Volunteer profile: Emily Freeman
One of our new Media and Communications volunteers, Emily Freeman, talks about her campaigning background and what she's found at P&P.
Emily Freeman, Media & Comms volunteer
Age: 21
School/university: University of Edinburgh
What are you studying? Law.
What inspired you to start campaigning?
My mum and my upbringing. My mum works for CND Cymru (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Wales). She is a full-time volunteer and has been as long as I can remember. When I was young I was surrounded by stories from Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings and pictures of children harmed by the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion in 1986 (the year I was born).
I don’t really question why I campaign, it’s the same as working or breathing - I see myself as one of the most privileged people in the world - with a home, family, friends, a good place in university and enough money that I can eat every week. It’s not exactly that I feel I owe it to the world, but I think, if I don’t campaign and work for change in the things that matter, how can I expect anyone else to?
I’m willing to work hard for the things that matter, and one of those is a safe world.
I also campaign for more selfish reasons. I love my friends, family, and the beautiful countryside where I grew up. I couldn’t bear to lose them. I know that other people across the world feel similarly about the people and things they love - I don’t want them to lose those things either. So I want to get rid of the things that threaten them, or at the very least, try my hardest, so I can’t reproach myself if it all goes wrong!
Describe your most memorable P&P experience.
Staying up all night with a friend of mine - also from P&P - to finish an essay so we could go to Faslane for March 14th - the day Parliament voted to replace Trident. The next night I slept so well - even though it was at the peace camp at Faslane and I was sharing a single mattress with two other girls!
How did you first hear about P&P?
In my Freshers’ Week last year. Edinburgh Uni P&P held an ‘alternative’ tour of the city, showing a lot of architecture and also ethical shops and things like that. I got chatting to some P&Pers, and realised I’d found a good and lovely bunch of people to campaign with!
What’s the best thing about being involved in a P&P group?
The people! They’re always friendly and motivated, though usually they work far far too hard. All my flatmates now, I met through P&P.
It’s also amazing to be part of a big network of young people across the country (who also work far too hard!), and to have a well-thought of medium to campaign through/under.
With many commentators suggesting that apathy is rife among young people, what can be done to engage young people in the campaign for social justice?
I was involved in a youth project over the summer as part of Faslane 365. There one of the girls who was only 15 and ended up blockading the road and getting arrested, said ‘it’s not that young people don’t care about the issues that matter (and that need campaigning on!), it’s that they don’t know about them.’ I think this is really true.
I’m a strong believer in peace and environmental education. Things like climate change and - in my view - the threat from nuclear weapons are so huge that I can hardly see how, once you truly understand them, you wouldn’t want to do something about them. I see one of the most important campaigning techniques as being educating people about the issues that matter, and motivating them to work for change themselves.
What was the last film you watched?
‘The lives of others’ - it was really good but made me cry!
Where would you most like to visit?
I’d love to see the northern lights. But that’s a bit of a dream as it would involve flying - pretty much out of the question - or a very long and expensive boat ride.
As it is, right now I’d most like to be at home in Wales, on a windy hilltop looking across the unspoilt green beauty of my valley.
What are your ambitions for the future?
I’ve got two answers to this…In an ideal world, I’d love to have an organic collective farm with my friends, running a cafe and farm shop, growing everything possible and working on the land ourselves.
In reality I think I’ll probably end up working for and NGO, or possibly something in Law - either international law or human rights or something like that. It all depends on how quickly we get the world saved!
Do you want to get more involved in People & Planet and help get the message into the local and national media?
Find out more about the fantastic opportunity of being a Media and Communications volunteer.