‘Real Democracy Can Counter Division and Hate’

Co-initiator of the 2021 Global Citizens’ Assembly Jamie Kelsey shares his insights on how giving people genuine political agency is the answer to those tempted by more extreme ideas

I was a notorious activist. I’ve shouted at so many buildings in my time, you wouldn’t believe it. But that’s not going to work.

I’ve got a lot of friends in prison right now – ordinary, brave, young people from just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion. Activism doesn’t sway ideas in the context of the way people now engage with reality. The environment has changed so quickly, it’s breathtaking.

When we started Extinction Rebellion in 2018, we had lots of people protesting around XR’s pink boat in Oxford Circus. The narrative then shifted to ‘how dare you stop us from going to work?’