Meet Olivia Clarke, a leading advocate for educational reform from our 2024 Future List.
Hear Olivia’s story as the first in her family to graduate from university and her eye-opening experience stepping into the shoes of the mayor.
And her advice for aspiring activists? Move forward fearlessly, collaborate widely, and boldly stand out from the crowd.
Listen to learn:
- the influence of working-class perspectives
- how we can all champion change
- about the grassroots organisation Reclaim
- the importance of youth representation
You can now nominate for the 2025 Northern Power Women Awards to be in with a chance of celebrating with changemakers, trailblazers and advocates on 6th March 2025! Nominate now at wearepower.net
Sign up to our Power Platform to check out our events calendar here.
Keep up to date on the latest news from We Are Power : Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook
Sign up to our newsletter.
Meet Olivia Clarke, a leading advocate for educational reform from our 2024 Future List.
Hear Olivia’s story as the first in her family to graduate from university and her eye-opening experience stepping into the shoes of the mayor.
And her advice for aspiring activists? Move forward fearlessly, collaborate widely, and boldly stand out from the crowd.
Listen to learn:
- the influence of working-class perspectives
- how we can all champion change
- about the grassroots organisation Reclaim
- the importance of youth representation
You can now nominate for the 2025 Northern Power Women Awards to be in with a chance of celebrating with changemakers, trailblazers and advocates on 6th March 2025! Nominate now at wearepower.net
Sign up to our Power Platform to check out our events calendar here.
Keep up to date on the latest news from We Are Power : Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook
Sign up to our newsletter.
Hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast Northern Power Women podcast. For your career and your life, no matter what business you're in. Hello and welcome to the we Are Power podcast, the podcast that is all about highlighting brilliant role models, sharing inspiring personal and professional stories with you, and we want to be able to pass on some of those top tips, hacks, guidance, whatever it may be to help you, no matter whether it's to your career, your life, whatever your adventure you're on. And this week I am delighted that I am being joined by activist, campaigner and 2024 future lister at the Northern Power Women Awards. Youth Engagement Communications Officer at Young Manchester, amongst many things which we'll get into shortly.
Speaker 1:Olivia Clark, welcome, thank you. Thank you for having me and I love your kind of bio around, you know. Officer at young manchester, amongst many things which we'll get into shortly. Olivia clark, welcome, thank you. Thank you for having me and I love your kind of bio around. You know passionately advocating for social mobility for young working class people. Now I want to start with. You've literally just pressed send, haven't you, on your dissertation, and how does that feel, apart from you're broken?
Speaker 2:a really yeah, yeah, a relief, definitely, and definitely a proud moment as the first to get a degree in my house. So I'm feeling, feeling good, feeling good.
Speaker 1:That's why social mobility is so important to you, because you were literally walking, that walk.
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, and it was really interesting as well because I did my dissertation on the language of privilege, deconstructing class hierarchies and the English curriculum. So it was really interesting to kind of get the academic knowledge behind that as well and dive into it a bit deeper than shouting at politicians.
Speaker 1:And I know that whole education piece and education not really being fit for purposes is is something that really drives you, isn't it? You know you are the activist and campaigner and that's one of the, that's one of the areas, isn't it?
Speaker 2:yes, it is. I have the small goal of changing the education system, um, and yeah, it's definitely something that I'm passionate about, both based off experience and obviously my studies, and then the experiences of people around me as well.
Speaker 1:And what strikes me about you? For you know, for someone at the early parts of her kind of adventures, if you like, in career, having just sort of completed your education, you've been working and activating and campaigning for years, haven't you? You've got a lot, you've already achieved an awful lot, but what do you sort of what's important to you? What is the activism and campaign a bit for you? What does it look like?
Speaker 2:Well, yeah, it's coming up 10 years I think it is in October and I think for me it's just being a voice for people like me to know that they can do it too. I think growing up it wasn't something that I necessarily knew that I could do. I know there's jobs like following your parents or like supermarket or teacher and those kind of jobs, but I didn't know that activist activism and campaigning was something that, um I could do in the future, and I'm still working on what that means. Um, I'm still working on that title, but it's just being able to do this for other people as well has been really rewarding.
Speaker 1:um, and to show my friends that kind of our voices can be in these spaces is really powerful, I think it's really important when, during the pandemic and I know you were an educator or you were educating, weren't you over that pandemic period? And I know one of the things we were really, really passionate about over here and we are power umbrella was that, you know, really building social capital around people at the start of their careers because people were studying in isolation. There's people that, like yourself, first, first gen at uni and and actually there wasn't that access or opportunity, was that over that period?
Speaker 2:it was just it must have been like soul destroying at times, yeah, and it was really interesting as well because obviously I finished college not getting a levels um and then I had to take a gap year and then went to work in a high school and to get that experience and being amongst the teachers then and then transitioning into university.
Speaker 2:It was a really turbulent time and something that I definitely couldn't have predicted or prepared for, but at the same time, I'm quite grateful for how it has kind of ended up. I think before the pandemic I wanted to be an RE teacher and I saw myself just like going down the Catholicism, like diving into that, and then, because of my experience during the pandemic, working in a school and getting all the different perspectives, now I want to change the education system. So, although it was a really difficult time, both personally and obviously everyone experienced that really difficult time both personally and obviously everyone um experienced that for me, I've been able to kind of um change my life path, if you, if you wish, and it'll probably change again, um, but a lot of lessons were learned during that time, definitely and again.
Speaker 1:It just really sort of jumps out to me that you are 100% a a deeds, not words, uh, human. Talk to me about when you took over the duty of mayor for the day, didn't you? You stepped Andy to the side and you went in. What did you learn from that day and what did you get involved?
Speaker 2:in. Oh, I learned so much and one thing probably that I learned most was that I'm a difficult person in the sense of when I was younger, obviously challenging politicians was kind of my favorite thing to do. But being able to see behind the scenes of that it's not an easy job and it was really interesting to get an insight into that. And it was a really nice day as well to kind of be the mayor for the day, and there was a really funny moment actually where Andy was introduced to the stage and then I walked out and people were really confused. But it was really nice to kind of get a different insight and a different perspective again into that journey and into that career, because I think politics is something that I've been in and around for the past 10 years but never got that first-hand experience and it was really interesting to kind of understand what the day-to-day looks like and how fast he moves on a day-to-day basis.
Speaker 2:Couldn't keep up. Was that? Where's he going? People want me to go left, right and but yeah, that was really interesting and definitely kind of gave me a little kick to maybe want to go down that path in the future, but you're already instrumental in in change already, aren't you?
Speaker 1:with the um. Talk to us around the bus pass, isn't it?
Speaker 2:and about travel for young people yes, yeah, so when I think I think it was about 14 at the time um, I was invited to his like manifesto launch for young people, um, and my eyes did a scan of the room and noticed very quickly that I was the only young person in there, um, and I stood up, probably offended a few people, but I did kind of point out the fact that I was one of the only young people and in response to that, andy said well, how do we get young people in the room?
Speaker 2:It's really difficult. And I said to him well, at Reclaim we do it weekly and it's quite easy. And the way you need to do it is break down those barriers for young people and actually look at what it is that's preventing them, because the young people want to be in these spaces and they want to be in those rooms, but it's being able to access them physically that stops them from doing that. So then we got loads of young people together from across Greater Manchester by the Combined Youth Authority and loads of young people from across the city region built and worked on the hour pass, and I think it's always really nice and rewarding as well, because in the moment you don't necessarily think that you challenging someone could lead to that. But it has kind of led to such a great thing across the city region and also a great relationship with Andy Burnham and his team as well, and being able to have that first-hand experience with someone in power is really great and I've built up kind of a good, good rapport.
Speaker 1:Enough for him to trust me to take over which is amazing, right, and I think you talked about I think I've heard you talk on a podcast before you talk about that power of collaboration and the power of believing you can. Everyone's voice is valid, right, and you've brought that to light.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that's something that we get told so much that, oh, you can't vote, don't speak, you can't do this, don't speak. And there's a culture around don't speak unless you've spoken to and I think I was definitely in that mindset when I was younger. But when I got older, it's like no, I'm gonna speak and you'll listen. And I think that collaboration with those in power and other young people and showing that we can work together it's not always against each other and has been really powerful throughout my journey and I think as well just being outspoken, because definitely you can hear me when I'm in a room and I like to be able to show young people that it's okay to do that, and I think more young people are doing that, especially compared to when I first started. It's nice to see so many young people just being brave enough to stand up and say how they feel and as they should, and I think it's great that those spaces are facilitated and those spaces are safe enough for young people to stand up.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I'm all for shouting absolutely seats at the table. It's so important to have your voice heard. I think that's what it's all about and I think your where this started for you was with the amazing grassroots organization Reclaim. Wasn't it that they came into your school? That's where it started.
Speaker 2:Yes, they came into my school and they I got pulled out of PE. So of course I was running out of the PE class to go and listen to what they had to say. Um, and they kind of told me what their program was about. And all the staff knew from the get-go I wasn't, I wasn't planning to stay for longer than a week. I was very much there for free food, I was very much there to just go. So I joined half term and be with my friends, um, and that was something that they knew and I didn't know that I would receive what they were delivering, so knew, and I didn't know that I would receive what they were delivering.
Speaker 2:So well, and I didn't realize that it would essentially change my life and it did change the path that I was going on, and not to say that I was going down a difficult path, but definitely wouldn't have gone down this one and I think Laugh at Reclaim could echo this. When I walked into that room I was a very shy girl, but not like you could see. I was really loud and you could definitely always hear me before you saw me. But if you asked me to speak on stage, I'd be running in the other direction, I'd be crying, I'd be kicking off, I'd be like, no, it's not for me.
Speaker 2:And I think I very much knew that I had a voice.
Speaker 2:But how to use that and the power that it had was something that I didn't necessarily know and that was definitely something that I built up over time at Reclaim and my confidence built and developed with them and I think working class young people especially, we don't.
Speaker 2:We're always told now and we're told that kind of certain roles aren't for us. So Reclaim told us that they were and I think, just being told that it was okay to do something, I was like, yeah, let's go do it. Especially in school. I was always a good kid, I was always going to stick to the rules. So being told that I was able to do something and being told that my voice had this power, that literally I jumped and I've not quite landed yet, I think it's just it provided so many opportunities for me Again that I couldn't have imagined being available to me and I didn't even know they existed half the time. Um, and obviously now I sit on their board as a trustee, which is really, really interesting, so I'm very full circle as well, but I'm always forever grateful for reclaim and I think there's something you talk about having this board position.
Speaker 1:I am always very clear that I don't think you're ever too young to have a board position, because I think that you know that diversity comes in so many different forms and to have representation from the people that you're making decisions for. It's crazy we haven't got young people on these boards. We haven't got working class young people on on this. Do you think that? That? Do you still? Are you seeing change or do you think that there's still massive, uh, masses of of your voices being overlooked?
Speaker 2:there's so much work that needs to be done. I think it's like three percent of trustees are under the age of 30 and if you think about how many youth organizations we have and think about how many people are on their boards and there's a lack of representation for the people that are, like, most in power, um, and I think so much work needs to be done and I think that's the roles of myself and other young trustees, but the roles of those that have those positions to share that space and give up their seat at the table, because I think there's this idea that because they're older or senior, that they deserve that position. Um, but in reality, young people deserve it just as much as them, if not more, and we are the future, and having that seat and having that space and being able to show other young people that we can be at the top and have that power is really important and reclaim always joke as well. It's like the boss is here and you know what. It is nice to be able to walk in and um and be recognized in that way, and I think what the what I can do with that is show other young people that those positions are for them.
Speaker 2:I think as well using my role to show the different routes in, because I went into it because it was reclaim and I knew reclaim. But I don't think I'd have the same confidence if I went in to another organization and applied to be young trustee. So I'm trying to use my position to support other young people on that path but also learn myself, because I'm very aware that I was raised in a reclaim environment and there's there's going to be a level of kind of uncomfortableness that I'll get if I'm a trustee elsewhere. But I think that's definitely something that I'm open to, because being uncomfortable is kind of where you have to start with it, I guess.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, yeah, get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable and it's everything you're doing is sort of I feel like you're you're part of our brand guidelines, where you know you're about you absolutely committed to using your power for good. You're absolutely committed to kind of pay it forward and and passing it on, and you know you're absolutely committed to cracking on and getting stuff done. So where are you starting with education? How are we going to change the education system, miss olivia?
Speaker 2:there's a list. I think the biggest thing in my dissertation that I realized is that it literally is set up to work against working class young people and it doesn't represent the people that it serves and it is very much one size fits all approach, and so I think, yeah, where do I start? There's, I don't know, on the ground. The grassroots level is always the best way to start. I work my way up from there. Where that takes me, I don't know education sector in the future who knows um? But I definitely know whoever will be in that role will be challenged by me and and we will get an education system that serves all young people and is built up by young people, by young people for young people, and that's the way it should be for everything, but particularly the education system.
Speaker 2:It's something we all experience, it's something we all go through, and I think we should be having a say in what that path looks like, and it's great to see changes happening in Greater Manchester with the what is it called? The m back? I think it is, and that's I said this at his campaign launch was are young people going to be involved in that? Are young people going to have a say in that experience, because I think it's it's one thing saying that this is what young people need and it's another thing young people saying it's what they need. So I think, yeah, that cross-generational and the collaboration is what's definitely needed and I'm going to make sure that that happens until it happens.
Speaker 1:And for anyone listening out there who has any doubt as to what working class young people can bring into their organisations, whether they be micro, whether they be big organisations, sell it to us.
Speaker 2:I don't think I need to sell it. I think we sell it ourselves the young people that you engage with. That is enough. I don't think I need to be doing a pitch on behalf of working class young people, because they are enough and their presence is enough. All you need to do is open your doors and be able to welcome those young people in, but also not expect those young people to come to you. You need to go to them.
Speaker 2:If you want to work with these young people, you can't consistently expect them to just reach out to you, because it's not the self-selecting young people that you necessarily need all the time. It is those young people in specific communities that you need to go in and be part of their space and not parachute in and work with them and, like I say, collaboration is so important. So I think, yeah, work with young people from underrepresented communities and don't do it for a tick box exercise. That's my biggest pet peeve. Don't take a picture post on Twitter and jump out post on x, sorry, um. I think it's about valuable and authentic and meaningful relationships and not just tick box exercises. So I'd say, go in and work with those young people, listen to them, listen to what they want and don't go in with an agenda, because they'll rip it but I think that whole listening curiosity is just key, isn't it?
Speaker 1:otherwise it's like you say we see so much of this, don't you? It's like that tick box we've done this, here's the photo opportunity and off you go. There's no sustainability in that and that's not gonna the new legacy and that there's no change in that. So it has to be, has to be done with purpose out there, definitely, definitely, yeah, and, as we know, you've handed in your dissertation. Um, what is next for you? Obviously changing the education system, obviously having more, more voices heard, being the tremendous, uh, impactful advocate you are. But what next?
Speaker 2:oh well, it's my first week in my new role at Young Monster. I've recently been promoted to the Youth Engagement and Communications Officer, so I guess internally, it's about making sure young people are at the heart of everything the organisation do and ensuring that young people are collaborating with us and working with us to build up our incredible organisation. But I think for me personally, outside of work, I just want to experience everything.
Speaker 2:I think I have to give myself some credit sometimes is that I have been in this space for 10 years now and it's been very full-on since the age of 12, and so I think, prioritizing myself a bit more and giving myself time to experience things and live life, um, I think there's a thing around activism and change making that we grow up a lot quicker, um, because we're thrown into these intense environments and you know, a lot of my childhood and teenage years were in rooms full of middle-aged white men telling me I was wrong, um. So I think, yeah, giving myself some time to kind of just regroup and reflect and build on myself as an individual and then, in terms of work, yeah, change the education system, do everything I can to do that, and I'm not sure what that looks like, but I'm definitely committed and willing to do that. Um and yeah, just see, see where it goes and always hold people to account and make sure my voice and the voices around me are heard.
Speaker 1:I think the biggest, the biggest thing and if there's anyone out there that's listening who's unsure lost? Um, you know how would I even get into this? I've not. You know, I maybe don't have access to reclaim because they're not in my part of the world or whatever. What advice would you give to anyone listening out there who wants to use their voice for good?
Speaker 2:yeah, I think that's really important as well, because I think one thing I've recognized is not everyone has the privilege of those organizations like reclaim. So I think if you're a young person that wants to get involved, just message people that you see doing it and message me, message other people that you know in your community and see what's already going on. I think sometimes it's really difficult because you feel like you need to start something. Everyone feels like they need to be a founder. You don't have to be. There's people already doing it and you can work with them and collaborate with them and, um, just reach out.
Speaker 2:I think that's a really difficult step, but a really brave one to make. I think if I didn't do that, I wouldn't be where I was today and take the opportunities if they're there and you never know which one's going to be the right one for you but as long as you're taking them and saying yes and prioritizing yourself as well, I think it's the best thing. Um, and also, just don't care what your friends think. I think that was always really interesting for me, because it was a bit rogue to be doing what I was doing and my friends like what are you doing? I was like this is what I'm doing and they're like my biggest supporters ever and they find it really funny that I have like these two different lives where I'll be like partying with them but being a change maker and shouting a politician. So, yeah, just put yourself first, um, and yeah, always say yes to new experiences, I guess olivia, I cannot wait to for the education system to be changed.
Speaker 1:Can't happen too soon. Uh, education minister incoming? Um, uh, for sure, we'll be watching the space. Remember where you heard it first? This is an amazing woman who is absolutely using her power with immense good. Olivia, thank you so much for joining me and best of luck with your dissertation as well. Thank you, thank you so much. I thank all of you for listening what a powerhouse Olivia is, and that's what we love. We love having these great conversations every week Different stories, different adventures, different advice, but all action-led. So thank you all. Please stay connected on all of our socials Facebook and LinkedIn. We are power. Tiktok, insta and Twitter we are power. Underscore net. Or drop us an old school email if you really fancy. We'd love to hear from you. Podcaster wearepowernet. Thank you so much for joining you. It's Simone. It's the we Are Power podcast of what Goes on Media Production.