Making kids care about politics using Plotagon

Nyasha is the creator behind a project aiming to make politics more accessible for young people in the UK. She’s chosen Plotagon as a tool to create content for her digital platform called Politicks, and we asked her to tell us more about this exciting project. We hope you enjoy this interview!

- Hello Nyasha, tell us a bit about yourself and your project!

Greetings fellow Plotagonists! I’m 18 and I live in South London, United Kingdom. I am originally from Zimbabwe, I came to England when I was nine.

Amongst several other things and ignoring obvious interests such as the Internet, I am into gaming - I favour third-person shooters, futuristic technology, intellectual films that border on being pretentious, great music no matter the genre, deliciously long old books, writing tales of epic fantasy and hunting out ridiculous clothes for myself or friends. Oh, and food that pretends to be healthy.

- How did Politicks get started?

My current project Politicks (http://mypoliticks.uk/) was born at Upload: Live - a fantastic event run by a brilliant digital transformations company called Freeformers, as part of their one_for1 model for corporate social responsibility to give young people technology skills to succeed in today’s economy.

As part of the November 2014 cohort, we played the API Remix game in the lab session that got my team’s creativity flowing about creating an app to make politics more accessible - stop it being so archaic. We agreed this was lacking and needed to be addressed - that’s where it got started.

Named Poli to begin with, Politicks has developed loads over time and turned into something bigger than I’d ever have imagined! It’s now a digital platform to redefine youth political engagement which solves the so-called problem of apathy, by carefully employing a modern 3 pronged approach against disconnect, disengagement and disillusionment.

Its values are centred around encouraging + enabling the younger generation to seize democracy for transparency, equality and progress. Together we can take action to build a future where we will feel more positive about politics.

- How will Plotagon aid you in this project?

Plotagon will aid me in this project by providing me with beautiful animated characters to help tell stories, explain concepts and share ideas. To start off with, I’m trying out a News Studio based plot for a fortnightly segment where two hilariously mismatched presenters (the imaginatively named Lydia & Percy spun off Lucy & Paul #original) do their best to give an account of what the government has been up to lately…

There’ll also be behind the scenes footage so we can learn more about their personal lives as they argue over who messed up what line! Then I’ll be working on a series where interesting characters talk about what connects them to particular campaigns e.g. FGM (female genital mutilation) activists, beer tax protestors, voting reform groups discussing how they fight issues that grind their gears and take it from there. I hope to be able to represent many varied perspectives through things like mini-mockumentaries and reflect the different types of people in society.

I am really looking forward to enjoying the freedom that Plotagon affords creators - so excited to see the direction it goes in next.

- Of course we have to ask, who is your favorite Plotagon character?

Lizzie was probably the first character I could relate to, I can only wish I was that much of a badass *sigh*.

Then again I’ve always had a soft spot for Samir’s adorably shy ways, especially with the touching family dynamic that I like to throw in by making Mr Hernandez his dad.

But right now, Tara Conlan versus the zombies (https://plotagon.com/63643) is making for very amusing plots with members of the undead who just happen to be vegan.. Passes the time whilst I impatiently wait for The Walking Dead to return. Although it must be said that I’m glad and almost relieved that Plotagon’s zombies aren’t quite as aesthetically displeasing.

Stay up to speed with what Nyasha is doing on Twitter (https://twitter.com/NyashaDuri) and Plotagon (https://plotagon.com/nkd)!

Do you feel inspired to engage other in politics? We have released a politics-themed package with 4 new scenes. Install the latest version of the app and try it out today!