There was a moment on Monday the 25th November (the final day before the voter registration deadline) where a screenshot of the government’s online portal tracking registration numbers dropped in the office Whatsapp. It read that 18-25s were going ham – registering to vote in their thousands, closely followed by their millennial counterparts. It really seemed like this might be the youth election. But in spite of this, some of the parties which we heard young people rave about, which had mobilised some young people, faced devastating loses.
What we want to make clear was that this was, and always will be, a youth election. Across the country and through the digital stratosphere, young people tuned in and turned up in their thousands. It displays that the Political sphere can be, and increasingly will be, for and of young people.
The mission of Beatfreeks will remain the same: to dare people to use creativity to challenge the ways of the world. Through our Youth Trends research; through our formal political role as Secretariat for the APPG on Democratic Participation; by bridging the gap between big brands and young people; by using theatre to express democracy; and in developing art activists – Beatfreeks will platform. Beatfreeks will listen. Beatfreeks will mobilise action.
Whilst there is no doubt of ‘the Politics’ happening yesterday – politics happens every day, in every piece of work we do. So, as one big – and no doubt massively important – piece of Politics draws to a close; millions of other smaller, but no less important, pieces begin. There is power in politics of the everyday, like there is power in number 10. Go out, find it and participate.
Beatfreeks Collective