Ambivalent citizenship
The meaning of citizenship is a matter of an ongoing academic discussion. However, for politicians, it is such a clear notion. Its meaning changes depending on political agenda or ideology.
Posted on: 9 October 2018
Writing citizenship
In April 2018, with a very heavy heart, I worked my final day at the homelessness organisation I’d been with for six years. Along with the proliferation of tedious admin tasks that come with the end of employment, I’d purposefully saved one very special job until last, and, being the sentimentalist that I am, was determined to relish it.
Posted on: 9 October 2018
Living citizenship
We, as individuals, intersect many roles in our lives. For example, I am a mother, a wife, a daughter, an academic, an employee, a student, a friend, a colleague, a citizen.
Posted on: 9 October 2018
Citizens of Everywhere… in the Community: Perspectives on a Workshop
Citizens of Everywhere recently ran a workshop with Moving On With Life and Learning (MOWLL), a Liverpool-based charity that supports adults and young people with learning disabilities and mental health concerns. The 90-minute session, devised by a group of PhD students from the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester and Liverpool Hope, was designed to be a creative way in which to discuss the meaning of citizenship and definitions of Britishness with members of the local community.
Posted on: 14 August 2018
A Poem for the Citizens of Liverpool
The following poem was produced during a recent Citizens of Everywhere workshop with Liverpool-based charity Moving On With Life and Learning (MOWLL). The organisation caters to adults with learning disabilities, acquired brain injuries and mental health concerns, offering them the support to access vital services, and educational and creative opportunities in the city.
Posted on: 16 July 2018
Christmas Dinner
Each time I re-read Theresa May’s infamous speech on citizenship, I’m left with no words. There are many eloquent responses on this blog to May’s speech. If I may, I’m simply going to use this space to let you know about a project which I think exemplifies the actual meaning of citizenship.
Posted on: 23 November 2017
Animal
Ever since pre-Hispanic times the jaguar has moved freely between worlds, roaming between night and day, between earth and spirit realm.
Posted on: 26 July 2017
Power Mediated: Three Poems from Brussels
Not long after moving to Brussels, I read these words of John Berger: ‘[In Livorno,] I discovered that I wanted as little as possible to do in this world with those who wield power.
Posted on: 26 June 2017
Nothing is Wasted: A Radical Bookseller’s View of Hope
What is the role of a bookshop in these troubled times? One author recently showed an astounding misunderstanding by asserting that a bookshop's stock should present opposing views, that for a bookseller to choose their stock implies censorship of the books not chosen.
Posted on: 28 April 2017