The People’s Podium

The People’s Podium is first and foremost an object - a lectern modelled on the one used in the government’s Covid-19 briefings over the past year and more, but with the key difference that it is brightly coloured rather than the staid version in the halls of government. It is also a project - to allow ordinary people a chance to give their own speech at this crucial moment in history, to share their dreams for the future. 

For the first phase of the project, Glimpse chose three self-nominated communities for the podium to (virtually) tour - Leicester, Margate and Redcar - and found people in each place to participate. They provided participants with support ahead of their speeches in the form of digital toolkits, personalised gift packs and creative workshops. So far, 15 speeches have been filmed over Zoom, with 5-10 more planned for this phase of the project. As Covid restrictions lift, Glimpse plans to take the physical podium to the towns to make more in-depth films with the participants. 

The broader hope of the People’s Podium project is to provide a platform (literally) where people can claim hope and power, where they can be heard and know that their voice matters. Simultaneously symbolic and pragmatic, the People’s Podium provides a space not only for people to make themselves heard, but also to work through, understand and articulate their hopes for the future - to cultivate their capacity to imagine the world they wish to see. At the same time, it holds space for intentional listening - where the only thing to be done is to sit and listen to the dreams of others.

You can learn more about the People’s Podium here and here, and its creators, Glimpse, here.