Youth Media take on social action
At shmu, we have no shortage of creative and passionate young people, who want to make positive differences to the world and our environment. Which is why our youth media crew are delighted to be exploring the world of youth social action, with the help of funding from Children in Need and the Hunter Foundation.
shmu’s young activists are impassioned about a host of social issues, especially climate justice.
The Youth Social action fund has created a wealth of opportunity for the young people to explore their passions, act for the future and learn from others doing the same. The group had the amazing opportunity to interview Climate activist Lee of the global environmental movement, Extinction Rebellion.
Lee joined Extinction Rebellion, after taking part in the Just Stop Oil Campaign and meeting other activists in the city. Both groups operate through non-violent disruptive protesting. Lee has been involved in various disruptive protests from oil terminal occupations to roadblocks and throwing paint at buildings.
“One of my favourite protests I’ve been involved in, is the first disruptive protest that I ever took part in where I occupied an oil terminal.” Lee explained, “that was a very scary one. I had to get up at stupid o’clock in the morning and climb through these bushes behind this oil terminal to get up to this really tall fence.
“We had ladders and everything and we had to hop over the fence. There was a security guard with a dog as well. It was terrifying. I managed to climb over the fence after a struggle, grab my backpack and leg it through the oil terminal up to the loading bay.
“So, I climb up into those pipes that are high off the ground and basically hunker down for as long as possible because they must get heights teams to come in to take you down. We were there for about six hours which is on the shorter end of how long oil terminal occupations tend to last. The police were ready, and the heights team came quickly so we were taken down by early afternoon and were just in a jail cell for the rest of the day.
“That one was one of the more intense actions I’ve done. It was just so insane.”
There is often lots of risk involved with disruptive protesting, from legal ramifications to danger to personal safety and it’s important to be aware of and prepared for all the risks before taking part.
“I’m currently dealing with two different court cases. If taking part in climate activism in that way is something that people are interested in, then it’s important to think through those risks and be sure that’s a risk you’re okay taking.”
Lee’s advice for anyone who would like to get into activism is, “You have to really go for it. One of the things with activism is that if people can ignore it, they will so you have to make yourself as un-ignorable as possible. Shout as long and as loud as you can to the chants and just really belt it out. I think those are my two biggest tips.”
Taking part in disruptive protests, of course, is not the only form of activism, there are plenty of other important roles when it comes to making change for a cause you’re passionate about.
If you’re between the ages of 12 and 17 and have a passion for activism or would like to find out more about Youth Media, Email shelley.mackenzie@shmu.org.uk for more details. If you would like to hear more of Lee you can watch Youth Media’s interview with them on our Youtube channel, shmuTV.
