The felling of a statue made me think about a new way to take social action and Change in a Box was born, writes Joseph Rynhart
Surprisingly, the thing I remember most vividly about the summer of 2020 is the almost unbearable heat. With everything at a near-standstill, perhaps we all felt the temperature more intensely than usual. The political climate, too, was boiling over. People were dazed, or frazzled, or angry. However you like to describe it, things definitely weren’t ‘cool’.
Having spent most of my career working in education, I remember thinking that young people must have been feeling this heat even more acutely. I wanted the students I worked with to feel reassured that things could improve. And I wanted them to know they had the power to make that happen.
I watched a video online of Edward Colston’s effigy being torn down in Bristol. And as his body hit the water, an idea dropped into my head. This idea was called ‘Change in a Box‘, and it unexpectedly redefined the path of my future career.
Change in a Box is an offline, creative ‘social action kit‘. Its aim is to help users better understand their place in the world and reflect upon the power they have to make a difference where they live. It takes users on a three-step journey:
- Stories. All good learning comes from hearing stories. They build compassion, explain complicated things, and move us. Each kit comes with a book of real stories about key moments from history that made the world a fairer place.
- Then users can get creative. Kits include a bunch of art and craft supplies. For individuals, the crafts offer joy and diversion. Collectively, the results of each activity are a means of activism. They can be posted online, displayed in windows, or act as helpful conversation starters.
- Finally, time for action. Change in a Box includes a ‘social action glossary’ with simple introductions to protest, petitions, and parliament; there are ideas for fundraising and links to local volunteering opportunities. The aim is to provide users with the tools they need to make a change where they live.
Change in a Box doesn’t tell people what to think or feel. Instead, the intention is to give users the tools they need to navigate the challenging world we live in – and make it better if they want to.
My intention was to produce a small number of kits gradually. I imagined using any spare time and money to slowly experiment with the format. In reality, the project gained a speed and momentum I couldn’t have imagined.
Lancashire Youth Challenge and Culture Co-op commissioned a small pilot programme of fifty kits as part of their ‘Our Place in the World’ programme. Soon after, LCR Pride and Arts Emergency helped to fund kits of their own. In 2020, I distributed another 1,500 kits at summer holiday clubs in Lancaster.
The project was never intended to benefit me personally. But I can’t deny that working on Change in a Box has given me more hope than before.
And, for young people across the region, it seems to be doing the same. One user said that “it felt like a lockdown survival kit.” As restrictions were lifted, other young people wrote to say things like, “It inspired me to be active doing things that I wouldn’t usually” and “Receiving it felt so lovely and made me feel cared for.”
I hope to continue growing this project so even more young people can feel a sense of control over their future, think critically about the media they consume, and be more proactive in building fairer communities.
But if I fail – for whatever reason – I feel at peace that I was able to contribute just a little bit. On my left forearm, there is now a small tattoo of a cube. The tattoo’s meaning is perhaps overly earnest, but I still like it. It is supposed to be a reminder that everybody can have a tangible impact where they live. Everybody can build something from the tools available to them. Everybody can bring something new into existence. And everybody can help make change.
