None other than Mel C from the Spice Girls visited You Press back in November 2019! Check out this video filmed by Vivid Squad and made by Harvir Lehal to find out what we got up to.. Thank you again to Youth Music for organising this visit.

We collaborated with the Young Westminster Foundation and its ambassadors to assist the charity in supporting the development of young people who are living, studying and working in Westminster. We facilitated workshops to train the Young Ambassadors in expressing themselves about major issues within the community through art. As a result, the ambassadors delivered a spoken word performance at Madame Tussaud London to showcase the rampant social issues prevalent in Westminster. “I love that I was able to express myself through different forms of art.” In the month of Ramadan, You Press hosted its annual Community Dinner at Queen Victoria Seaman’s Rest, a homeless shelter at the East India Docks. The Young Ambassadors dedicated their time to volunteer at the event, serving food and socialising with the residents. “As a Young Ambassador, I’ve learned the importance of the current issues surrounding society.” We also held workshops to assist the Young Ambassadors in planning a Social Action Campaign against youth unemployment by organising an apprenticeship fair in November 2018. The ambassadors contacted various employers, organised the stall arrangement and invited other young people to network at the event. We chose St Andrews Youth Club as the venue for the fair and named the event #ChooseYourApprenticeship. The fair connected young people with various organisations that offered opportunities to further education. “I’ve improved my ability to work alongside others, as well as assess my weaknesses and areas for improvement.” At the start of 2019, we began focusing on the individual Young Ambassadors themselves. We scheduled one-to-one meetings with them to discuss their personal development plans, identify their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT), and set goals to accomplish by the end of the year. “The workshops gave me the opportunity to tap into my creative side.”

‘Fly Between the Lines’ is a creative project by You Press that engages young people across Westminster, Camden, and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. Through storytelling and poetry, it explores social issues impacting youth in these areas. The project’s creative writing program involved workshops where young participants expressed themselves artistically, supported by facilitators who provided exercises to help them craft conscious, impactful pieces. Project Aims The project aimed to give young people a voice, allowing them to explore storytelling and poetry. It not only fostered social inclusiveness but also boosted confidence, empowering participants to share their messages with a wider audience. By the end, young writers were encouraged to continue their artistic journeys and contribute to social cohesion within their communities. Group Values The project established five core values: 1. Perseverance to Achieve 2. Respect 3. Openness 4. Teamwork 5. Fun Themes Explored Participants discussed themes such as: Power, survival, and family Dignity, respect, and acceptance Overcoming challenges like bullying and isolation Conflict, identity, and belonging Each theme inspired characters and scenarios for stories, allowing young writers to explore issues meaningful to them and their communities. About You Press You Press is a London-based social enterprise run by creative artists and volunteers. It supports young writers and poets, empowering them to share their words and art with the world. The organization works to challenge stereotypes, tackle social issues, and promote community cohesion through creative arts and writing. As an organization, You Press is pioneering, specialist, and empowering, with a team that is passionate, cooperative, and professional. Meet the Team Farah Mohammoud - Project Coordinator: A social entrepreneur with six years of experience, he turned a social action campaign into an award-winning social enterprise. Samir Sattar - Project Manager: A writer and journalist with a passion for content creation and editing. Jemilea Wisdom-Baako - Project Facilitator: A British-Jamaican poet and founder of Writerz and Scribez CIC, she uses art as a tool for social change. Anna Hickman - Project Illustrator: A graphic designer with an interest in social causes, specializing in branding and web design. Deanna Tuitt - Project Volunteer: A creative writing graduate who loves creating characters and worlds. Amando Da Costa - Project Filmmaker: An independent filmmaker with experience in promotional material and short films. Katherine Mejia - Project Volunteer: An aspiring engineer who enjoys expressing her creativity through art. Deimante Stankute - Project Photographer: A photographer and videographer passionate about capturing unique perspectives.

In my first university admission interview, the interviewer was baffled as to why I chose International Politics for my course even though I studied the Sciences and Maths for my A-Levels. I answered that I was always interested in global affairs and had some sort of idea on how the world ticks but was never given the opportunity to delve into it in high school or sixth form. I was given a place on that course but little did I know how ignorant I was. This is only a fraction of ideas I studied in university but it is the best way to show my rollercoaster of knowledge. In my first semester of university, I was exposed to Karl Marx’s teachings which galvanised me and turn me into a Marxist sympathiser. I was never taught about Karl Marx in high school and only heard his name once or twice in conversations but I can see why so many people levitated towards his teachings. However, the more I studied him the more contradictions and problems arose as well as the impact it had on global politics even though it was not what Marx envisioned. Stalinism and Maoism, a mixture of Marxism and totalitarianism spoiled Marx’s name in the United States as well as the rest of the Western World. But socialism, if applied like in the Scandinavian countries, can be highly beneficial for the people and the economy. Therefore, I continued with my journey of knowledge which led me to John Maynard Keynes. The Great Depression and the two world wars took a massive toll on the world’s economy in the first half of the Twentieth Century. The rise of communism threatened global capitalism but, Keynes, an eccentric man for his day, devised a plan to combat a shattered global economy by advising governments to have an active role in the economy. To briefly summarise Keynes’ ideas, the government’s job is to push the economy into the right direction when the economy was not doing so well through high spending and low-interest rates but do the opposite when the economy is doing well. This led to the golden age of capitalism with the rise of the middle class. However, Keynes was not alive to solve the 1970s global recession which had the combination of his stagflation and unemployment. This led me to Fredrich Hayek’s neoliberalism, which I think is the most controversial one so far on my list. His idea was simple but revolutionised the global economy, it was deregulation and privatisation of governmental assets. In other words, it was to unshackle the economy from the government. He went as far to privatise all aspects of life including basic utilities like water and healthcare as well as the military where the government drew the line. Nonetheless, I found his ideas the hardest to come to terms with because this made the wealthy even wealthier while punishing the poor. Neoliberalism has been the dominant form of thinking until the 2008 global economic crash, but the repercussions of the crash are still felt today with the rise of nationalistic parties. In my journey of knowledge, one thing I am certain of is that, one theory cannot explain everything which is the reason why governments apply different aspects of different theories and which is why I questioned those who follow one set of theory At the moment, I am more inclined to support some level of controlled capitalism like Keynes but allow the economy to readjust itself naturally without interference from the government or wealthy individuals and companies. By Kaled Abdi Photo by Tegan Mierle on Unsplash #University #Socialism #Keynseian #Capitalism #Politics #Marxism #Education

From my personal involvement in studying/ interning abroad, it’s definitely an unforgettable few months that you will continuously have in the back of your head. But since London is such a large city, sometimes it gave me anxiety and made me feel too overwhelmed to the point that I didn’t explore and manage my time enough. With the crowds of people, public transportation, and the large variety of boroughs within the city, there is an abundance of things to do. I think the main reason I didn’t utilise my time as wisely here is because of not being used to this style of living; I’m used to living in a relaxed and uneventful city in the states which is a huge difference compared to London. Now that my internship is coming to an end and my flight leaves in less than a week, I feel like I’m starting to scramble around to see as much as possible before I depart. Now that it’s too late, I realized that I truly should have planned out my time better while being here in London. Even though I have been here for 7 weeks already, there have just been countless amounts of opportunities and exploration that I didn’t take advantage of. On the positive side, I did tour Parliament, The Tower of London, The Globe Theatre, Banqueting House, Wimbledon and multiple museums throughout my time in London. The point that I’m trying to get across is do not waste time abroad, because before you know it you will be taking off at Heathrow Airport! Take every positive opportunity that you can, and if you don’t, I’m confident that you will regret it when you are gone! Rather than staying inside or sleeping in late, start your day early, and you will realise how much more you can get out of a day. In addition, try to take a few minutes to plan out your day and time manage so that when you have the chance to go explore, you will be prepared and not waste any precious time. Traveling abroad is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so take full advantage of experiencing the different cultures and environment that you are temporarily apart of. If you ever plan to study/intern abroad, I hope you take my suggestions into full consideration. The clock is always ticking, and with the blink of an eye your experience will come to an end. By all means, I’m not saying that I didn’t do anything adventurous while in London; I just didn’t do as much as I potentially could have done. Don’t make the same exact mistake that I made, or you will be disappointed. There are plenty of other things that I want to see and do in London but won’t get the chance at the moment. London is a fantastic place and I hope to come back with a different mentality so that I can get the most out of the trip as humanly possible! Overall, I still truly enjoyed my time here in London and traveling abroad truly helped me grow as a person. To conclude, don’t forget about always time managing and planning to make the most out of a trip because it will quickly be over before you even realize! Photo by Maria Teneva on Unsplash By Drew Parker Nahmias #abroad #Flies #Time

In my first years after joining secondary school, I often found it hard to have confidence in myself; my parents’ evenings were filled with my teachers telling me that I was too quiet in class and people would often ask me to speak up, so they could hear what I was saying. However, after attending drama classes for four years, I feel a lot more confident in myself, and other people have noticed it too; by working on different aspects of yourself and being willing to face challenges, anyone can improve their self-confidence. Self-confidence is defined as: a feeling of trust in one’s abilities, qualities and judgement. Drama is something that can be very helpful when building self-confidence. Low self-confidence is often associated with quietness of speech and a tendency to shy away from the spotlight, but this is something that drama forces you to counteract. When attending drama classes, participants learn how to use breathing to speak with clarity, as well as how to project their voices enough to fill a room. These skills allow you to sound more sure of yourself when you speak, and in time, this may lead you to actually feel more sure of yourself as well. Another aspect of self-confidence that drama can address is improving the way you hold yourself physically. Body language gives people hundreds of subliminal messages, which lead them to form judgements about you, before you’ve even opened your mouth. It is a stereotype for people with low self-confidence to stand with their shoulders hunched and their hands in their pockets, not really realising the effect this has on how confident they appear. Drama encourages you to think about all aspects of the character you are portraying, including the way they stand. Once you get into the habit of focusing on your physicality when acting, it will be easy to transfer this into real life: where previously, you would not have paid much attention to your body’s positioning, after spending so much time working on this in drama classes, you will find that you become more aware of it in general life, which allows you to make changes such as standing up straighter or widening your stance. These make you both appear and feel more self-confident. Lastly, never underestimate the power of ‘fake it ‘til you make it’. This involves approaching situations as if you were a self-confident person, even if you believe you are not. It’s a form of acting and visualisation that you can do in real life, and it can really make a difference. You could give a fake smile when talking about something, to make it seem as if you’re more sure of what you are saying, or you could laugh something embarrassing off, even if you feel uncomfortable on the inside. If you spend enough time practicing your confidence levels, eventually, you will start to believe it and your self-confidence will genuinely improve. By Isabella Davidson

Already stressed for GCSEs, A levels or Uni exams? Here are a few tips that you can use to fight your nerves. PREPARING Revision is probably the most important for exams; you need to know the content! This also improves your confidence when going into the exam room. If you are prepared for the exam, you will feel happier and more ready so don’t think revision and preparation is something you can just skip, it is worth it. However, we all know it can be hard to have the motivation to work and to revise if you don’t really want to. There are different ways you can revise and prepare and it is best to try them all out a bit and find out which one is best for you and which one works best with your revision. You can use revision cards, mind maps, writing and reading notes, practise questions or online tools like quizlet or other apps like IMindMap. The best way to revise is NOT by trying to pull an all-nighter because that does more harm than good. Revising on limited or no sleep does not work because your brain is not processing the information and it is wasting your time. Take short breaks between your studying so you have time to relax and rest. What works for me is short bursts of note-taking and I do about 30 mins and then a 5/10 min ‘tea’ break. I find that this makes my time more effective over the day. I also like to revise and work with my friends because I feel happier around them and they are always there for me to ask for help. As long as you are using the best method of learning for you and not overworking yourself, there is no need to stress because you know you have done the most you could do to give yourself the best possible chance of doing well in your exam. HEALTH It is so important to keep your physical and mental health in check. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water and eating a healthy, balanced diet. Don’t skip meals and try eating superfoods or foods like dark chocolate, nuts, milk, yoghurt and salmon. Chamomile tea is also stress-reducing and for the morning before an exam, why not try some toast with jam or oatmeal for breakfast. Try to exercise to keep fit and happy. Personally, I’m not too keen on running as I don’t like it and I’m not very good but sometimes, I go for a nice walk or play a sport that I enjoy, use this as a break from studying. Don’t over-work yourself or cut out all the other things you want to do, just to spend more time working. Make sure you are getting the appropriate amount of sleep and not too much time on screens like your mobile or laptop. Even though it is hard, I find that not going on social media about 1 or 2 hours before bed helps me go to sleep earlier and easier. LOOKING FOR HELP Sometimes, you might need some extra help, more personal and specific to your stress and why you are stressing. There are several options available but what I find most helpful myself was talking to a parent or friend. Even if they don’t say anything, it is sometimes nice to just empty your mind and thoughts and have someone there to listen. By Sophia Brown

Recently, I went on a trip to America to visit my grandparents; I have been going to the US for this purpose ever since I was little, but as I have grown up and become more aware of my surroundings, I have started to notice the subtle differences that are present between the two countries. This includes the types of social interaction that occur, as well as differences in the meaning of common words. One difference that jumped out at me was the fact that the average American person just seems to be much more friendly than their English counterpart. This is showcased in situations such as when going into a shop (which they normally call a ‘store’), where a customer need only walk in the door for the shop assistant to make them feel welcome by immediately asking if they need help with finding anything specific. I was so unused to this that it actually made me feel a bit awkward when I had to tell them that I just wanted to look around, since in the UK, you are free to browse without the bother of having to talk to anyone. In addition to this, even when I did not buy anything before leaving the shop, I was always told to ‘have a nice day’ by this stranger who I had never even spoken to before. Having returned back to the UK, I now feel a bit offended that people no longer wish for my day to be a nice one. Another difference was the food/establishments that serve food. For one thing, America contains a very large number of ‘drive-thrus’- something that is quite rare in England. While some may think the reason for this is our love for proper spelling, it’s more likely to be the fact that Americans have a tradition of ‘road trips’ (where people travel by car through multiple different states within the USA). The UK does not have this in quite the same way, as it is physically a much smaller country, therefore, people do not spend as much time in their cars for leisurely travel purposes as Americans do, so would be less likely to treat themselves to a stop at a drive-thru McDonalds along the way. The final difference that I will address is the discrepancies between seemingly well-known words; it’s quite surprising to see just how many differences there are, even though both countries speak the same language, albeit ‘American-English versus British-English’. For example, my grandma would refer to her ‘pocketbook’: saying that she needed to get it from inside, and then emerging with her handbag, while I had been imagining that she meant some kind of small novel. Another interesting language difference is their use of the word ‘bathroom’, i.e. this is used to refer to what we in Britain would normally call the ‘toilet’ or the ‘loo’. Apparently, using the word ‘toilet’ is seen as vulgar, so ‘bathroom’ is substituted, even when the room in question does not actually contain a bath. By Isabella Davidson

Are you looking for volunteering or other things you can do to improve your work experience or your CV? Maybe you want to learn and explore new skills or find a way of giving back to your community. There is such a variety of options and activities that there is always something that appeals to everyone. LIBRARY I started volunteering and working with my local library because I love books. I love being around them and organising them! I often found myself in the childrens’ section of the library and helping children read and enjoy their books. I enjoyed this because the happiness and excitement on their faces after having read a good book is indescribable and made me feel happy myself. Due to the fact that some children were more keen than others when telling me about how they enjoyed their reading, I thought of it as a task for me to try and encourage them and get them to tell me more. For anyone who likes books, I would recommend going down to your local library and ask the staff if they want to volunteer. Most can be flexible and you can do whatever time or day(s) suits you best. NURSING HOME For those more interested in a medical or caring future and career, you will find it useful to volunteer at an old-people’s or nursing home. It is so important for elderly or sick people to have a peaceful and kind environment to live in and it is also rewarding to be a part of the team who make that happen. Just talking to people is much appreciated and you can have a personal relationship with those at the care home. When I visited one locally, I discovered that there are fun trips that take place regularly for the people there and when visiting the home as a volunteer, you can colour pictures with them, read them the news or just talk to them. Notable skills you will pick up are patience, communication and listening. It can give you great people skills as you are forced to be friendly and talk to people which will build confidence. SOUP KITCHEN If cooking is more your thing then why not try working evenings in a soup kitchen to help the homeless. Every week, people come to work together in a kitchen to make meals so that those who can’t afford to make their own meal can eat properly. You can work either as a chef in the kitchen or serving the food to the many thankful people. It is an often eye-opening experience and teaches a lot about other people who are living on the streets and others who need the help. Soup is not the only food served there and the Christmas dinner is always impressive and delicious. Is it a way of bringing people together and giving you confidence; after preparing the food, you will join and sit with the people and enjoy the food you have made. By Sophia Brown

In high school, I was taught about Thomas Malthus’s theory of population in my GCSE geography class. We were taught that Malthus theorized population growth will surpass food production so there will be a point of crisis where we cannot sustain the population. At the time, we did not delve deeper into this theory and only compare it to Ester Boserup’s agricultural intensification theory which theorized food supply will support population growth so every time humans get close to the point of crisis, technological advancement will find alternatives to meet the demands. However, we were not taught about the consequences of Malthus’ theory and the devastation it caused. This justified several governments actions to allow mass starvation to occur like the Bengal Famine of 1943. Nevertheless, I did not critically analyse or even questioned Malthus’ theory until I reached university when we were having a debate on the repercussions of theories to real people’s lives. There were two lessons I learnt from this, first I had more freedom to study and analyse different theories which were limited in high school. Secondly, I believe I knew or had enough knowledge about geography and history to participate in debates but what we were taught in high school was only the surface. The problem we have in the United Kingdom is secondary level education is not only enough to get a decent paying job but also really limited in the scope teachers could teach us. To be fair, teenagers are not known for their attention span but the way we were taught was arguably boring and curriculum is mostly to blame. It was not until university I learnt about Marx, Plato, Keynes, Hayek, Friedman to name a few. Ideas that literally shaped the world and yet in high school we were taught about British royalty instead of the pioneers of the time. On the other hand, without the strict rules and timetable of high school, we were given a lot of freedom in university and the attendance of the class drop considerably after the first week. Additionally, we were expected to study the material that was given to us as well as do further research because lecturers only introduce us to the concept and ideas. To conclude, critical thinking should be at the forefront of high school education to allow students to question and explore various historical events that shaped the world we live in. But more importantly, high schoolers need to be taught on how to develop their critical thinking outside the scope of classrooms and into their everyday lives. By Kaled Ahmed Abdi Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

This project is for young people aged 16-30 to develop their public speaking skills and confidence. Coordinated in partnership with expert workshop facilitators, the training will run for 10 weeks, starting on the 15th of November What will the training cover? Some of the areas that this programme will explore are: Understanding why so many people fear public speaking; Identifying different types of public speaking scenarios; Preparing a speech or presentation; Adapting your speech to different audiences; Holding audience attention; Reflecting on a speech and responding to feedback. Throughout the course of the training, you will have opportunities to practice your public speaking skills in a safe and friendly environment, supported by our expert facilitators. How long is the programme? The programme is completely FREE and will take place over 10 weeks both online and in person. We will be starting the training on the 15th of November. How do I apply? This training is for young people living, working or studying in West London who are aged 16-30. Not sure if you can take part? Send us an email (to the address below) with your enquiry, your name and a contact number and we will get back to you. hal@youpress.org.uk

You most likely heard the saying ‘Patience is the Key to Success’ which is practiced irrelevant to the social, religious, ethnic, gender or any other factors that differentiate people. One who’s patient tends to be happier according to some scientific studies which are linked to why older people tend to be happier. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, patience is defined as “the ability to wait , or to continue doing something despite difficulties , or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed ” where any person would have experienced these emotions. But in high school, teachers emphasised being patience is taking your time, for instance, use the whole time set during an exam so you could thoroughly answer all the questions to the best of your ability or when moving from one place to another, take your time so this will not cause any disruptions or accidents. Therefore, there was a recurring theme I experienced with patience in high school which was take the time to think before you act. This meant take myself out of that moment in time and view my actions whether they are justified or not. This allowed me to control my anger to an extent but this was only the peak of the iceberg about the teaching of patience. There are countless research and scholarly articles on patience and the benefits it has on a person’s mental and physical state which is not taught properly in high school at least when I attended not long ago. Probably due to the fact, a child would not have the mental readiness to understand the situation they are in plus they probably despise listening to another lecture, therefore, it’s better to show than tell. When I was faced with a problem as a child, either in a game or a real-life situation, I would usually find the easiest route to the solution but if I can’t, I would give up. However, my attitude change over the years, instead of giving up, I kept on trying even if it meant leaving my comfort zone for example when forced to do a math equation in front of the class that I got it wrong at first, I kept on trying. However, there is a difference between being patient and wasting your time. Just waiting for an opportunity instead of working towards it is procrastination which is a serious problem that many people have especially amongst university students because they are given the freedom to use their time as they want. Hence, instead of completing an assignment or Being patient with people is by far one of the most difficult things to do because not only you are investing the precious time you have in them, the end result could leave you disappointed. On the other hand, being patient with them could lead to a long-lasting healthier relationship but this does not mean you should be patient in a toxic relationship. The most difficult aspect of being patient is with yourself. No one is perfect and everyone does mistakes which is why being patient with yourself could lead to success. This means no matter what difficulties you face, you should keep on trying to succeed. By Kaled Ahmed Abdi