Onjali Rauf ‘The Nightbus Hero’

Alex Rush is a 15-year-old from Rochdale. He believes the media negatively stereotypes young working class lads like him but he’s passionate about making positive change in his community. Alex is a young activist with Manchester-based Reclaim, a youth leadership and social change organisation that supports working-class young people. Alex shares how the pandemic has impacted him as a working class young person. Alex’s parents are both key workers, working on the frontline and Alex asks has enough been done to ensure that key workers are seen as the indispensable workforce they are?
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Onjali is an award-winning children’s author; her debut book The Boy At the Back of the Class won the Blue Peter’s Children’s Book of the Year 2019 and Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2019. Her second book The Star Outside My Window, focuses on the tragic impacts of domestic violence on the lives of children. Onjali’s third book The Night Bus Hero explores themes of bullying and homelessness, while celebrating kindness. Onjali shares the story behind her book, and how we can take action against homelessness at a time where it’s more important than ever to have a home. 

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Electrician by day, Craig set up Men Unite one morning in 2019 before work. He wanted to give some friends an outlet to speak and not be judged. Men Unite is a closed Facebook group to help men deal with any issues they face; suicidal thoughts, depression, anxiety, addiction, debt, bereavement. They now have over 12,000 members in 78 countries with volunteers around the world so there’s a person available to chat 24 hours a day. In this talk he describes the impact of lockdown on men’s mental health and how online networks like Men Unite are providing a vital connection.

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7-year-old Nylah had a very memorable experience of lockdown. She performed her poem ‘Black’, inspired by rapper Dave’s song, in front of over 5000 people at the Black Lives Matter protest in Cheltenham. Nylah’s poem centres around self-love and her own experience of being Black with pride. Videos of her performance have been watched by millions, and reposted by celebrities like Missy Elliott and platforms like NAACP, NowThis, BBC, Al-Jazeera. Nylah performs some of her poetry, and speaks to Jude about what it means to be young, gifted and black. 

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Dom’s 13 year old daughter, Issy, was diagnosed with rare bone cancer in 2011. Issy’s treatment was characterised by two extremes; the fantastic care she received, but also feeling isolated, unable to receive accessible information about what would happen to her. As MD of Corporation Pop, a digital innovation agency, Dom wanted to use his professional skills to address the problem and so his company is building the world’s first healthcare app to use augmented reality, gamification and artificial intelligence to deliver health information directly to children. Xploro App (previously Patient’s Virtual Guide) aims to reduce the stress and anxiety associated with hospitalisation and improve the health literacy of children. Join in the conversation online using #BeingtheStory

Marina is an award-winning journalist who responded to the invasion of Iraq, by collecting narratives of people who’ve lived through injustice and tragedy, yet sought forgiveness not revenge. This formed The Forgiveness Project, a charity using the experiences of victims and perpetrators to explore reconciliation. Marina believes sharing real stories of transformation reaches across rifts to create a new story. This work has led to Marina speaking at the UN and featuring in film documentary Beyond Right and Wrong. In 2015 Marina published her book ‘The Forgiveness Project: Stories for a Vengeful Age’.

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East-London based Creative Director and Rapper, Ric Flo uses rap to explore his own experience in foster care and create positive change for young people with experience of the care system. Ric uses creative workshops to inspire young people, while creating his own music with Hip-hop Collective Jungle Brown. Ric encourages young people to use their voice, stating “It’s the most powerful tool of amplification we have and in the presence of no fear, anything is possible and I want young people to know that”. 

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Simeon Moore and Dylan Duffus were members of rival Birmingham gangs. They were brought together by award-winning filmmaker Penny Woolcock for the documentary One Mile Away. Simeon and Dylan are now advocates for young people, working together to tackle what they see as the glamorisation of gang culture through their YouTube channel DatsTV. Simeon and Dylan describe their journeys and the impact participating in the film had on both them and their community. They share their vision of how we can best tackle youth violence and provide young people with an alternative vision. Join in the conversation online using #BeingtheStory

Life begins at 70 chief geezer Ray says. The Geezers are a group of east-end pensioners changing the way we see ageing, creating local change and bringing older men together with fun socialising. They have undertaken numerous intergenerational projects, notably a series of films made with young people in their area, which won an Institute of Community Cohesion award and featured in the Sunday Telegraph. They’re not afraid to bare all with the campaign ‘Where’s My Boozer Gone?’ seeing them produce a ‘naked calendar’ raising awareness about the loss of local pubs. Join in the conversation online using #BeingtheStory

Onjali has been a self declared feminist from the age of seven, specialising in Women’s Studies at the University of Wales and Oxford University. In 2011 her aunt was murdered by the husband she had been trying to escape for five years, highlighting systematic failures in the UK to tackle the abuse of women. Determined to honour her Aunt’s memory, Onjali established Making Herstory, working across the UK supporting women’s shelters and outreach projects. Onjali tells her story of unexpected journeys and why there is no such thing as an action too small. Join in the conversation online using #BeingtheStory