As a new recruit to the Oxbrum collective I was told that my mission, should I choose to accept it, would be to collect ‘100 Birmingham Voices Against Poverty’, edit them and upload them onto the internet in the form of a podcast.
PODCAST… hmmm…that’s a new one… never heard of that before and if I’m completely honest I’m still not entirely sure of what it entails, but that didn’t matter because I liked the idea; the voice of Birmingham, raw, uncensored and real delivering the messages that they want Mr Blair, as their political representative to deliver to the G8 summit.
And what you may ask did the voice of Birmingham have to say?
Well firstly consensus was clear, everybody should be entitled to a basic standard of living to provide meaning other than victim to their existence. To promote a policy of self-sufficiency for developing countries by making trade fair and to tackle the very real threat of climate change, the voice of Birmingham was conscious, clear and concise, but most importantly its melody was sweet.
The melody may have been sweet but what made it so was the variety of vocal tensions and differing perspectives on how these ambitions might be achieved that created the unique harmony of the Birmingham voice. In particular, the introduction of ideas that I would never have even considered, influencing factors that challenged me to re-evaluate my own thinking on certain issues, this was, on a personal level, most rewarding aspect of my involvement in this project.
And my own personal message to Mr Blair?
Simply listen to the people.
Catherine Bell
