Innholdsfortegnelse for 1/22/2024 i The Big Issue

THE TOP 100 CHANGEMAKERS 2024 The Big Issue 100 Changemakers list is a tribute to the people and organisations who have focused, not on themselves, but on the rest of us. There is something in what they’re doing that will make the coming year better too. Selfless, frequently unheralded, though sometimes a little better known, they have identified something that needs to be done, something which lifts others, often through personal experience, and rather than wait and moan they get on and make change. In 2024 we’ve done things differently. We have invited YOU to create this list. That means that every one of our Changemakers has been nominated by you, our Big Issue readers and supporters and wider community, including some famous faces. You have told us about people…

“Art is an essential part of me and my emotional wellbeing, a source of joy,” says Rossi, who submits this artwork via the 240Project, a London arts and health activity centre for those affected by homelessness and exclusion. “I’m fascinated by colour and form, natural and man-made environments, and the relationship between them,” she says. “My interest is to create organic landscapes that combine these elements harmoniously.” 240project.org.uk…

Dareen Nuru turned one last week. Around 60 people gathered to wish her happy birthday, which, by any measure, is a lot for an infant. But they hadn’t got together just to blow out some candles. Dareen has been hospitalised six times in her short life. This is due to respiratory problems caused by mould in her family home. It’s private rented accommodation in Lambeth where there is chronic shortage of housing stock. An alternative cannot be found. Those assembled were focused on drawing attention to Dareen’s plight, and the increasingly terrible conditions many families face in rented homes. Dareen shares the one-bedroom property with her parents and four siblings. Her twin, Haneen, also suffers from respiratory problems and seven-year-old Lujain has developed allergies linked to the conditions in the…

One of the most obvious reasons we read at all is to gain insight into the point of view of someone other than ourselves. Reading outside of our own experience can only serve to broaden our horizons and our minds, and this week we have a couple of scintillating examples of that. First up is Gathering, edited by Durre Shahwar and Nasia Sarwar-Skuse. Subtitled Women of Colour on Nature, it is exactly that, a collection of refreshing, diverse and personal essays on aspects of the natural world and the authors’ relationship to it. Nature writing in the UK is still dominated by white, male, middle-class and middle-aged voices, but this collection easily demonstrates that there are plenty of writers out there at least their equal in terms of insight, knowledge…

Everyone has got the right hump at this time of year, haven’t they? You’ve probably seen them, those angry, tired, miserable bastards. Beeping their horns in traffic and gesticulating violently out of their windows. And then there’s the passive aggressive ones – they’re even worse. Looking right through you when you try to offer them a smile. Pretending they don’t know you’re there as you wait patiently for them to move out of your way in the jams and spreads aisle at Tesco. Perhaps you are one of these moody arseholes. I know I am. We all are, sometimes. It’s the time of year: no sunlight, no money, no fun. Many people are trying Dry January which – from my experience – will feel frustrating and dull for the first…

Get in touch The Big Issue, 2nd floor, 43 Bath Street, Glasgow G2 1HW letters@bigissue.com @bigissue /bigissueUK @bigissueuk @thebigissue Dead good It was great to see a feature about Dead Ink books [Issue 1597, 8 January]. Equally, it was great to see two books published by independents reviewed by Doug Johnstone in the same issue. Too often we see the same half a dozen books promoted by ‘The Big Five’ publishers. They hardly need the help of a magazine like The Big Issue. James Marshall, Devon Vendor wish I was in Central London and had the pleasure of meeting Paul on Cavendish Square. Could you please let him know that he really made my day and that his Christmas card and smile were very much appreciated and that I wish…

Cymande’s long journey to musical vindication is as engaging as the music itself As the word ‘unprecedented’ approaches redundancy with regards to world events, one thing remains constant: the availability of moving, surprising, thought-provoking, life-enhancing music. Depending on where you rest your gaze, there is plenty to look forward to in 2024. I heard a preview recently of a new compilation honouring the Haitian revolution called Spiritual Healing: Bwa Kayiman Freedom Suiteby Haitian-Canadian jazz musician Jowee Omicil, who has worked previously with Roy Hargrove, Pharoah Sanders and Tony Allen. Hypnotic chanting, creaky live production and swirling instrumentation seem an apt accompaniment to the start of a new year. The full release will be available by the time you read this. Last November Andre 3000 released New Blue Sun, his first…

‘MARIA’ RODICA-FELICIA STOICA, 27 People know me as Maria where I sell the magazine. I started in 2015. Sometimes I’ve stopped for a year or something like that. But this has been my job ever since I came to England and I wish to continue selling the magazine in the future. I started selling The Big Issue because at the time it was so hard for me. I’d not got benefits. I’d not got a house. I couldn’t go to another company to go to work because I could not speak English, I could not read it. I didn’t know anything. A friend of mine was selling the magazine and I asked them, “Can I do this job too?” I went to the office and met the manager and had…