#ursitolliday

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5 Things I Learnt From a Q&A with Media Trust Alumni - By Ursi Tolliday

Each speaker included an inspirational quote in their introduction:

“Start where you can, use what you have and do what you can”-Fayida Jailler (Founder of Freedom is Mine and Freelance Multimedia Journalist)

“Everyone’s trying to get through the front door, so you need to go through the window”- Jordaan Shelley (Assistant Producer, ITN)

“It’s just important to know what you don’t want to do as to know what you want to do”- Fred Bhat (Digital Creative Producer at Discovery)

1. Plan Short Term

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail”.

Planning short term will help you to set achievable and manageable goals. Good preparation will help you to reach these, for example using a project planner and preparing social media posts in batches. Fayida describes bringing the same energy to working at home as you would in the office-this means starting work at a reasonable time and avoiding distractions.

2. Keep Learning

Fred describes “thriving off of the excitement of learning new things” and overcoming imposter syndrome by continuing to gain knowledge and skills. As he says, today, the internet gives us the ability to learn anything we want. It is also helpful to look back on what we have learnt and consider how to use this in our careers.

3. Make the Most of a Mentor

Before contacting a mentor, research them and consider what you want out of the relationship. It is important to have specific and measurable goals with the mentor which will allow you to guide the meetings. A mentor is not there to give you a job, but they will be able to help you work towards goals. Fayida says “show your mentor how to get the most out of you”.

4. Embrace Uniqueness

Jordan explains that personal interests and values are the things that will make you stand out. When starting a new position, let people know who you are and show what you can bring to the table that is different.

5. Be Resilient

This comes up in most of our creativity works sessions! Jordan speaks about ideas sometimes being turned down with a blunt “no” but says it is important to not take this personally. She goes on to say “you need to exhaust all options”- ask why someone has said no and try to find a way around this.

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5 Valuable Pieces of Advice From Henrie Kwushue- by Ursi Tolliday

At only 25 Henrie Kwushue has already achieved so much, proving herself to be a true entrepreneur. After suffering with imposter syndrome, feeling unseen and undervalued during work placements she decided to make her own success. Henrie started her own YouTube series, Is Your Area Changing? In which she explores gentrification in London by interviewing locals by day in contrast to partygoers by night. She is also a talented DJ and has presented on Radio 1 as well as her own weekly Reprezent Show.

Up until lockdown, her career as a presenter and DJ had been “people facing”. The pandemic completely changed the way Henrie could work and she admits to spending “7 hours at a time on Sims in the first couple of weeks”. However, once again she has proved herself to be adaptable by utilising social media platforms and subsequently catapulting her career.

In early April, Henrie was presented with the 10v10 idea for no signal, a radio station powered by RECESS. NS10v10 sees two well-versed fans pick 10 tracks from an artist’s catalogue of music. These are then put to listeners who can vote to decide which fan, artist and track wins each round. Henrie began presenting on the show and it quickly became an internet lockdown sensation. NS10v10 has taken off unbelievably with over a million tuning in on YouTube and on No Signal’s website in recent weeks.

We had the pleasure of speaking to Henrie via a group zoom call for a Q&A session to discuss her career from overcoming shyness to the ups and downs of working in media and the importance of peer relationships. Despite being in the early stages of her career, she has thrown herself into every opportunity, gaining valuable knowledge and experience in the field. Here are 5 valuable pieces of advice from a Henrie Kwushue:

1.     Enjoy the Journey

Something that’s instantly noticeable about Henrie is her huge smile and positive attitude. She is refreshingly honest and open, telling us about the highs and lows of her career. When asked what she loves about presenting she replies, “Every day is about overcoming challenges”. Henrie is clearly a hard worker and describes countless work experience placements in places like newsrooms. Here, she found that black women are often underrepresented, sometimes causing her to feel like an imposter, unseen and undervalued encouraging her to follow her own path and fight for more representation in the media industry. Despite facing challenges, Henrie talks about the importance of being excited about every step “including little things like a week’s work experience” and points out “what matters most is that you enjoy the journey”.

2.     Embrace “Your Niche”

On the topic of work experience, Henrie opens up about struggling with shyness saying, “I was so quiet, they probably didn’t even notice I was there”. However, without her saying so you would never guess; throughout the zoom call Henrie has natural charisma and her relaxed demeaner puts everyone else at ease. When asked how she has overcome shyness she explains that by throwing herself in to everything she was forced to choose fight over flight. Henrie goes onto describe the importance of embracing uniqueness; “take what is most niche about yourself […] your core personality and amplify it”. “The best example I can think of for this is Amelia Dimoldenberg from Chicken Shop Dates”.

3.     Know Your Goals

When asked for the best piece of advice she’s been given, Henrie says “to ask yourself important questions”. These include “What do you want to do?” “Where do you want be?” “Does this make sense?” “Does it bring value to the brand you are trying to build?” “Who do you want to impact?” and “Does it fit with your moral values?” Knowing the answers to these questions will give you a sense of purpose, direction and motivation.

4.     Invest in Yourself

Henrie has found success through believing in herself and making her own path. Her passion shines through when DJing and presenting making her a pleasure to listen to and watch. Henrie recalls one occasion of having ideas rejected during a work placement but being so passionate that she decided to use them herself. She pinpoints this as the moment that encouraged her to “invest in her own ideas” and not only rely on big companies. People like Henrie prove that it is possible to create your own jobs, tailored to your personality and interests. This means being able to work on projects you believe in which often results in better content.

5.     Maintain Good Relationships

Henrie says she has stayed connected with childhood friends. They have watched each other grow up and gain success; many of her friends are now doing big things themselves. Therefore, she has maintained connections to people with a variety of skillsets often providing opportunity for collaboration. The success of NS10v10 is a perfect example of this: an opportunity arose so a group of like-minded people with existing relationships came together to produce something new. Maintaining good relationships with people allows you to call on each other when you need help or want to collaborate. A network of people can also provide mutual support, for example feedback and advice when needed.

Henrie’s honesty and openness is what really stood out to me. Hearing about her many different work placements and difficulties along the way reminded me that success is a product of hard work. We often don’t hear about the difficult times giving us the false impression that the road to success is a smooth gradient when in fact there are usually many bumps along the way. Henrie’s positive attitude and determination to overcome shyness as well as other challenges are inspiring. I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots more of her in the future!

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5 Things I Learnt from a Very Embarrassing Press Junket Mistake by Ursi Tolliday

I thought it would be good to write about this experience because 1. I find writing therapeutic 2. I strongly believe that embarrassing and difficult situations provide the best opportunity to learn and grow 3. This might be useful to someone else preparing for their first press junket.

Last week, I had my first “press junket”, it was with Ibrahim Kamara, a digital entrepreneur, and co-founder of GUAP. GUAP started as the first “video magazine” and is now multi-platform youth media brand, covering all aspects of creativity and culture. The platform has recently started a fund that helps a new creative every week by contributing £100 to their practice. The junket was an amazing opportunity to interview a knowledgeable and inspiring person.

The previous week I’d researched Ibrahim and written questions. Although I’d been told he was the founder of GUAP which I knew a little bit about. Straight away I found information about a stylist called Ibrahim Kamara through a quick Google search. As he was connected to creative media, I assumed he was also responsible for GUAP, read a few articles about him and wrote a couple of questions based on his work as a stylist and the fashion industry.

At the beginning of the session, I was so nervous that I put my hand straight up to ask the first question. I asked about his favourite and least favourite aspects of the fashion industry. With hindsight, he looked a little confused but answered the question anyway. Other people asked their questions; none of these stood out to me as something you wouldn’t ask the person I researched.

I put up my hand to ask the second question… “Your work is so unique, we have such easy access to inspiration with social media nowadays, it can be difficult to not be influenced too much. How do you stay true to your own style?” He stopped me and said, “what do you mean by my style?” This was when I realised something was wrong… I nervously explained “in terms of your work as a stylist.”

He replied, “I think you’ve got confused about something and you’re going to feel really awkward when I tell you”…….. Afterwards was what felt like the LONGEST pause………

”I think you’ve researched the wrong person”.

My heart dropped. I was hoping he’d say anything but this. “I’m sorry” was all I could manage to say. I spent the rest of the call wishing the ground would swallow me up. It’s been difficult to stop replaying this in my head the last few days which has given me a lot of opportunity to reflect and think about how to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

1.     Never Assume a Job is Easy

When we were given the task to research Ibrahim and think of questions, I thought it would be easy. I didn’t plan to spend long on it and thought I could get away with quickly doing some research and thinking of questions. This was a simple task, but it was important to be careful when researching. Don’t underestimate a task and take your time.

2.     Never Assume.

Because I haven’t personally met many Ibrahim’s or heard the name “Ibrahim Kamara”, I assumed this was an unusual name. I then assumed that the first person I saw with that name, connected to the media would be the person I was interviewing. I THEN assumed that the person I found was also responsible for GUAP. What they say about “assuming” is true. Don’t do it. The next day someone explained to me that Ibrahim Kamara is common Sierra Leonean name. Only base research and questions on what you KNOW to be true.

3.     Use All Information

When we were given the task of researching Ibrahim, we were told that he was the founder of GUAP. For some reason (I don’t know why) I didn’t choose to use this information. If I had bothered to type four more letters into the Google search, I would have found the right person and avoided a very awkward situation. Any information given is a blessing and given for a reason. In future, remember to note down any information and use this in research.

4.     Use All Available Resources

Why wouldn’t you?... WHY didn’t I do this? If working in a group, research, write and maybe even rehearse the questions together- you are stronger as a team. If you’re not 100% sure ask someone else as well like a tutor or mentor. It’s always good to double/triple/quadruple check facts as many times as you need to especially if you know others working on the same task.

5.     Don’t be a #%*!

This is just a general one. Always be polite to people and don’t ask anything offensive. If something goes wrong, all you can really do is apologise. After the call, I sent Ibrahim a message, saying sorry again and thanking him for his time and advice. Everything he said was genuinely inspiring and despite not having the best experience I’d learnt so much from the session. It doesn’t “fix” the mistake, but I think most people appreciate an honest apology.

Ibrahim replied to my message saying it was an easy mistake and to learn from it so here I am! I honestly feel like I learnt more from this experience than I have from most other things I’ve done recently because it went so wrong… It’s made me far more conscientious when researching people; I’ve spent more time reviewing my questions, making sure they’re worded correctly, practicing them which has probably meant more recent Q&A’s have gone a lot better. So hopefully, this story will help you to prepare for junkets, avoid a similar mistake or just make you laugh.

You can find out more about GUAP (and the Ibrahim Kamara I spoke to) here-https://www.guap.co.uk/

-Written and illustrated by Ursi Tolliday

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Staying In= The New Going Out- Virtual Parties in Lockdown

The closure of venues and social isolation has led to a strange new development in “nightlife”. You might have heard of zoom being used for school classes, office meetings, even cabinet meetings hosted by the prime minister but one of the more unusual uses for the conferencing app is virtual parties. Some of these are set up by groups of friends and some have been organised by clubs that are closed because of the virus.

Club Quarantine, a queer virtual club was started when four 20-something club-kids from Toronto were video chatting on Instagram when someone suggested hosting a party through zoom. One organiser says, “we just wanted to kiki on Monday”, Inside Club Quarantine, Vice. The virtual club has grown quickly from a small group to 300-400 people joining on an average night and 30,000 people following their Instagram page. People stream from childhood bedrooms to apartment living rooms, not only bringing isolated friends together but also connecting people from all over the world; there are streams from Vancouver Island to Vermont, Vienna to Atlanta, and Brussels to Brooklyn and Brazil. The events have even attracted a celebrity guests, including Charli XCX, who hosted a set for 1,000 fans last week.

“Real-life” clubs are also using zoom to continue hosting parties. House of Yes is known as “Brooklyn’s wildest nightclub” and described on their website as a “temple of expression dedicated to connection, creativity and celebrating life”. Despite being in lockdown, they are continuing to connect people, express creativity and celebrate life through digital dance parties that can be joined through zoom or watched live on Instagram or Twitch. There’s a suggested donation of $5 but you can join for free as long as you agree to dance and set the mood with lights and props.

Freedom of expression and creativity is definitely embraced… From costumes, to dance routines to background screens, everyone puts on a show. “When you trap queer people in a box for a day and they have three hours where they know they’re going to be seen by like 400 people, they’re going to put on a show,” said Mingus, One Night At Zoom’s Hottest Club, The Cut. Costumes range from pyjamas, to dog collars, to sequined bodysuits to… you name it, it’s there.

Pre-lockdown House of Yes hosted a range of themed live nights and performances, from trapeze artists to contortionists. Their aim is to create an immersive experience helping people to forget about the stresses of the week and enjoy their night. Similarly, with so much to take in at the virtual parties, they offer an escape which is arguably needed now more than ever. At a typical Digital Dance Party you can see someone dressed as a banana wiggling around their living room, a pole dancer performing tricks, someone dancing with a glitterball on their head and a “space pirate” twerking all at the same time. This offers a distraction from the REAL madness in the world for an hour or two.

There is generally a loving, caring and accepting vibe at these parties. Many people join to show support for others who are going through a difficult time in isolation. People send messages on the chat showing support and encouragement. At a recent Glitterbox party, the screen flicks onto one woman in New York who is sat looking at her phone, as soon as she notices the camera is on her, she jumps up and gets a sign saying, “stay safe”. People blow kisses at the camera and make love hearts with their hands. During these uncertain and difficult times, it is more important than ever to see signs of love and solidarity.

Whether you love or hate the idea of a virtual party, this is the closest thing we have to a night out in lockdown. Digital dance is admittedly not for everyone but for those who do want to party they offer an escape from reality, an opportunity to “socialize” and for self-expression. Nightlife is one of the industries that has been hardest hit by the corona virus crisis; virtual parties are also helping to raise money for clubs and performers and  showcase DJs and performers throughout the lockdown.

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Intergenerational Programs Combatting Loneliness

We are all currently experiencing isolation for lockdown. But for many people, paticularly the older generation and disabled people isolation is a daily reality. This can cause people to feel lonely with 9 million people across the UK reporting often feeling lonely and 1.2 chronically lonely older people in the UK. Can we use this unusual insight to help improve the lives of these people?

I speak to Dan Lawton, a care worker from Sheppey about developing intergenerational workshops to bridge the age gap and combat loneliness.

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#TheGoodInWhereILive

This is Lincolnshire, where I grew up and am staying with family for Lockdown. I took the photo on a long walk the other evening. Going on walks really helps me to think and clear my head. I didn’t mind that it was about to rain because these spaces are where I feel most free. I took the photo because I love the contrast between the bright yellow and the dark stormy sky- it kind of reflects how I feel about this place.

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10 Reasons Quarantine Feels Familiar If You Grew Up in The Countryside by Ursi Tolliday

Seeing the empty streets of London during lockdown has a post-apocalyptic feel. When we’re used to constantly being stuck in traffic or having someone’s armpit in our face on the tube, London today couldn’t look more different. Now, the streets and transport are empty it feels a lot like something from a zombie movie.

However, if you live in the countryside you will probably notice less of a change and feel a strange sense of familiarity to isolation. In lockdown, the rural parts of the country are only slightly quieter than usual. If anything, you see a lot more people out walking because we can’t visit a nearby town. Here’s 10 reasons you’re used to isolation if you grew up in the countryside:

1.     It’s Quiet. Eerily quiet.

It’s always been quiet. You might hear a tractor, the birds cheeping and maybe an occasional car but that’s about it. At night it’s even quieter and can feel pretty spooky. During lockdown in busier areas of the country the noise is more noticeable now it’s gone.

2.     Every Where’s Closed

Because it never opened. No shops, bars, clubs… or anything for miles and certainly not within walking distance. You’re surrounded by fields, fields and more fields. You can’t miss what you never had. Yay.

3.     It’s the Small Things

A lack of entertainment growing up helps you to appreciate the small things. Main events in the countryside might include a tractor parade, terrier-racing or a scarecrow festival. In lockdown everyone is appreciating social interaction more than ever with virtual clubs and post-lockdown parties being organised.

4.     DIY Entertainment

With nowhere to go and none of your friends nearby you’re used to making your own fun. Being alone doesn’t really bother you and you can always find something to keep busy. It was important to be creative growing up to keep entertained meaning you’ve had lots of practice at indoor Olympics.

5.     You’ve been Stockpiling for Years

You completely rely on online shopping. There is no “local supermarket” and the nearest shop has a pitiful selection. Unless you want to be trekking for miles and miles every time you fancy a chocolate bar you need to stockpile. In quarantine, the rest of the country is just doing what we’ve been doing for years.

6.     No Jobs

This is one of the toughest parts of growing up in the countryside. It feels impossible to find a job especially one that isn’t on a farm. One of the most devastating effects of Covid-19 will be the rise of unemployment. The Guardian’s economist said, “UK unemployment could rapidly rise to more than 6 million people, around 21% of the entire workforce”.

7.     Public Transport?

If you can’t drive, living in the countryside is… tricky. Public transport is very scarce and in some rural areas non-existent. Missing the bus is not an option. Public transport across the country has faced huge cuts to limit spread of infection. However, this puts even more strain on key workers who depend on public transport to get to work.

8.     Heading for The Apocalypse

Maybe it’s boredom, a lack of social interaction or perspective but the locals have always acted like it’s the apocalypse. Anxiety tends to run very high and conspiracy theories are rife. Conspiracy theories are thriving in quarantine; from theories about 5G spreading the virus to Disney predicting the pandemic.

9.     “Go for A Walk”

If I had a pound every time, I heard this growing up… If you needed something to do the only option was to go for a walk. Likewise, during the lockdown people across the country are only able to leave the house for essential shopping or one form of exercise a day.  

10. Community Spirit

It’s not all bad... One of the best things about the countryside is the community spirit. As DC Andy Cartwright says in Hot Fuzz “Everyone knows everyone round here”. Neighbours are generally happy to lend a hand or the occasional egg. Due to the Corona-virus communities all over the country have pulled together during these uncertain times. For example, “clap for carers” showing support for key workers during the pandemic. Thousands of people also volunteered to help the NHS greatly exceeding expectations.

Illustrated and written by Ursi Tolliday.

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#Vlogstar Challenge- Ursi Tolliday

My favourite childhood book- Anna, Growing Up on the Farm and how it influenced me wanting to be an illustrator.