SYP Speaker's Corner info
A Speakers' Corner is an area where public speaking is allowed. The original and most noted is in the north-east corner of Hyde Park in London. Speakers there are allowed to speak as long as the police consider their speeches lawful. Contrary to popular belief, there is no immunity from the law, nor are any subjects proscribed, but in practice the police tend to be tolerant and therefore only intervene when they receive a complaint or if they hear profanity.
So what is Speaker’s Corner in an SYP sense? Put simply it’s your chance to tell everyone what you think on a subject of interest to you.
How will it work?
At the Sitting, we’ll be setting aside an area to be used during lunch by any MSYP who wants to put across their views. Hopefully, as well as other MSYPs who might decide to listen, we’ll be in a position to film the ‘speeches’ and upload them to SYP TV for the whole world to see!
There is no intention to have a vote on anything that’s said and if nobody gets up to speak, then nobody gets up to speak, we won’t be forcing people onto the platform or deciding on a schedule—this is about MSYPs being given the floor.
What can you talk about?
Pretty much anything, it’s up to you, if you want to spend ten minutes discussing your collection of Star Wars memorabilia then that’s up to you but it’d probably be more interesting to talk about issues that are important to young people in your area (or you personally). The only thing not allowed is illegal behaviour or statements, or those which are in direct opposition to the MSYP code of conduct.
If you’ve got anything you want to discuss or simply rant about, then Speaker’s Corner is a way for you to do it a national level! No microphone, no PowerPoint, just you and your viewpoint…
The Rules
- Talk about anything you like, as long as it’s not illegal or inappropriate
- Don’t hog the platform—if others want to speak, give them a chance!
- Don’t force people to listen to you by shouting or anything like that, an audience is not your right!