Get inspired to make change

Campaigning for racial equality in Wales

Angel Ezeadum was the Member of the UK Youth Parliament for Cardiff and was elected as the first Member of the Welsh Youth Parliament representing Race Council Cymru. She used her platform to make impactful contributions to the Welsh Youth Parliament’s proceedings and to call for Black and People of Colour’s histories to be made a mandatory part of Wales’s new school curriculum.

Alongside campaigners who led a petition to the Education Minister, which received almost 35,000 signatures and was debated in the Senedd, she helped persuade the Welsh Government to more explicitly require that diverse communities, in particular the stories of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people, are a mandatory part of the curriculum.

Today, too many black school children are victims of a lack of black history in the school’s curriculum. Too often student’s first exposure to black history occurs through the study of slavery. Too often, Africans are portrayed in schools as savage, barbaric people.

Diligent and politically astute campaigning by many people and organisations, with young people and people with lived experience having agency and the opportunity to make their voices heard, succeeded in contributing to a significant policy change from the Welsh Government. This was a challenge, because the Welsh Government had been firm in its position until that point, and the Coronavirus pandemic was taking up most of the political and media agendas.

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Childhood nutrition champion

Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United and England football star, has transcended the boundaries of the football pitch to become a leading advocate for childhood nutrition in the UK. Born and raised in Wythenshawe, Manchester, Marcus has drawn from his own experiences growing up in a low-income household to passionately campaign for free school meals for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

In June 2020, Marcus successfully pressured the UK Government to extend its free school meals program over the summer holidays, ensuring vulnerable children continued to receive essential nutrition support during the COVID-19 pandemic. His relentless advocacy efforts have shed light on the issue of food poverty and prompted a national conversation about the importance of addressing systemic inequalities.

Dream big and work harder than anyone else to achieve it.

Marcus’s dedication to tackling child hunger has earned him widespread praise and recognition, including an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to vulnerable children during the pandemic. Despite facing criticism and setbacks along the way, Marcus Rashford remains steadfast in his commitment to levelling the playing field for all children, regardless of their socio-economic background.

Through his influential platform and tireless activism, Marcus Rashford has not only transformed the lives of countless children but has also inspired a wave of solidarity and compassion across the UK and beyond.

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Learning from inspirational women

A young woman activist from Newport campaigns on women’s rights and the environment with a focus on ensuring everyone has a voice. She wants to amplify the voices of diverse groups and create a place where everyone is heard.

My activism is largely down to my Mum and Nan and learning about women who paved the way. I want to continue to push their legacy.

In 2021, Poppy Stowell-Evans joined a recreation of the 1981 Greenham Common peace march. To mark 40 years since the historic walk, a group of people, including Greenham women, followed in their footsteps on what Poppy described as a feminist soul retreat. She met inspirational women who helped her develop her own confidence. The Greenham women told her they’d disagreed on many things but had shared goals and passions. They showed Poppy how mobilising can create real change.

Everyone has different life experience and ways of seeing the world; we can’t fix problems until we understand them.

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A force for environmental activism

At just 18 years old, Greta Thunberg has become a global icon for climate activism. Born in Sweden in 2003, Greta first gained international attention in 2018 when, at the age of 15, she started skipping school to protest outside the Swedish Parliament, demanding stronger action against climate change. Her solitary strike quickly evolved into the Fridays for Future movement, inspiring millions of students worldwide to join her in weekly climate strikes.

Greta’s unwavering dedication to raising awareness about the urgent need for climate action has earned her numerous accolades and honours, including being named Time magazine’s Person of the Year in 2019. Despite facing criticism and backlash from some quarters, she remains resolute in her mission to hold governments and corporations accountable for their role in exacerbating the climate crisis.

Greta’s speeches at international forums, including the United Nations Climate Action Summit, have captivated audiences and spurred leaders into action. Her straightforward yet powerful messages resonate with people of all ages, urging them to recognise the gravity of the climate emergency and take meaningful steps to address it. As Greta Thunberg continues to advocate for climate justice, her impact reverberates globally, reminding us all of the crucial role each individual plays in safeguarding the planet for future generations.

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