A WHITLEY resident is empowering young people to use their voices to tackle society’s most pressing issues.
Elliott Gardiner believes that the next generation has a vital role to play in the modern-day community.
The 26-year-old commands a platform of over 65,000 Twitter followers, where he champions LGBTQ+ and climate change issues – two topics close to his heart.
“We are facing so many challenges that won’t necessarily affect our parents or grandparents, but could, and probably will, affect us or our children,” Mr Gardner said.
“Young people have a really important role to play and we need to make sure their voices are heard.”
Mr Gardiner fears that young people have become disconnected from current political activity, in part due to declining funding for organisations which promote youth development.
“I try to encourage my friends to take an active interest in what is going on, especially with important issues like climate change, but a lot of them don’t vote,” he explained.
“We’ve seen cuts in community centres and schools, places where young people develop their ideas and opinions.”
“We need to make sure that young people are given the tools to have a voice.”
Mr Gardiner has not been deterred by the challenges he has faced. As a child, he was diagnosed with ADHD and grew up in a single-parent, working-class household.
The drama graduate praised his mother’s role in his upbringing, saying: “My mum brought me up on her own. We didn’t have that much money, but she made the best of what we had.”
This appreciation of people’s circumstances is evident in his day-to-day work, where he engages in community projects with the Labour Party.
“We knock on people’s doors to see how we can help people with issues they’re dealing with,” Mr Gardiner explained.
“Whitley councillor Alice Mpofu-Coles and I also established a local litter pick called Keep Whitley Tidy.”
“These community initiatives are all in-line with the Labour Party’s values, being compassionate, it’s just my way of giving back.”
June is Pride month, an international recognition and celebration of LGBTQ+ communities around the world.
Mr Gardiner wants to ensure that the community’s voice is not restricted to being heard for a 30-day period only.
“We need to uplift, empower and amplify LGBT individuals not only during Pride month and not only as part of a quota,” he said.
“It’s important to let young LGBT people know that their voices do matter and that their opinions are listened to.”
Mr Gardiner believes that he, and all members of the LGBTQ+ community, have a responsibility to promote each other.
“I want to use my platform to uplift and educate,” he said.
“Quite often that means standing in solidarity with the transgender community and individuals as there is so much ignorance out there.”
“For me, it’s difficult at times. I still get homophobic abuse online, or when I walk down the street with my boyfriend, we still get disparaging looks when we’re holding hands.”
“If I get that as a gay man, I can’t imagine what trans people have to put up with.”
Society has taken great strides in giving young people the confidence to express themselves, something Mr Gardiner has experienced firsthand.
“Nowadays, I think there’s lots of representation in all areas of life, including popular culture,” he explained.
“Even on TV, we’ve now got shows like Heartstopper and Sex Education on Netflix. I definitely didn’t have access to those types of resources growing up.”
The advent of social media has also contributed to the significant progress made, but has also introduced new challenges.
“Social media is really a double edged sword. It’s a great way of putting your voice out there and presents opportunities for LGBT platforms,” Mr Gardiner said.
“To be honest, it’s one of the main reasons why our voices are being heard now.”
“However, I’ve been using the same Twitter account for 13 years and yet I’m still learning how to deal with negative interactions. In certain situations, I’m still learning how to bite my tongue.”
