Magazines for Good: Success!
Thanks very much to everyone who came down to London College of Communication on Saturday for our Magazines for Good event. We sold hundreds of copies throughout the day, raising a total of nearly £1,400 for L’Auberge des Migrants. The magazines sold were all left over from the shortlisting stage of the Stack Awards, and I’m really pleased we were able to put them to such good use.
I’d been slightly worried beforehand that we’d end up with quiet periods during the day, but in the end we managed to stay consistently busy from start to finish. A handful of people stayed for the duration, but the majority of visitors seemed to come for specific speakers, and did their shopping either before or afterwards.
So what was said on the day? The following is a quick rundown of the speakers and the things they had to say:
Danny Miller Weapons of Reason
It’s always a pleasure hearing Danny speak – even when he isn’t necessarily enjoying the experience himself. Arriving as our first speaker on the morning after his office Christmas party, Danny nevertheless gave a funny and fascinating look into the making of Weapons of Reason, revealing that it was an inspiring afternoon watching Al Gore at SXSW that made him want to start the magazine.
Tracing his experiences making Little White Lies and creating work for clients like Google and The World Economic Forum, he joined up the dots and showed how he ended up making his magazine to educate readers and inspire them into action.
Lisa Lorenz Nous
Beginning as a final project at university in Manchester, Nous has grown to become a magazine renowned for its artful and inclusive approach to mental health. Lisa spoke about the importance of Manchester to the project, both in terms of inspiring her and in terms of providing a creative community to work with.
Events have always been important to Nous – the litho printed magazine is still folded, bound and trimmed by hand at binding parties, and Lisa is building on her network to host exhibitions and events across Manchester that help to bring more people into contact with Nous.
Bertie Brandes and Charlotte Roberts Mushpit
Mushpit has changed enormously over the years, beginning as a response to women’s fashion magazines and shifting to become a more broadly satirical take on modern British life. Bertie and Charlotte spoke openly about how they made it up as they went along, learning how to deal with advertisers, InDesign and pretty much everything else needed to publish a magazine.
Self-deprecating and funny, they’re also clearly very talented and incredibly motivated, and it’s inspiring to see the way they plan to keep on pushing the magazine forward, changing the focus to create something they’re proud to call their own.
Ibrahim Nehme The Outpost
Beginning his talk with an anecdote about a recent train journey across Europe to Germany, Ibrahim spoke about meeting a migrant who insisted on sharing his food with his fellow passengers. Struck by the warmth and open-heartedness of this stranger, Ibrahim returned to the anecdote several times throughout his talk to illustrate the ways in which stories can change perceptions, and so change reality.
A magazine dedicated to changing the way that people see life in the Arab world, The Outpost was the perfect title to close our day raising money for L’Auberge des Migrants. Recognising there are no quick fixes (and probably precious few slow fixes) Ibrahim concluded by saying that with each issue they’re not just making a magazine – they’re making a version of the world they want to live in. I’m looking forward to see that world evolve, and hopefully affect even more people’s lives in 2016.
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L’Auberge des Migrants work with the thousands of migrants in the notorious ‘jungle’ in Calais. With winter approaching they need all the help they can get – the following list from the charity shows the things they particularly need:
Volunteers, especially if you can stay more than a day or two! (if you wish to volunteer, please email [email protected])
Building materials (if you are bringing any or have any building skills you’d like to put to good use, please email [email protected])
Blankets !!
Tents (preferably 4 man tents or larger)
Tarpaulins
Sleeping bags
Firewood
Fire Extinguishers
Men’s waterproof walking boots high ankle or trainers size especially sizes 42 and 43
Women’s boots/ shoes up to size 39. No heels!
Waterproof warm winter coats
Socks
Underwear (men’s, women’s and children’s)
Goody bags of hats, gloves and scarves
Men’s trousers – in particular men’s black jeans size 28-36
Pre made identical food parcels (with a selection of easy to cook & non-perishable food e.g. tinned (pull tops) tuna/ lamb/ chicken/ beef, tinned (pull top) beans/ chickpeas/ lentils/tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, salt, long life fruit juice, coffee, tea, cooking oil, easy cook rice.
Flat pack cardboard boxes (size 60 x 40 x 32.5 or 90 x 60 x 48)
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Photography by Conor Pitchers
