Big Issue Community Roadshow coming to Newcastle

Big Issue Group is pleased to announce its first ever ‘Big Community Roadshow‘, with its teams travelling across the UK to understand the problems facing Britain and how Big Issue can be part of the solutions.

For one week at time, all aspects of the Big Issue Group – editorial, opportunities for vendors, the social investment arm, Big Issue Invest, and the job service, Big Issue Recruit – will be brought to different cities and regions across the UK.

The first Big Community Roadshow will take place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1 October. The organisation will be based in the 5G Immersive Lab in Eldon Square on Tuesday 1 October and Thursday 3 October, and in Floe at the Stamp Exchange – with Big Issue crew visible around the city centre for three days.

Big Issue’s editorial team will cover stories that are important to the people of Newcastle and the North East. People will be invited to drop-in and share their stories and alert the team to areas they feel the publication should be focusing on. There will also be opportunity to discover more about the wider Big Issue Group, including Big Issue Invest, which offers finance to grassroots, change-making organisations, and Big Issue Recruit, a new person-centred employability service for people who face barriers with work. A full breakdown of activities can be found at bigissue.com.

The Big Community Roadshow will culminate in the Big Issue Big Debate – a Question Time-style live event that is open to the people of Newcastle to come armed with questions and ideas for a panel of experts and community leaders to consider. Chaired by Big Issue editor Paul McNamee, the panel will include local figures from the worlds of business, culture, politics and grassroots leadership, including local social entrepreneur Charlotte Windebank and former Big Issue vendor and well-known local personality Earl Charlton, with Big Issue founder Lord John Bird also set to join. This will take place on 3 October at 7pm at The Common Room in Newcastle. Tickets are available now on Eventbrite.

Paul McNamee, Editor of the Big Issue, said: “For 33 years, we have worked to create opportunities for marginalised people across the UK. Our name is synonymous with positive social change. Now, as the country seeks to rebuild itself, the Big Issue wants to understand more – and do more.

“We believe the only way to bring change is to listen to those in the middle of things. We don’t know all the answers, but experience tells us that many people do. We will listen and seek to bring together these solutions.

“Big Issue is born of the streets and works, at our core, by listening to those we exist to serve, to transform lives, and adapting as we do. The Big Community Roadshow is an extension of who we are. We want to properly tackle poverty to help bring real and lasting change.”

Catherine Parsons, Managing Director of the Big Issue Changing Lives Community Interest Company, added: “We will have an open door for people to come to talk, including to learn more about the growing parts of Big Issue Group. We invite community leaders and local businesses to discuss, input and collaborate with local changemakers to seek positive outcomes at local level. Through these roadshows, we will show how communities can come together to tackle poverty head-on, driving change.”

The roadshows form part of Big Issue’s new Big Community initiative, which aims to bring people together to find community-level solutions and campaign for government action on poverty.

The new Big Community initiative also encompasses a new membership scheme, through which people can show their support for the latest chapter in the Big Issue’s work to eradicate poverty in the UK.

More dates and destinations for the Big Issue’s Big Community Roadshows will be announced in the coming weeks.

To get tickets for the Big Issue Big Debate visit:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-big-issue-big-debate-tickets-1021969758057?aff=ebdsoporgprofile