I've still not got over the reality of speaking to the UN. A few years ago I would have run scared from speaking to any group of more than 10 people, but now I actually really enjoy it. There's kind of a buzz. I think speaking out is difficult for a lot of people at first, but it becomes something that you train yourself to do and you want to do more of.
There was a great discussion on one of the side events I went to whilst in New York about activism and young people. Many have come to see the term activist to describe someone who potentially gets arrested for the actions they take to speak out, not someone they identify with being themselves. One of the panellists preferred the term 'active citizen' as it conveyed better the sense of working specifically to improve the lives of the people around you. I think the word 'advocate' has a powerful ring to it too, but perhaps focuses on the seaking out rather than the taking action.
That said, the term used to title that event is one that I have grown fond of in a few short days and one that I think will inspire some of the next phases of this project. That word is 'factivist' or 'factivism'. The definition given was that of young people - the teens to 30s age group - who are using fact based approaches, often powered by social media, to try and bring about change through their network and peers.
That is exactly what I set out on this project to do.
So I am setting out on producing some fact images for social sharing. Girlguiding UK do an annual survey on the attitudes of girls (and now boys too) on a range of different topics. You can explore the reports here. Here is my first factivist artwork, based on one of the photos currently on display in the 'We Discover, We Grow' exhibition at Peterborough Museum. I just wish I'd been given this inspiring idea sooner and could have worked it into the exhibition!
What do you think?
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