I'm a young campaigner from Sheffield!
From a very young age, I have been passionate about youth democratic empowerment and climate justice - I tried extremely hard to get involved in local decision making and since then I have loved campaigning for causes I find important in my city, in the UK and beyond.
I'm newly 20 and study at the University of Bristol, doing Economics and Politics, but have been involved in youth voice for just over eight years now. It's been an absolute joy to feel as though I can have power and a stake in terms of decision making that impacts me and much of my work since has been around ensuring more and more young people can seize their own political agency.
What am I passionate about?
The main topics I am active on are climate justice and environmental education, using arts as an instrument to change policy, metropolitan governance, and public transport planning and accessibility.
I have been a part of/helped start multiple campaigns, firms and charities, including Teach the Future (teachthefuture.uk), the Regional Youth Climate Assembly (ryca.uk), A Fleet for Change (afleetforchange.org), and Climate Live (climatelive.org). I have also been a trade unionist since the age of 14 and have been a regional youth rep for Unite.
What do I actually do?
I have worked in a variety of industries throughout the third sector. My skills and achievements include:
· Coordinating successful campaigns, especially those relevant to climate action or young people - I helped secure £1b of government funding for public building retrofitting in the Autumn 2020 budget, and getting the concessionary fare in South Yorkshire extended to 21-year-olds through the Zoom Beyond Travel Pass
· Securing governmental funding and grants for impactful projects - I supported on a successful £78k UKRI grant for sustainable innovation in transport.
· Political communications - writing copy and developing resources such as websites and social media posts for political organisations and representatives, including Members of Parliament
· Public speaking - I spoke in Parliament age 14 about the link between class and climate action, and was the youngest ever event facilitator at a UN event when I hosted an event on youth democracy and climate action at COP26
· Academic writing and research - I have been published in multiple journals on topics such as environmental economics, climate education and youth empowerment
I also enjoy things!
Alongside a lot of my more formal work, there's a lot of other things I love doing:
· My course at university includes a year studying abroad, so I am hoping to move to Lisbon in the year beginning September 2025! I speak Portuguese relatively proficiently, but hopefully this will allow me to do more work in Portuguese language settings properly.
· I help run the University of Bristol Wild Swimming society, where me and over 200 members go out swimming in lakes and rivers whilst trying to raise awareness around water safety, both for people and the environment (Our Instagram - Bristol Uni Wild Swim). I am hoping to undertake a triathlon in 2025 to support our group and the work of the RNLI
· I'm a huge live music lover, going to gigs since a young age and now having worked in the sector. I boxed for a while and now I'm doing Jiu Jitsu! I'm currently training to be a beach lifeguard. I'm also a huge public transport fan and hoping to make a few videos in future about different networks across the world!
