Interview with Simon Sheikh from GetUp

This is an edited interview between ActNow member Alistair and Simon Sheikh, National Director of GetUp, a non-partisan, issue based grassroots lobbying organisation with over 300 000 members nationwide. At 23 Simon is one of the youngest ‘movers and shakers’ in Australian politics, overseeing campaigns against climate change, internet censorship, and the Gunn’s pulp mill. Simon talks about why it is important for young people to be involved in politics, and how he started his career as a social activist. The interview was conducted at the Australian Youth Climate Coalition’s Powershift Climate Conference on Monday 14th of July 2009, a conference of which GetUp was the major sponsor.

Why is it important for young people to be ‘climate activists’?
I think because young people like us have the most to lose here. We’re the ones who obviously be around for the longest period of time.  We’ve also got a huge amount of energy and it takes a lot of energy to get out there and solve the climate crisis one vote at a time, and that is why young people are so crucially important to ensure that this movement is able to combat dangerous climate change. 

How did you get involved in social change?
Well for me I was a young person who was playing sport and wasn’t really that involved in politics. I was 16 at the time and went to Fort Street High School in Petersham in Sydney. Justice Kirby came and gave a speech to the school one day and I found it very inspiring. Some months later one of the federal senators started to take Michael Kirby on in the media. I was really upset about this, but I had never taken action before, so I decided, with the assistance of a teacher, to write a letter to the editor. The letter was published and to me that was a really special thing, to see that an idea I had in my head could be out there in print. When Justice Kirby came back to the school he said thank you, he met with me and I was incredibly inspired to get out there and keep making change to fight. To fight for what’s in my mind, for what I believe, to fight for my values. For me that is how I got involved in political activism, a story that is shared by so many other activists.

How do you stay focussed on your broader goals?
I stay focussed by constantly checking in with myself, checking in with my values and checking in with what my heart is trying to say. I also stay focussed by talking to others. I really try and get out there and talk to as many people as I can, in order to get as many perspectives as I can. But at the same time you need to find time to let those thoughts settle – finding that time for me has been incredibly important in helping me stay focussed.
Some have said that young people have become disinterested, is this the fault of politicians or the fault of young people?
Well I think it is neither of those actually. I think that young people are interested in politics but they are interested in a different style of politics.  It is the fault of politicians that young people aren’t interested in party politics but that doesn’t mean that they’re not getting politically active. We see young people involved in so many arrays of political activism. We see them today in record numbers taking a really difficult task of paying money, getting out of their couches, getting all the way to Sydney for this Powershift conference. We see that kind of energy repeated across different movements. From the climate movement to the refugee movement, young people are increasingly active, they are very progressive in their perspectives and they have so much to offer. Our political system can’t keep up with that. Our voting system for example doesn’t realise that people want far more involvement than the odd vote every three years, they want so much more than that.

Just to finish up, if you had one piece of advice for Australian youth, what would it be?
I think it has got to be is to get out there. One of the biggest things blocking us is fear and when young people get active that fear quickly dissipates. We see so many young Australian activists at the moment, and this is a great time for change. People say the 60’s were a great time for change, which is true, but now is an even better time for change. The climate crisis gives us so much urgency, so much reason to act and that is why young people have a great space to create change.  I urge young people to get out there, get active, but frankly there are so many that already are.

Fantastic. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with the ActNow community!