselves but each other.
We at Walthamstow are trying to do exactly that. Taking the M4C ethos to heart, we are currently contacting young local members and listening to their problems from their point of view. The recurring theme has been unemployment, which currently stands at 1.02 million (according to Office for National Statistics) for young people. As well as listening to their grievances, we are identifying their strengths and interests for the other part of this project.
Our aim is to have a two pronged approach, whereas we are creating relationships with those that are in need, we are also creating relationships with those that can help-the businesses. Using exactly the same approach, we are contacting businesses, both small and large and trying to find out what sort of employee they are looking for and where they may be happy to take on young people. This leads us to introducing the right candidate to the right business, where they can find some work experience in the least or a job at the most, making the process beneficial for both parties.
We are at the cusp of something great, if you can see the potential in this and in yourself then contact us to get involved in however and whichever way you can.