This blog collection is dedicated to people who are changing our society for the better. I feel privileged to know them and to have worked with them.
If I ever risk losing hope, I only have to think of them and their work to regain it.
Samuel Remi-Akinwale is 20 years old. His life has been spent in two countries – first in Nigeria then in the UK where he undertook all his secondary education. I first met him aged 15 when he was part of RECLAIM project’s leadership and social change programme. It took 10 minutes of conversation with Samuel for me to understand that here was someone who really was going to change the world we lived in for the better. 5 years later he is well on the way to achieving this.
A social activist who has been a Youth Council and Parliament member and has been taken part in the UN Youth Assembly and One Young World, Samuel is currently studying Politics at Kings College London. He is President of their Student Action for Refugees (STAR) society and an active member of We Belong, a group representing younger people who have migrated to the UK. He is also creating ‘Interrupted’, which is capturing and communicating the experiences of younger refugees and migrants to the UK via an anthology of stories. These are people who have contributed massively to UK society, yet are often being treated unfairly and left questioning where to consider home. They are students considered ineligible for student finance and required to pay triple the level of university fees of fellow UK students.
Samuel would really appreciate support from anyone who has experience in publishing or advocacy for policy changes, especially with immigration. (See his contact details below).
In a recent interview, Samuel said:
‘It’s about the principles you live by, making sure that you are the change you want to see. Just embody the values of love, compassion and actually stand by the things you say. Let’s just be very honest with ourselves and let’s not be ignorant to the fact that activism is a privileged thing. Some people can’t change their lifestyle because it’s financially difficult. Just be true to your values, represent it everywhere you go and stand for what you believe in – because if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.’
You can contact Samuel by email: samuel.remiakinwale@gmail.com
Follow Samuel on Twitter: @akinwale_remi