So we're doing this photography competition with Ctrl.Alt.Shift, a community fighting against poverty and injustice. We decided to drop in on editor Neil Boorman and ask him about how to engage young people with urgent issues like gender, power and poverty.Vice: What's the best way to engage young people with the issues that Ctrl.Alt.Shift are trying to highlight?
Neil Boorman: The best way to engage people with world issues is to not make it a chore. All that pleading on telethons, those charity muggers rattling collection tins; its all so irritating that it turns you off. And we've become immune to all those pictures of kids starving in the desert. We've all donated money to those causes before and nothing seems to change why should people bother? Ctrl.Alt.Shift is trying to highlight the issues in a more appealing way, so you actually want to take action, and feel like you're having an effect - like going out to India with Nan Golding and the Vice team to shoot the problems and bring them back home. That's more effective than shoving 50p in a collection box.Do you think that young people these days are more or less aware of issues like poverty and gender inequality?
I think we're more aware about the issues than ever - but we feel so powerless to do anything about it that we just switch off. You can't blame people for opting out and going off the rails, because it all seems so bleak, and its all seems out of our control. Knife crime is a symptom of that. But we can take control. It won't be long before all the idiots that are currently in charge are retired, and we'll be in charge. You just need to seize the day. Why did you want the competition to focus on gender issues?
The photo competition focuses on gender because globally, women are the poorest, most marginalised members of the society. Half the world's community are prevented from reaching their full potential because they're either married off as children, or physically abused, trafficked and killed off before they're even born. We want to highlight this situation with the photo competition and remind people what's happening on the other side of the world.* To find out more about the photography competition go here.
Neil Boorman: The best way to engage people with world issues is to not make it a chore. All that pleading on telethons, those charity muggers rattling collection tins; its all so irritating that it turns you off. And we've become immune to all those pictures of kids starving in the desert. We've all donated money to those causes before and nothing seems to change why should people bother? Ctrl.Alt.Shift is trying to highlight the issues in a more appealing way, so you actually want to take action, and feel like you're having an effect - like going out to India with Nan Golding and the Vice team to shoot the problems and bring them back home. That's more effective than shoving 50p in a collection box.Do you think that young people these days are more or less aware of issues like poverty and gender inequality?
I think we're more aware about the issues than ever - but we feel so powerless to do anything about it that we just switch off. You can't blame people for opting out and going off the rails, because it all seems so bleak, and its all seems out of our control. Knife crime is a symptom of that. But we can take control. It won't be long before all the idiots that are currently in charge are retired, and we'll be in charge. You just need to seize the day. Why did you want the competition to focus on gender issues?
The photo competition focuses on gender because globally, women are the poorest, most marginalised members of the society. Half the world's community are prevented from reaching their full potential because they're either married off as children, or physically abused, trafficked and killed off before they're even born. We want to highlight this situation with the photo competition and remind people what's happening on the other side of the world.* To find out more about the photography competition go here.