Broadcaster and author Gemma Cairney has been a long-standing supporter of The Circle and most recently hosted our emergency webinar on Sudan, held as part of our Global Feminism Series. In the days afterwards we spoke to Gemma to find out more about her motivations to use her creative skills and energy to actively help to bring about positive change in the world.
Let’s meet Gemma…
Tell us a bit about your background and what brought you to The Circle?
I first heard about The Circle many years ago, I was a young buck, bouncing around popular and youth culture working in radio and TV but starting to feel a yearning to learn more about social justice and the world around me. The Circle’s intersectional approach appealed to me from the start. It felt exciting to be invited to learn quite literally cyclically without the usual structure of a traditional ‘aid’ model. Also, The Circle felt brave, the issues they endeavour to tackle are some of the most complex and frankly hard truths affecting women worldwide.
How have you directly supported The Circle’s work in the past and how do you hope to do so in the coming year(s)?
I have found, The Circle Founder Annie Lennox’s balance of being a world-renowned musician and activist so inspiring and I hope the way she does it provides a blueprint for others in the creative and entertainment industries with powerful positions.
In 2012 when I wrote and published my first book, ‘Open A Toolkit For How Magic & Messed Up Life Can Be’, which is a young adults guide to life including all sorts, from serious subjects such as self-harm to more positive navigations of romance – I asked Annie for a cover quote. She provided one and has been so encouraging of myself and peers in similar positions to cultivate our feminist stances, get involved with The Circle and not be afraid of working towards a better future together by cutting through the noise of individualism.
I was part of The Music Circle for years and we raised over £100,000 for women and girls in developing countries through gigantic jumble sales where we sold and upcycled outfits and great curios of some of the most known musicians and entertainers in the land. It was an incredible day out, for seven years in row and the queues would go outside the door.
I will always be open to doing more and am thinking about how I can entwine fundraising into a project I’m touring with next year about the power of honouring great women.
How important do you believe it is to bring global feminists together on webinars like the one you hosted for us on Sudan?
The initiative and momentum of direct access to those on the frontline in situations that need us all to be informed on is so important. The fact that The Circle brought together global feminists and activists with such ease, in the way that they did when I hosted the conversation with some women in Sudan working tirelessly to protect and heal those in crisis was game changing for me. I get fatigue with social media, to hear from the those in the country itself galvanised me in a way I don’t think much else could. It was insightful and direct and gave me clear pointers on how to focus my want to contribute to their incredible and relentless work.
What do you believe to be the role of the media, broadcasters and authors like yourself in helping to bring about positive change for women’s lives?
The word ‘communication’ originates from the word ‘communicare’ which is rooted in the fact that to share in community creates care. I see my role as a trained communicator, broadcaster and writer etc. a responsibility I personally and professionally don’t take lightly. I will always be learning and advocating for equality – it’s at the bedrock of all my public work, even if it’s not obvious in the nature of it. To tell stories, to ask questions, to bring people together…by doing what we do for our livings, and recognising our skills in certain ways we have the potential to raise so much autonomy and empowerment by proxy.
When did you first hear about feminism?
Through my first experience of WOW (Women Of The World) Festival on the Southbank in London, I was 23 and had grown up thinking ‘girl power’ was IT!
What do you feel are the important issues to be addressed in the coming year and what feminist change would you like to see in the world?
SO MUCH. I have a notion often that we need to take steps in collective healing and assessing the potential trauma of the consumption of brutality that has been normalised. Once we recognise how oppressive and violent the systems put in place for us are, this includes addiction to our phones, and the numbing of inaction and not researching where we put our time and money. It’s all connected. I feel we all need to embrace change, re-learning, read the likes of Bell Hooks and think about the foundations that art and culture provide us. If culture is more globalised than ever, then let’s resculpt it into something that acts as autonomy.
How do you unwind and rest?
I head directly into nature, usually to be in a body of water.
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