In October, we were honoured to host 31 young storytellers at Amnesty International’s Headquarters for the TEDxLondon Democracy Bootcamp. Inspired by the TED Democracy programme, TEDxLondon Democracy Bootcamp was all about upskilling the next generation of storytellers and exploring how politics can work better for young people.
The ideas
We asked young people to share an idea that reimagines democracy to better serve young people. The bootcamp offered attendees a chance to hone their public speaking skills, develop their ideas and learn from experts on how to campaign for change. But first, what ideas did we actually have in the room? Well, we were so impressed by the range of ideas the young storytellers shared:
– Starting an initiative to ensure student-led voices are embedded in universities
– Embedding anti-discrimination education in school
– Developing Youth Councils in local areas and in the government
– Tackling science misinformation through education
– Creating a digital platforms for young people to directly influence the political agenda
– Leveraging AI technologies to foster inclusive political discourse
– Engaging young Muslims in Politics
– Introducing politics at GCSE level and/or increasing political education in schools
– Creating more youth boards to influence decisions across the NHS, the government and/or the commercial sector
– Engaging young people in climate campaigning and action
– Creating Hubs that link businesses, communities, actions groups, decision makers and young people to make a positive change
– Using film to document and share democracy-themed narratives
And more…
The programme
Our aim was to immerse young people in the skills and knowledge that would help them take the next step to realise their idea. The young people’s ideas were in different stages – some folks were just getting started, others were midway through development and others were running fully fledged organisations delivering on the idea. Here’s a taster of the training we offered:
– Storytelling workshop by Simon Bucknall, public speaker coach, facilitator and former TEDxLondon speaker. Simon covered how you develop your core message and how to use storytelling express your core message and idea.
– Culture change and campaigning workshop by Seyi Falodun-Liburd and Janey Starling, Co-Directors of Level Up, a feminist community campaigning for gender justice in the UK and former TEDxLondon speakers. Seyi and Janey explained their direct action campaigns, why they were effective and how to apply these lessons to other digital and/or direct action campaigns.
– How to talk so that politicians and policy makers listen by Dr Alex Lloyd, Research Fellow at UCL and former TEDxLondon speaker. Alex shared how you identify the right politicians and policy makers and how to “package” your idea so they will listen.
– Who Has The Power? And how do we disrupt it? By Pip Sayers from The Politics Project, a charity supporting young people and politicians to have powerful conversations that lead to real change. Pip covered understanding common power systems, navigating these systems and influencing decision makers.
– Mentor networking – eight mentors from different organisations working on democracy were matched up with our young people to help them develop their ideas further. Mentors came from all sorts of backgrounds related to democracy, including The Small Axe, UCL Policy Lab, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Westminster Foundation For Democracy, UK Democracy Fund, Payzee Mahmod, Multitudes Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, Keseb and I Have A Voice.
The impact
TEDxLondon Democracy Bootcamp was the first time we had held an immersive training experience like this and it was hugely impactful for the team, mentors and workshop leaders. We were all blown away by the amazing young people who joined us. Their energy, enthusiasm and commitment to spreading ideas and changing democracy for the better was hugely inspiring. A HUGE thank you to all the young people who joined us – we wish you the best going forward.
We were thrilled the young people said the day positively impacted them to:
For the first time in a long time, I was in a room that truly challenged me.
It was a room filled with driven, ambitious young people striving to create change in a world that often feels stagnant and resistant to progress. Their energy was contagious, and the ideas explored sparked conversations that pushed the boundaries of my own thinking…
…growth happens when you step outside your norm and surround yourself with people who challenge and inspire you. The right environment can ignite your potential and push you toward greater achievements. Watch the space!
I absolutely adored this experience. We were able to witness other’s ideas and develop our own from their testimony. The speakers were interactive and extremely interesting to listen to. I came out of that day, with new contacts and a new aspiration for my future! Thank you to the TEDxLondon Team for this experience.
Hearing from speakers, experienced professionals and campaigners and listening to the creative ideas from other young people was wonderful. There’s something special about events like these that make you hopeful for the future and ever more passionate about being involved in change.
What’s next?
– We hope in the future we can offer this kind of workshop again – watch this space and sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know!
– Check out Amnesty International’s amazing, upcoming event, Amplify Human Rights Festival on 7 December 2024, 12:00-20:00. It’s a day full of inspiring changemakers for those new or seasoned in human rights work. It’s a must-go event for anyone interested in social change and human rights. Amnesty invites us to come together and set the tone for the kind of world we all want to live in!
– Thank you to our amazing partners who helped make this event possible: Politics Project and Civic Power Fund. We encourage you to follow them and sign up to their newsletters to hear about all their brilliant work about making democracy work better for young people.
