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Cracked It

Words by Smiley Team

Baby boomers may still run the world, but what can we expect from the next generations? Young western adults today are stereotyped by some as ‘snowflakes’ – a group of entitled, politically correct, selfie-taking, free speech-suppressing and emotionally vulnerable souls with no grip on the realities of the world.

But this misses the new world they are creating. We meet five young people from the UK who are changing society for the better. They say that many in their generation stand for compassion, diversity, social entrepreneurship, true freedom of expression and opportunity for all. No snowflakes, just an avalanche of change.

“More than ever, people are thinking about their purpose and their place in the world,” says 25-year-old Josh Babarinde. “What we’ve seen over the last five years or so is much more than ‘clicktivism’ or signing the odd petition. It’s real action in response to the fire in the belly of Generation Y being ignited.”

Babarinde is certainly full of fire. Born in Eastbourne, he came to London for university and has stayed ever since. It was while volunteering at a youth justice charity in the east of the city that he realised why so many young people there turned to criminality. “They feel backed into crime’s corner. One young person of about 15 was dealing drugs and stealing bikes. Week after week he would secretly slip money into his mum’s handbag. She was a single parent, he was the eldest sibling and he felt that he needed to be the breadwinner.”

Babarinde resolved to find a way to bring young people income, belonging and self-worth through legitimate means – and Cracked It was born. It’s London’s social enterprise smartphone repair service, staffed by young ex-offenders and youth at risk of offending.

Original article by Lucy Purdy, photography by Vicky Grout - Source Positive.News

This article aligns with the following UN SDGs

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