Magic Me: Generation Rebellion films

Magic Me, an intergenerational charity based in east London, runs an annual Women’s project, which partners local older women with young women from Mulberry School for girls.

We started the project in 2020 with participants exploring how to be an activist in response to the climate and ecological crisis. In 2021 participants got together to look at how we can all get involved on a global and local level. We looked at the main causes of the crisis, then identified the root causes and the systems we currently live in. We used collaborative arts, always working across generations, to make films, artworks and a notebook to help share this work and encourage others to get active. The project was called Generation Rebellion.

Film one

Global activism

Group one made a film for COP26 and zoomed in from London to Glasgow to stimulate conversations through an interactive workshop led by the group. The group explored how to be an activist, created slogans for their banners, sung protest songs, and role-played being climate change sceptics in order to practice for conversations they might have with friends and relatives.

Film two

Local activism

Group two focused on the local; what initiatives already exist, what we would like to see, ways we can build community in relation to achieving climate justice, and ways of mobilising communities. This culminated in a local event, inviting members of the local area to come together to watch their film, see their artworks, engage in discussion and pledge their actions.

These films show how the older and younger women engaged with the topic, exploring and getting to know what they are interested in, frustrated by, and angry about, as non-experts, and as women.

They show how they engaged with each other’s different experiences, the importance of community and the fantastic ideas that emerged from their collaboration, including an open access education learning centre for all ages, plus growing and cooking projects.