5 minute read
Empowerment
BESTSELLER 12–18 years * £12.99 * Jun 2019 * PB * ISBN: 9781785925023 * Rights sold: Russian * B&W photos of teen contributors and B&W spot illustrations throughout
You Can Change the World!
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Everyday Teen Heroes Making a Difference Everywhere Margaret Rooke Foreword by Taylor Richardson and Katie Hodgetts The experiences of over 50 teenagers interviewed for this book show the practical and positive changes it’s possible to make in the world around us. If you want to tackle today’s tough issues: body image, cyber-bullying, environment damage and more, these positive role models show it’s possible to build resilience and transform the lives we live.
Joint Gold Winner of the Moonbeam Multicultural Non-Fiction Award 2019
Helping Others
winner was a group who wanted to alert people that they may be sending a message that could upset someone. It was a pop-up to Maryam make you think before you write something, which questioned, ‘Are you sure you want to write this? It could be hurtful.’ and Our group thought this was a good idea, but not the winning idea. We wanted to tackle the problem that someone puts Hadiqa, something nasty on social media and then says to the teacher, ‘It wasn’t me. Someone hacked my system.’ The idea of one of the 17, Nelson, Lancashire, England hackers was for something that proved this wasn’t true. People bully people and then hide behind technology by lying. We thought his idea would help us most, so we gave him a special prize of our own. We think this would be a really important development for our “We have tackled online generation. There are so many people online who feel they can be opinionated. They are teenagers and they think they can say what hate, pushed for Fairtrade they want. And they can do this without revealing their identity. This is cyberbullying. and worked in our Positive Voices has given us both a lot of confidence. There is a stereotype that if you are from a deprived community, you will communities. Young people amount to nothing. We both want to amount to something. Maryam wants to work in clinical neuropsychology for children and don’t realise how big an adolescents. She suffers with anxiety so will be able to understand and communicate with them. It is an important time to go into this impact they can make.” – everyone is discussing mental health issues in young people. Hadiqa wants to become a barrister. Working in criminal law will be her way of having an impact on the world, through a system created to maintain order and peace.
Helping Others
make an impact make an impact
We feel that a lot of young people are interested in clothes and what they look like and they haven’t looked beyond that. It can be good to indulge yourself, but looks aren’t forever. The Kardashians are not always going to look like they do. Young people don’t realize how big an impact they can make. Before Peacehack we didn’t think we could make big impact. We didn’t think we could speak in public. Since then we’ve been involved in a conference on radicalization with university students. We were 15- and 16-year-olds talking to students. We work with the local town council. We push for Fairtrade. It’s amazing what you do when you try. You can get involved with groups, or just continue with your life and think about the world and live in a good way. Your life is well spent if you help your community and help put everyone on the path to happiness. This is what makes us happy.
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“As education editor of The Sunday Times I am fed up with hearing about Generation Snowflake. Here at last is a book that disproves that label. I loved reading these stories of 50 teenagers who have literally changed the world for the better through their efforts. Hurrah for the next generation - Generation Sunshine!”
– Sian Griffiths, Education and Families Editor, Sunday Times
‘A beautiful tribute to the power of youth and their driving passion to see and make change in the world. What we gain from these active young voices is that hope, not despair is on the move, and one small change sparks another.
– Amie Williams, Co-Founder and Executive Director, GlobalGirl Media
Demanding Change
Lucy,
17, Sheffield, England
22
Demanding Change
Chickens didn’t massively interest me until I was 12, when I
happened to meet a flock of hens on a farm. I became particularly attached to one specific hen, who was injured. I was amazed at how interesting she was. I noticed how complex these animals are and was fascinated with how they interact with each other and with people. I had never realized any of this before.
We started calling her Mrs Hen. I carried her around a lot and spent a lot of time with her, hoping she would soon recover.
Purely out of interest, I started looking at how hens are treated commercially, and I began to learn about the different tiers of farming. I found out about the conditions experienced by caged hens: farming behaviour that seemed so stark compared with the life of the flock I had got to know. I started writing letters to supermarkets and politicians about these terribly cramped conditions. Quickly, I realized how little the letters were being taken notice of. Still today I have these folders full of letters with answers that would say something along the lines of ‘Sorry you are unhappy’.
The more I found out about the issue, the harder it was to think, ‘I can’t be bothered.’ The more they said, ‘No, we can’t help you,’ ‘No, we are not interested,’ the more I was fuelled with this need to do something.
#NoMoreCages
