The Forgotten Generation with Mark Brashier

Hello everyone and welcome to the Forgotten Generation Podcast hosted by Choi Jujubanga. This podcast is about empathising people's voices and the journey's set on. I am joined by Mark who is an hour ambassador for Northern Ireland but also a youth activist who would like to introduce yourself. Yes of course so I'm Mark Brasher. I'm one of the Stinchingian Presidents for the Toy Toy 5 6 academic year. North Ireland 6 for the Education Colleges. Alongside this I'm also an I will ambassador and an active volunteer with a number of charities. H.A. Ming to make their own positive impact in the wider community. And for this tiny bit of promotion for Troy but for those who maybe haven't heard anything before I was also on the podcast for I will week, toy toy 5. Absolutely yes you are, but it's so good to have you on this episode and today. And so what is your youth action? I'm going to say primary social action is around student voice, student advocacy. Basically all things students in the Tercery Education sector would be the most simplest primary explanation. That's great. What like I'm an inspired you to make a difference and be who you are at today in your journey? So it's really just been the journey which start years ago with the Army cadet force actually. I joined it as soon as I could at 12 went through that program. It gave me discipline, confidence, resilience. And basically what means to be a part of something bigger than yourself. And then from that I took a number of lessons from that. No, how do you to work with people from lots of different backgrounds, beliefs and all that. And then as much as I enjoyed that where I am today really will start in the 23, toy tie for academic year when I was elected as international students officer for our Banger campus in my student union. Then campus president for the following academic year before now serving as union president for this academic year, which has been a huge set of steps and to work on a bigger scale and work on issues that actually matter like tackling violence against women and girls in Northern and from all these rules. I've seen firsthand how young people and students when listen to property can achieve more, which is why I'm running for reelection in my local union. And then on top of that I also do the likes of being ambassador for the I will movement, which the role really connects strongly with what already happening in students fear, but then expanding on that and adding network. That message is really important for many young people who have the ideas, the energy to lead, the energy to make change the passion. It just it's about the right having the right platform really. Yeah, looking back, everything can start around the army cadets, but then developed with the student union them into fundamentally something meaningful. And I still carry all the lessons from all my experiences, but that's my personal story. Hopefully lots of people can draw upon small little things. And exactly, I did done so much in a journey like you're now a ambassador, you'll be part of the cadets. But I also touched on about you and petiton. And what did it like and being part of that for so many as students who want to have that boys? So it would be what's a few things. First of all, just having that privilege to have been trusted and elected for the role. So just having that in my subconscious. But it's really positive because you get to meet so many different people across all the campuses. My union is a part we work in all of the colleges campuses and the college currently has seven sites. So meeting all those different types of people with different backgrounds, different beliefs all the way from the north of County Dine all the way Dine to the likes of Newcastle, which is more southern near the Northern border, for example. So being able to meet all those across community backgrounds, but then even just meeting people in my own campus who have a different experience to my own because something is fundamentally different, which is giving them background them. I love that. I love how I was so much that you've done as a union person for voting people. I think it's so inspiring. I think you're so much for sharing that. As well as being one barrier, you face as a union person, as a changemaker, make and change in the community and wider. I would have to say that as a young changemaker, it would probably be with my neurodiverse diagnosis. I'm not going to specifics on, you know, like which one specifically, but basically for me, it's the likes of social cues and likes of that. I can process differently from others. For myself, it's not like the stereotypes or the common things like Santa Yoverload or needing as much time to recharge from social settings. Specifically, the socials recharge. I'm quite lucky with with being union president, but does take extra effort to read the room, especially in fast paced environments, so meetings, debates, networking, likes that. It does kind of like still things learn. So building those quick connections, especially when like leading change in the colleges, governance. I might miss read or someone else may miss read because I'm not sure how to process the information. And then I also just randomly decode what's said, which is very distracting when it actually isn't necessary in the moment. But with that, it does have its positives, though, because you're able to build a sense of resilience, push to make things clear, especially with different aspects like communication. It's basically turning challenge where possible into a strength. As union president, for example, turn that strength into a wider strength for the movement. And exactly, and it's just so important to highlight both like, I'm those in people who might struggle with social cues, but also are taking information, because I know I'm like that where I have to like take what's information. Actually, I'm going to have things broken down in smaller chunks. I mean, it kind of helps me with like, some different things like meetings or public speaking, because it can be a lot of content. And I'm sure you have found it very hard sometimes. I'm maybe being in front of people and trying to like and do the things that you do as a union president, but for those people who might not understand your needs. Yeah, definitely. And have you ever felt sometimes it's hard for them to understand like, I'm what you go for him? It really depends on who you're specifically talking to, because nine days more than ever, everything, basically, not just neurodiverse conditions, or well, knocking that, you know, those things what you live with, it's not just the neurodiverse aspect, but just a broad range of things that people live with. Everything is statistically higher than what was maybe a hundred years ago. So you never know who you're going to be speaking with, but then the people who do you have that understanding, you do tend to know us that they do understand because they live with it as well, compared to those who haven't. It really just depends, but generally, especially in the shunjun, we're most if not all of us who are elected officers do have that understanding. So I'm happy to say that for at least my union at this stage we do understand and support your diversity. But it's just you know wider community understanding would be the biggest thing. Absolutely, I'm so proud that your union very much understands about diversity as I've explained before and that's what I think needs to be highlighted from across unions. Like it's so important to help those like immersion people who actually go through that and like about like union officers and work and also like I'm also in people in college. So like I get the right support and I get the right needs met for them. So thank you so much for sharing it now. And so what are the issues you think and people are facing right now and what would be your hope for Azure Jamaica's and professionals and to do better to part in our voice? In terms of the student voice and student voice in my aspect is from the ages 16 and onward. So it does also significantly include youth voice but with students specifically there is a huge huge variety of things because there's localized issues that maybe Northern Ireland is only experiencing or Scotland's only experiencing or could be more systemic issues. But off the top my head I'm just go say three of the more prominent issues that I commonly note on a day to day basis in Northern Ireland would be further education, student union funding as well as just funding for further education in general as well as rising violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland and 98% of women have report experiencing some kind of abuse and then there's just a lack of collaboration between further education colleges, well specifically their shins unions. Diving a wee bit more deep into each of those three so Fee unions lack ringfanced funding so that's a huge pressure especially when you know neighbouring universities so in Northern we've got Queen's University Belfast and also university. Queen's University they have a exponentially larger budget than ours both you need to and but with Queen specifically if I recall it's about a million times larger than ours after staff costs were left between about two thousand to three thousand point to make decisions and support the shins voice for the entire academic year and so decade Fee union funding so that we can support a variety of issues so period poverty awareness on things like near diversity, tackling violence against women girls with our Green Dot program is an overshadowing issue and then with the Green Dot campaign and that ties nicely into tackling violence against women girls so it is quite rampant and we cannot really ignore it you know it is there it is an issue it needs to be addressed as soon as possible so my shins union as well as all the other unions um sign the all-student university shins union charter on tackling violence against women girls in Northern Ireland and then earlier this academic year we launched our Green Dot by standard intervention campaign and I do have to give a quick shout to the 225 26th St Union team as well as our women's officer for our banger campus for the support on both the wider campaign and the Green Dot campaign as well as the 224 25 elected team for the all-student university shins union charter work but um professionals should amplify these within uh local and student efforts uh and giving more resource and uh backing to these and then the final point I'd mentioned was the intercollege shins union collaboration and so I've been in the movement since 2023 and from this I've seen that FE unions uh in NUSSI uh for context NUSSI is the national union issue in shins union shins in Ireland um but basically other FE unions barely talk despite you know everyone's best efforts um so there's official and unofficial chats between the union presence for example for the north uh and decisions um they require that structure but it's just not really there I and that kind of plays into the overshadowing with funding and so everything does tie in together in some way uh but there's that lack of FA communication um and then that just knocks into everything so I urge professionals policy makers to listen actively some do thankfully others don't um to it's basically fun the platforms properly and create spaces where local solutions and wider hood solutions can be formulated made an action not just you know advise for example um because when actions are you know being taken in hand that's how you can then make voices count them and exactly and I absolutely don't agree on what you have said um and especially against like a violinist gets women and girls but that is a very important topic but kind of just get talked about as much but also I feel like it lacks a part with because a lot of girls are going through a lot of like um um safety trouble in the community maybe that like in the streets um maybe at night and we go off somewhere um and maybe something happens but like um and it shouldn't happen though and everyone should feel safe in the community and I think we need to tackle back a bit more or when you forget those policy makers as your makers more understanding of these issues um and you also feel like I'm I'm touching about like kind of further education and further education is so important for those people who want to get to further education they want to do more stuff um academic work and I feel like there needs to be more funding but it's the couple like less funding which is very sad because a lot of them have so much of potential to go out of their way and have a dream career that want to go in or maybe they want to do something but like have a bay bank have that they want to really push to but when they's that funding and they's actually poor which like which is really not much is there yeah um so I'll I mean do I actually just point back on the points you've said just with some more information for those listening and so as I mentioned earlier um 98% of women report so that management and on a self report not everyone reports everything um so no not everyone reports when they've seen something to the place for example and it's you know it could be a variety of reasons and why you choose not to report but 98% do report and then there's the unreported numbers um and then that um when we're talking about uh sexual violence it's normally it refer to in a pyramid so up the BS the foundation is you know the intimidation public harassment unsolicited sexual conversations and then it goes all the way up to you know all those really really violent um crimes then um and then from that you know it's you know you've got everything in between those you know things are systemic and you know some people but you know that's just how wherever I am is to those really serious crimes um but then you've got everything in between as well that you've got to consider um basically but the likes of Green Dot it's basically targeting that base of the pyramid removing that because if you take away the base of the pyramid the pyramid can't stand so it's aiming to significantly reduce things at the base to then reduce everything further up the permit and then in regards to further education funding, as you're saying, FE is quite important. So in Northern Ireland, specifically most healthcare professional rules going into undergrad require a level three in health and social care, which you can get only really get from further education institutions. So specifically, there was a consultation put by the Northern Ireland Assembly on a multi-year budget. So Northern Ireland runs on a year-by-year budget, but it was a consultation put into a three-year multi-year budget. Looking over that consultation, it's really looking at real-term losses. Unfortunately for further education, because it looks on paper like, oh, there's an increase, but when you consider some programs aren't going to be funded by the UK government anymore or inflation is a real-term loss. So then you've got to consider know what things can you exactly cut, reduce and you really don't want impact and add stressors to students, but with how funding is, that's just how things are going to go. I'm sure everyone in the Northern Ireland Assembly, as well as more key part mentalised, as well as the wider national government and their departments are trying to work on that issue. Maybe with some pressure from the national student union, for example, but doing that work to not penalise students for actually wanting to learn would be the main thing. Yeah, absolutely, and I really do hope this has took away what it said to me, because I very much important points are dead into what I was saying. The thing is, no, no. And so what would be your advice to your person wanting to make a difference? And we don't know how to. I would really say just start small saying yes to an opportunity that may pop up here and there, that excite you even if it feels maybe accidental at first. Like I did transitioning from the Army cadets to the student's union for a bit of context with that. So my journey began with youth leadership in the Army cadets, where I first learned what meant to be a part of something bigger. And then as much as I enjoyed that, I went to Schindvois in 2020, 2020, 2024, through all those roles and it's, you know, that's progressed on, but basically you know, start small even if it feels accidental. And then things just like build confidence gradually, you know, join your college or university's club or volunteer locally. So like me, for example, outside of being union present and an I will ambassador, I volunteer with St John ambulance, Northern Ireland. And so finding something that interests you, build confidence and then connect and collaborate, which was the case with me, you know, finding the I will movement, so appealing. Exactly. I was like, I was so much finished you can do. I was so much like, like, a collaboration that you can be part of and lots of organisations who do and kind of on voice work, like you know, local councils and all the things that you said is the same part and for any person who wants to make a different friend. So we'll definitely think about that on the missing to this episode. And so what would be your, your forgotten generation buscast quote and sum up your journey? Well, it would be that sometimes the grist leaders you make may say are born from accidental steps. So saying yes, when a door closes and then turning a, you know, that closed door into another open door. So that kind of captures my journey perfectly, leaving the army cadets with our palm and stumbling into the issue and growing into real impact as led to the likes of our green dot by standard intervention program. It's not about scripted path always, but grabbing opportunities as they appear. I love that advice Mark. I'm back as a great way to end this episode today. Thanks so much Mark coming on today to really highlight all such acts of journey and just really making my difference to like I'm incredible. And young people about you do your volunteering as such action in the thank you. And thank you Troy for being such an incredible host again. Thanks for listening to the podcast episode. This is a Be the Change Media Network production. Please support the podcast by subscribing and waiting for the podcast as love to hear what you like and what could be better for future episodes. If you want to find me you can find me on Instagram and I will dot Troy and also on X I will underscore Troy. Tune in to next week's episodes.