Totally inspired today by Alexander Rose who was talking on the radio 4 midweek program. He is nineteen and saw his friend Eugene Attram killed by a gang in 2006. His cousin was stabbed the following year. He has recently won an Anne Frank award for his campaign against gun and knife crime, Stop (Solve This Ongoing Problem), using his skills in graphic design to make posters and T-shirts to promote his cause. He is also involved with the Battlefront project, in which young people use the internet to campaign about issues affecting their lives.
In his words...
'I was boiling inside and looked up to the sky and thought a life had gone for no reason... I just had to do something. I go round to schools and youth clubs talking to young people about the issues around gang culture. To make them think about what else is out there. To make them realise that they don’t have to join a gang or carry weapons. I want to raise awareness to educate young people to STOP carrying weapons. Friends and family members have died due to this issue. I decided I just had to do something. I turned to what I knew at the time, which was graphic design, and came up with a t-shirt design and a campaign called Solve This Ongoing Problem (STOP). I’m using positive fashion to fight the negative gangster image. I want to inspire others. I’m not special. Everyone can use what they have to do something. I’m telling you: positivity pays off. Talent + Belief = Success.
Knife Crime is fast becoming an everyday occurrence within the UK and it needs to be put to a stop and it needs to be stopped NOW! Official statistics are wrong. The actual figures of knife crime are below:
14,000 people get injured by a knife a year
38 people a day get stabbed
446 people that get stabbed are younger than 14
You can see Alex talking here....
