Speak Out in Our Competition!

I'm pleased to announce our new competition for all budding bloggers, producers and activists - open to entries as of today! You've got until the 30th June 2013 to get your entries in, so get creating today.

  

If you have any questions drop us an email on the submission address or use the comments field on this post. Submit your entry today to receive a set of Speak Out, Reach Out, Camp Out badges!

Let's Get Technical

My Dad forwarded me this report on a survey conducted in the UK about women in technology related careers. They found that whilst 90% of both men and women working in tech reported to be happy in their career, only 1 in 7 members of any tech team were women.

The report's cover image.

The majority of both women and men think there should be more women working in tech, but there is disagreement about which factors are influencing the current numbers taking up careers in the sector. 65% of women currently working in tech feel that they have been discriminated against at some point in their career because of their gender - probably a big and real factor then.

Despite this a whopping 90% of women working in tech would recommend a career in this sector to other women. As a fast growing sector with potential for more and well paid jobs in the coming years, the question is how do you encourage more women to go into tech?

Roughly 2/3 of their respondents thought their business would benefit from more women working in the industry and, as a well paid sector, evening out the gender balance would help to diminish the gender pay gap that is still prevalent in the UK.

The solutions in the report? Education, pioneers and perception changes. Encouraging girls to study STEM (Science, technology, engineering and maths) at school will equip them with the skills and confidence to work in the sector. Then we need to highlight the women already doing it, which in turn will help to change perceptions of tech.

Some sound conclusions there and it's great to hear them coming from inside the sector!

A Not So Brave Makeover

Some followers of our Facebook page will have seen this great image and quote that we shared from A Mighty Girl yesterday. They've been spearheading a campaign to get Disney to undo their princess makeover of the Brave lead character Merida. This was picked up in the Guardian yesterday, and with a Comment is Free article too.

I have to say I have something of a soft spot for this film - I saw it at the cinema twice in fact. And it was the first Disney 'princess' that I've ever really felt any affinity with. I think this quote from Brenda Chapman, Brave's writer and co-director pretty much says it all: "Merida was created to break that mould - to give young girls a better stronger role model, a more attainable role model something of substance not just a pretty face that waits around for romance."

Before and after the 'princess makeover'.

Why, Disney, why do you see the need to turn a character whose main selling point is NOT being like every other princess going in your films, into just another one of those princesses? She is the princess for the 21st century, not some half-century old fairytale idea of how young women should behave.

I remember being a 10 year old and with a group of friends we made up our own fairytale play about royalty and protectors, forces of evil and their Hench-people.I cast myself as the prince so I'd be the one doing the rescuing having the adventure - I didn't want to stand about tied with a skipping rope to the playground fence waiting to be rescued.

Now 12 years later there's a film that allows a generation of young people see that you can be the princess and have the adventure. It's not all about the waiting about looking pretty.

It appears that Disney have now removed the Princess version from their website, but it's not a victory yet. You can still sign on to the campaign at www.change.org/keepmeridabrave.

IDAHO. 17th May, Not The State.

So it turns out my post on mental health was not only very late (after the post that inspired it), but also very early as this week is mental health awareness week. My timing was just a little off for the celebration.

Getting ahead of the game, here's one about an event happening on Friday - IDAHO. You may be thinking isn't that the state between Oregon and Montana? Well, yes, you are right there. But this particular acronym stands for the International Day Against Homophobia.

It takes place on the 17th May to mark the anniversary of the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses. You see the link back to the mental health post now.

We've come a fair old way since then, I would say - though it's difficult for me to comment as I wasn't born till a few weeks after that event - and that's thanks to a lot of hard fought activism worldwide. 13 countries and 12 US states now have equal marriage in effect or very nearly and, according to Wikipedia, another 21 territories have some kind of civil partnership for same-sex couples. But it's not so rosy everywhere.

In 2008, 54 member states of the UN signed a declaration opposing LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) rights, and homosexuality remains a criminal offence (sometimes with the death penalty attached) in many countries. There are still many more victories to be won in order to create a world free from homophobia and the horrible repercussions it has.

I recently shared this video on my personal Facebook - TRIGGER WARNING: there are graphic depictions of bullying and consequences of that so it's not a light thing to watch. But I think the point is conveyed in the first minute or so, before it gets too graphic. It basically turns homophobia on it's head. How would the world look if opposite sex relationships were the ones that were frowned upon, that caused kids to be bullied by their peers and disowned by their parents, and ultimately to see no other escape than through taking their own life? It's definitely a thought provoking video.

Then came this video from upworthy - a series of people in the street are asked 'a question gay people have been asked for years'. It's the 'made a choice' vs 'born this way' debate. By asking people when they chose to be straight it highlights the point that a) people probably don't get to choose their sexuality at all and b) there's at lot of people in the middle ground on the LGBT rights issue who, with a little bit of thought-provoking education, could come to support LGBT rights.

I didn't choose my sexuality, I didn't choose to fall in love with the person I did, but right now, I would really like the choice to be able to get married to that person and have our relationship recognised in the same way a heterosexual couple do.Come on the UK, let's make it 14 soon.

P.s. I spell checked this post and LGBT, Transgender and Facebook are not in the dictionary. Sort it out blogger.com!

A Slice of Mental Health

Inspired by a friend's post a few days ago (well more than a few by the time I've got this finished) I want to say something about mental health.

It was mentioned on the news today that GPs have been recommended to watch out for signs of depression and anxiety in carers - those who take on the demanding role of caring for a family member, friend or neighbour. As a particular susceptible group, I think that's a great idea, but then I think - 'Shouldn't we be looking out for the signs of poor mental health in everybody?'.

If you limped into a GPs appointment then they'd ask if everything's ok with your leg. Signs of poor mental health can be much less obvious, so to me it would seem imperative to do something proactive about it. Especially as there often feels like a taboo around the subject.

A few years ago, after a series of incidents, I started experiencing panic attacks. Having been asthmatic since 11, and with nobody ever really talking to me about the physical symptoms of a mental health problems, I had no idea what was wrong with me - I thought it was some kind of asthmatic attack combined with feeling feint. It was only after the attacks were exacerbated by taking on a stressful job that I sought out medical help. A nurse at the local walk-in centre diagnosed it from my description and gave me information on panic attacks.

My GP referred me to a counselling service, but because I said I wasn't suicidal there was a 3 month wait for my first appointment. I'd never been good at expressing how I felt in words and I chickened out and cancelled before that first appointment ever happened.

I've been recommended a counsellor, or giving information about such a service, several times since. Not once actually going.I was scared.

It's only since being with my partner, who grew up with the US health care system and absolutely loves therapy and the support it's given her, that I've a) been able to talk about my emotions and thoughts more readily, and b) come to think that mental health is as, if not more, important than physical health. I also think it's been many years since I was as mentally healthy as I am currently. Right now I wish I'd gone for that counselling the first time it was offered, that I'd learnt to talk about how I feel sooner, and how to process things that have happened to me in the past.

I've been thinking about all the things I've heard about health in the global development sphere - particularly the planning of the Post-2015 Agenda. Rarely is mental health mentioned. If we want to see true development for everybody, then we need to start taking a holistic view of well-being. It's particularly relevant for including gender-based violence - indeed violence in any form - as whilst the physical injuries may be treated, the mental repercussions of such experiences need treatment too.

We need to start talking. About mental health and about gender based violence. The two are often linked. 

Ciao!

So I have been in Italy for the last few days facilitating a workshop with the UK Youth Climate Coalition as part of an event co-ordinated by the Italian Youth Hostel Association -  Five Days to Zero Impact.

We worked with about 25 young people from the Campania region (the bit around Naples and Pompeii that sits in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius). I've studied the ancient history of this region a lot doing Latin at GCSE followed by Archaeology and Geography at University - I even wrote my uni application personal statement about how this area epitomised the connections between the subjects I wanted to study. Safe to say that I was excited about the trip!

I knew a lot less about the current situation of the region, and I have learnt a lot in just a few days. The young people taking part in the session are clearly passionate and driven - really wanting to see improvement in their local area. This is great and inspiring. I usually talk a lot about the international scene with post-2015, MDGs, UN, CSW and COPs, but I think this work is only ever meaningful when we think about the local to. That's something organisations like UKYCC and WAGGGS do well I think. Global-local thinking. Glocal...

Pollution is a hot topic here, as is the inefficiency of the local government. But they've got the solutions to. This group is well on it's way to stepping in and cleaning up their region.

I've also learnt a lot about training and working interculturally. I've regularly worked with groups with mixed backgrounds through WAGGGS - but usually in English. It's eye opening when trying to lead a workshop and you don't speak the majority language in the room. With a little bit of translation the group picked up the concept we were trying to convey very quickly and ran with it. Once they had the idea we handed them the pen and flipchart to take notes in Italian - they kept us in the loop with the conversation, but it was clear they could go into a lot more depth in their mother tongue than trying to explain in English.

They have a few more days and sessions to go - and I'm sure many new and exciting environmental projects will spring up in this region as a results - but I'm waiting at the airport, about to head back to the UK. 

I'm getting on top of my emails, collaborating on ideas of how we can communicate the Post-2015 work of WAGGGS, and contemplating my job-hunting options - hoping I can find something as rewarding as the voluntary work I do!

Radio Silence

Apologies for the delay between my last blog post and this - there's been a lot happening in the last couple of weeks. My partner and I had our civil partnership ceremony just over a week ago, followed by a lovely weekend in Yorkshire. On top of this I've job hunting in earnest with a string of interviews lined up.

So back to the advocacy work.

My role as a co-ordinator for WAGGGS post-2015 volunteers has started. We had a great conference call with the whole group last week, planning our objectives and work over the coming weeks and months. My person goal is to get plenty more votes, especially from the UK, on the MyWorld platform. It takes just 5 minutes, and you can really have your voice heard in the future development agenda! Do it today!

And I'm also preparing to go to Italy next week with the UKYCC. We'll be running a workshop on climate change and the EU climate strategy - hopefully inspiring a group of young Italians to become environmental activists, creating change in their communities. My training in Guiding is coming in very useful in the ability to take topics and learning objectives, and turning them into fun activities.

I'll be back later in the week with an update on both of these!

The Best and Worst of Human Beings

Inspirational neon... Laura Bonn, 2005,
L.A. State Historic Park via Art Works For Change

If you've seen any kind of news in the last day, then you will have heard about the bombs that went off at the Boston Marathon just before 3pm EST on Monday 15th April. The time since has been particularly emotional as my partner is from just outside of that city. I think we've both been in shock. The site where the bombs went off is just a few hundred yards from where we got engaged at the end of December.

I don't like to repost images of the violence - I think the media's endless repetition of such footage just desensitises us to atrocious events. So I'm sharing some pieces that I hope will help people understand, cope and get through this time.

Boston sits on the horizon, to the left of the headland.

This article is a great snapshot of some of the amazing acts of human kindness that have occured in response to yesterday's events - and I know there's plenty more out there.

There's nothing like a crisis from bringing out the innate goodness in human beings.

All family and friends I made in the US have been accounted for and weren't near the marathon finish line. My thoughts are with those who were and the people who know them. 

If you are in the area, donate blood. Otherwise the Mayor has set up One Fund Boston to collect resources for the injured and their families. You can find it here.

Driving the Sustainability Agenda

I'm learning to drive. I've not done it before for many reasons - cost, time, where I was living, not having a need, saving the environment from unnecessary emissions, fear... But with the amount of jobs I'm seeing requiring 'A Full Clean UK Driving License' I decided to bite the bullet for employment's sake.

I've been practicing in my Mum's car, Daisy, up till now, getting a bit of road experience. Today I went out with a driving instructor for the first time and learnt a lot. It was really interesting to be told why I should and shouldn't do things, rather than just telling me what to do. For instance, don't cross your arms whilst turning because if the airbag deploys you'll have 2 broken arms and a nose pushed back into your brain. I won't forget that in a hurry.

As well as driving to pass my test, it's good to feel like I'm learning to drive well - and with the least possible impact on the environment. Choice of car is a big consideration where emissions are concerned, but my instructor was keen to point out driving style is a significant component too. Braking and accelerating harshly create a lot more emissions and reduce fuel efficiency (costing more money too). Anticipating hazards and responding ahead of time is good for the atmosphere, as well as for the safety of those around you.

If I cant avoid the need to drive completely, at least I might be able to minimise my impact - with a bit of practise!

No More Page 3!

Role models, not topless models, should get media coverage!

A few weeks ago I got an email asking me to vote on whether I thought Girlguiding should support the No More Page 3 campaign - a petition started during Summer 2012 asking the Sun newspaper to remove topless models from their daily pages. It's catalyst was the fact the Page 3 image was the largest piece of coverage of a woman in the paper, on the day that Jessica Ennis had won her gold medal.

The way I and the majority of my peers voted is clearly evident in the outcome of the vote announced on the Girlguiding website today. Leaders not included in the vote (the poll was of the 16-25 year old members) would have voted the same way if their sharing of the news on my Twitter and Facebook feeds this morning is anything to go by!

The motion of support was instigated by a number of members who sit on Girlguiding's Advocate Panel - a group of young women who ensure the voice of girls and young women is being heard. The open letter highlights how seeing women treated as objects on a daily basis undermines the self confidence of girls and young women and calls for the paper to promote more positive female role models.

Their fantastic work has already be covered by the BBC, the Telegraph, Huffington Post, the Express and the Guardian. I wonder if it'll get a write up in the Sun...

If you want to support the campaign, then take at look at the campaign's website and sign the petition today!