Politicising the youth is a fairly simple task. We are given every opportunity to express our opinions on a variety of issues through a variety of mediums; we can set up Facebook groups to campaign against social injustices, we can sign petitions thrown under our noses by people asking us to “just spare a minute of our time”, in short, we can have our say with increasing ease. Yet, it all seems to mean little – we can join the Facebook group, but would we join a march in London? We can sign the petition, but would we lobby those concerned for answers personally?
This is where Ctrl.Alt.Shift steps in. Created with the goal of politicising a new generation of activists for social justice and global change, they have dealt with a variety of issues within their coverage, from the injustices felt by HIV-positive people when travelling abroad through to issues of gender, poverty and power. They are now branching out from their traditional internet home to invade newsagents’ shelves with the launch of a print copy of their magazine.
The issue deals with corruption, namely how it creates widespread poverty and how this barrier can be overcome. To help spread the message, Ctrl.Alt.Shift have recruited a wide range of personalities from the ‘high-brow’ – Ben White discusses the language of corruption – to the ‘down to earth’, with Tim Westwood talking about the marriage of music and activism.
Using a mixture of photography, art, stories and creativity, Ctrl.Alt.Shift hope to politicise the youth, and give a true voice to this largely silent majority. It’ll probably do more than larking around on Facebook, anyway…
Alexander Britton
Tags: Arts, comics, ctrl.alt.shift, london, tequila
