With the Caddey door closed, and our final wonderful visitors on their way, it was time for the Egham Rangers to regroup and reflect on what the day had been and how it had helped in them preparing for their impending participation in a BBC Civilisations Festival public debate, hosted by Egham Museum and chaired by Dr. Stella Moss. The debate topic questioned whether a society could be considered truly civilised if a portion of its population can’t vote. 100 years ago the fact that women are a vital part of our society was recognised by women being given the vote. Like women before the Suffragist Movement changed the way our society works forever, there are still portions of our society unable to vote: the homeless, immigrants, and, most relevant to our Egham Rangers, all individuals under the age of 18.
Feeling strong thanks to Wayne’s PDR workshop, our language primed for floor-claiming thanks to Dr. Clare and Ben, reminded of the strong women Suffrajitsus fighting (quite literally) for what they believed in thanks to Becca, and vocal chords all primed after Absolute Harmony’s hour of sing-along-fun, we were ready to tackle this huge social issue.
Listening to Egham Rangers discuss the pros and cons of under 16 and 17 year olds having the vote vote, we were powerfully reminded of our responsibility as citizens to engage with these big social issues. Civilisations are a collection of citizens, after all. We will never be absolutely exempt from our society’s influence over our lives, even if we’d like it to. Most of our Rangers felt that there were compelling reasons for the voting age to be lowered to 16, although there were also persuasive arguments against the notion voiced.
After the discussion, Rangers Amber and Jade led us all in a rosette and sash making workshop. These items were inspired by the Suffragette’s original symbols and will be worn (with pride) by the Rangers (and others! More to follow…) throughout the course of the Libertea Project.
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