Celebrate St. George’s Day as a day of self-affirmation, making communities feel better about the things we share with others.
This initiative is not about being Panglossian about ‘England’ – that history has many dark chapters.
Yet England also possesses things that define people individually and collectively, and to curate together a story and narrative that fuels values of being inclusive, fair, and respecting democracy and law.
To help everyone reflect on what it means to be ‘English’ we need to extricate the discussion away from waving a flag or not, to explore, reflect, and celebrate the multitude of small things shared in common, that unites communities and supports a social fabric that enables to stand up to the challenges our society faces.
With the support of Billy Bragg, Caroline Lucas, Sir Sajid Javid along with the Jo Cox Foundation’s More in Common Network, and other civil cohesion partners, we’ve launched ‘A very English chat’ telling ‘The story of England in 50 objects’. We overcome what could be a potentially divisive and hate-filled debate around English identity with a simple question: ‘What 5 objects tell your story of England and Englishness?’
It could be something culturally and historically profound, like the Magna Carta or Shakespeare. Or the every day, seemingly mundane, such as seaside windbreaks or talking about the weather.
All weave part of a rich tapestry that makes up the nation.
Our appeal for ideas to include in the 50 objects generated 3,000 ideas. In our workshops we discovered that no one had ever had a conversation around their national identity and what it means to them.
Now, you have a helpful way to start respectful conversations with yourself and others.
You can buy your own ‘The story of England in 50 objects’ either as a ‘Pocket Museum’ (a deck of cards), a ‘Museum on a Wall’ ( a weatherproof A2 poster) or T-shirt.
Do visit www.averyEnglishchat.org.uk and support our campaign for an England that tells an authentic, inclusive, shared story of England.
