IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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ISSUE 720 DECEMBER 2019 - FEBRUARY 2020 OVERSE AS THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL OVER-SE AS LE AGUE IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more
WELCOME “ Th e S t e i n w a y i s n o t o n l y a n i n s t r u m e n t , i t i s a w o r k o f a r t o f t h e f i r s t r a n k .” CHRISTOPH ESCHENBACH S T E I N W AY A R T I S T “ROSL is an oasis for civilised and rational The Royal Over-Seas League is dedicated to championing international friendship and understanding through cultural and education discourse in a activities around the Commonwealth and beyond. A not-for-profit private members’ organisation, we’ve been bringing like-minded people together since 1910. seemingly frenetic and Front Cover Holding Hands Isabella Agbaje OVERSEAS EDITORIAL TEAM fractured global society” Editor Mr Mark Brierley: editor@rosl.org.uk; +44 (0)20 7408 0214 Design zed creative: www.zedcreative.co.uk Display advertisements The Media Sales House: +44 (0)20 3004 7201; rosl@themediasaleshouse.co.uk As we develop our governance review and our longer-term strategy for ROYAL OVER-SEAS LEAGUE Incorporated by Royal Charter ROSL and for the ROSL Golden Jubilee Trust, the question of our identity, Patron HM The Queen of who we are and what we stand for arises often. Our founding principles Vice-Patron HRH Princess Alexandra KG GCVO President The Rt Hon the Lord Luce KG GCVO DL set out in our 1922 Royal Charter talk about ‘the bond of comradeship’ Chairman Mr Alexander Downer AC and our mission to ‘render individual service’ and ‘to help one another’ Vice-Chairman Prof Meryll Dean* whilst upholding the best traditions of the past. Our Charter referred to Deputy Chairman Mrs Anne Wilkinson* Hon Treasurer Mr Richard Harbord FCA* the Empire and of course now we think about the Commonwealth family Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James’s Street, of 53 countries. London SW1A 1LR; +44 (0)20 7408 0214; Fax +44 (0)20 7499 6738; info@rosl.org.uk; www.rosl.org.uk The chaos of Brexit has brought into sharp focus the need for these CENTR AL COUNCIL qualities of friendship, respect and service to ‘humanity at large’ to be Mr Anjola-Oluwa Adeniyi Dip IoD, Mr David Banks*, supported and reinforced at every opportunity to enable all to prosper Ms Penny Bristow, Nik Raof Daud, Prof Meryll Dean*, Mr Peter Fernandez FFCA, Miss Judith Fisher, in the future. Political upheaval, climate change, and more, call for global Mr Keith Green, Ms Fiona Harshaw MRICS, Mr Stephen Johns, Mr Alex Lamley, collaboration and understanding rather than narrow sectarian decision- Mr Vic Laws MBE FIH, Prof Eve Mitleton-Kelly, making. We all have a role to play and ROSL is an oasis for civilised and Mr David Nicholson*, Mr Phil Nicklin BA FCA, Miss Samantha Pickett, Mrs Helen Prince, rational discourse in a seemingly frenetic and fractured global society. Dr Monica Seeley, Mr Atholl Swainston-Harrison*, Mrs Raye Ward, Mr Frank Wibaut, Digital technology is a powerful tool which will be critical to addressing Mrs Anne Wilkinson* (*Executive Committee) Director-General Dr Diana Owen OBE many of the issues facing the world, and here at ROSL it will be key +44 (0)20 7408 0214 x201; to enabling all members voices to be heard and for members to be in patodirectorgeneral@rosl.org.uk Chief Finance Officer Mrs Alexis Corzberg: touch with each other and with everything that is happening through our acorzberg@rosl.org.uk new members’ information platform. However, we can only make the best Director of Education Projects Ms Margaret Adrian-Vallance MBE: of these opportunities if you are part of them too and for that we need +44 (0)20 7408 0214 x307; mvallance@rosl.org.uk your email address. We can still only contact about half of our members Artistic Director Mr Geoff Parkin: +44 (0)20 7408 0214 x325; gparkin@rosl.org.uk regularly; so please, if we don’t have it, let us have your email address. Resident Manager Warren Miller If you would like help in setting one up, please let us know. +44 (0)20 7408 0214 x203; wmiller@rosl.org.uk Director of HR Mrs Sarah Banner: sbanner@rosl.org.uk At this time of year, many members wish to thank staff by contributing Membership towards the Staff Gratuities Fund. You are under no obligation to do so, +44 (0)20 7408 0214 x214; membership@rosl.org.uk For more contacts visit www.rosl.org.uk/the-team but if you would like to thank the many people, both front of house and Print Gemini Print Group: +44 (0)127 346 4884 behind the scenes, who are working everyday to make your membership The journal is published by the Royal Over-Seas League, Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James’s Street, worthwhile, then please do so either at the clubhouse or by contacting the London SW1A 1LR. Any views expressed in editorial and any advertisements included are not necessarily endorsed by the Central Council. Membership team. The staff are immensely grateful that their hard work Steinway Hall 44 M a r y l e b o n e L a n e L o n d o n W 1 U 2 D B ISSN 00307424 and efforts are recognised by members. For more informatio n o r t o a r ra n g e a p r i v a t e a p p o i n t m e n t at our London show ro o m s , p l e a s e c a l l : Diana Owen OBE DIRECTOR-GENERAL 0207 487 3391 o r e m a i l i n f o @ s t e i n w a y. c o . u k W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 3
From the EDITOR When you are asked to describe someone, what attributes do you choose? Their name, their age, their height, skin colour, eye colour, or hair colour perhaps? Maybe it’s what they do for a living, or their political or religious beliefs? Whatever it is, these identifiers only scratch the surface of one’s identity. 18 In this issue of Overseas, we delve a little deeper to find out the ways, some old and some new, that people are defining themselves and others today. But, does the race to identify ourselves, by whatever means, result in our empathy ebbing away for those we see as ‘different’? On page 6, Abi Millar asks if the drive for greater acceptance among marginalised groups is actually hardening opinions among many people. “With membership spread As we grow, so our opinions and understanding across 103 countries, a 50/50 of the world around us change. But the long memory of social media means a misguided comment from the gender split, from teenagers past can be dredged up within seconds. On page 10, Ross Davies asks if we have sacrificed the ability to nonagenarians, the to reinvent ourselves. The added risk of us sharing the minutiae of breadth of interests and our lives on social media, means we are leaving ourselves at risk of identity theft. A little more reasons to join is staggering” self-awareness could make all the difference, as conman-turned-security consultant Frank Abagnale, famously depicted by Leonardo DiCaprio in Catch Me If You Can, tells us on page 22. WELCOME 14. Finding your tribe 24. Commonwealth Branch Chair Paul ongoing education 46. ROSL around The most obscure of pastimes can now find a home Now we can indulge our creativity Surtees tells us why he projects ROSL is the world on the internet and a community with which to share 3. From the D-G passions online, however Read Veronica Shen's chose to retire to this supporting and thanks Photos, news, and it. Has our collective identity changed now people are With the world in such a obscure, do we still Thai city Gita de la Fuenté for Lost, the winning events from our global free to indulge their passions? On page 14, we find state of flux, Diana calls identify in the same way? her generous legacy Junior Category entry branch network and out if the old signifiers such as class, nationality, on members to maintain of the 2019 Queen's IN THE UK ROSL-organised or wealth are becoming increasingly obsolete. 38. News and views rational discourse ROSL PEOPLE Commonwealth 34. London and activities The new member UK highlights Plus, in this issue, you can enjoy all your regular 18. Not-so-average member Essay Competition WORLD portal, our 2019 Visual 48. Event highlights news from the clubhouse and branches around the There is no average Seasonal favourites Arts scholars visit the 6. The age of identity 26. ROSL Photography Entries are already world, event highlights, more features, and the results member. The variety of and some unusual ways UK, Younger members politics reasons for joining and Competition to get out and about flooding in for the of our inaugural ROSL Photography Competition See the photographs discuss their identity, 2020 Annual Music Abi Millar asks if our using the club is huge over Christmas and on page 26. The cover image this issue is the and meet the winners the Western Australia Competition. empathy is ebbing away the New Year ‘Camera’ category winner, Holding Hands, 22. Scam me if you can from each category of branch does its bit Be the first to see as marginalised groups by Nigerian photographer Isabella Agbaje. Frank Abagnale, former for the arts, ROSL strive for acceptance conman depicted in the ROSL's inaugural NEWS & EVENTS Australia welcomes the next-generation photography of musical talent Enjoy the read and please get in touch 10. Social consciousness film Catch Me If You Can, 36. Small but perfectly a new Patron, and competition when Section Finals with your feedback. Is social media stopping explains how to protect formed the Antigua Youth begin in February. us from being able to yourself from online 30. My city: Chiang Mai Margaret Adrian- Orchestra welcomes Mark Brierley change our minds? identity theft Former Hong Kong Vallance reports on the a ROSL delegation 50. Event calendar editor@rosl.org.uk 4 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 5
WORLD WORLD AS PEOPLE INCREASINGLY DEFINE a lecturer in British Politics and Public Policy at the University of Manchester, feels the term has become THEMSELVES BY THEIR GENDER, shorthand for ‘something we don’t like’. FAITH, SEXUALITY OR RACE, “The central argument appears to be that identity OUR EMPATHY IS EBBING AWAY, politics is a barrier to compromise, it’s a barrier to ACCORDING TO THE UK’S EQUALITY community, it’s a barrier to togetherness,” he says. “But AND HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION. everyone practises identity politics, in that all politics includes an element of identity at all times. Often, the ABI MILLAR ASKS IF THE DRIVE FOR people who shout the loudest about how terrible it is, are GREATER ACCEPTANCE AMONG people who have got quite attached to a certain identity.” MARGINALISED GROUPS IS ACTUALLY The classic case here might be a white working-class HARDENING OPINIONS AMONG Trump voter, who sees the Democratic Party as placing minorities’ interests above their own. Or, a Brexit MANY PEOPLE I supporter laying into the ‘metropolitan elite’ – a supposed ruling class who are out of touch with more authentically n May, David Isaac, British concerns. chair of the UK’s More toxic are the likes of ‘white pride’ and ‘men’s equality watchdog, made rights activist’ movements – privileged groups that have a damning case against clearly adopted the language of identity politics, despite identity politics. Speaking professing to stand against it. to the Observer Observer, he said the tendency As Oliver points out, many politicians speak as though for people to define themselves by a they’re somehow exempt from having an identity. He particular subgroup (gender, sexuality, cites the former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron, faith, race, etc) was undermining empathy who once described identity politics as a ‘poison’: among Britons. ‘insidious, irrational, and lead[ing] to decisions that “The key issue is 'how do we move beyond threaten our liberty’. The irony isn’t hard to spot. the "I" to the "we"?', how do we think of “Tim Farron had a lot to say about the ourselves as citizens in a country or in the world importance of religion as an element of his who are not just focused on what works for me identity – when he resigned, he said he found and my narrow group,” he said. “How do we ensure it impossible to reconcile his faith with that we think about people who are different to us?” being the leader of the Liberal Democrats,” His comments were driven in part by an ongoing says Oliver. “Well, that’s a question of row in Birmingham, where a group of Muslim parents identity – am I a Christian first or am I were protesting against LGBT education in schools. a liberal first? Apparently these things It was a stark example of the ways one identity (a faith are now in contention, and that’s group) could clash with another (LGBT), and seemed a question of identity politics.” to rest on the assumption that protecting one’s interests Professor Dennis Altman, a was a zero sum game. fellow in human security at La Trobe The challenge, suggested Isaac, was to ensure “we University, Melbourne, agrees that identity don’t end up in the siloed world where everybody is politics are fundamentally impossible to escape. hypersensitive about their own individual interests and “I think everybody, to some extent, reflects their less empathetic about how other people are treated.” identity in their political positions and the problem arises Of course, this was far from the first time identity when that’s the only thing that’s talked about,” he says. politics as a concept had come under fire. Francis “The current obsession by the right to attack identity Fukuyuma’s recent book Identity pegs identity politics as politics is silly, when they themselves do so in the name a threat to liberal democracies. Amy Chua’s Political Tribes of a different identity. The term is being misused.” suggests that ethnic and tribal affinities are becoming a While a history of identity politics is beyond the scope source of fragmentation and ultimately conflict. of this piece, a good place to start might be the civil rights In Australia, a recent parliamentary enquiry has movements of the 1960s and 70s. These movements were labelled identity politics a ‘source of intolerance’ alongside fuelled by the desire for equality for all. In his 1971 book right-wing nationalism. And an academic journal, the A Theory of Justice, the philosopher John Rawls imagined Journal of Controversial Ideas, has been set up to combat a society structured without reference to ‘race, gender, the creep of identity politics into academia. religious affiliation, [or] wealth’. In fact, so prevalent are critiques of identity politics, it’s However, by the 1980s and 90s, the ‘I have a sometimes hard to determine what’s being criticised – is dream’ mentality was coming to seem utopian. Many it a clearly defined concept or a bogeyman that changes conservatives were using the language of equality – its meaning according to the critic? Dr Timothy Oliver, claiming they ‘didn’t see colour’, for instance – as a means 6 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 7
WORLD L IT IC S IS A B AR R IE R IDENTITY PO UNITY, TO TOGETHERNE MM SS GIFT OF TO COMPROMISE, TO CO it is that you can sell to them. ies – MEMBERSHIP EST D 1910 and entrenching th e sa me e common identit og re ssi ve po lic ies “O ne of th e problems with thes igh t sa y, well, of opposing pr ded with a new m ovement – r example – is that a person m . Th e left re sp on Br iti sh ne ss fo ents so m ething old hierarchies y or it repres re d th e rig ht s of the group. th at do es n’t spea k to my identit he sa ys . “Y ou Treat friends and family to one that cent nt antit hetical to my identit y,” e tw o str an ds of thought (“I wa sc en t wh o FOR THE Although th es g” versus “I wa nt might be a person of Indian de a special gift this Christmas. as a hu m an be in co lon ial ism . So CLUBBER recognition ss with bla ck les bia n America n”) associates Britishne a un ifi er, bu t ROSL Membership is the recognition as a l identit y ca n be da y’s di sc us sio n ye s, a na tio na er since, to u represent have co-existed ev m an y pe op le yo u’v e go t to think about how yo gift that keeps giving e latter. Fo r is dominated by th entities mea ns and manufacture that identit y.” fo cu s on gr ou p id y factors in play for a whole year. on the left, a d co m ba tin g He ad ds that there are man ua lities an before foregrounding ineq easier to put the ‘I’ today that make it oppression. gin Tailor your gift and create ed, the problems be the ‘we’. and cu lture As Altman has argu m or e e wa y we consume media oup identit y be co m es “Th to a more the perfect membership! once a person’s gr He giv es th e an d co ns um er goods lends itself at they sa y. ty,” he says. importa nt than wh er va tiv e ato m ist ic un derstanding of socie To find out more visit g into a co ns out and find example of runnin rin g sim ply, it’s easier to go FOR THE Greens fu nd ra ise r du “Q ui te you wa nt now www.rosl.org.uk/ acquaintance at a ID E N T IT Y so m eth in g that’s close to what TRAVELLER the last Australian election . ku y u m a man history. giftmembership or call ha ve a ga y ca nd idate F r a n c is Fu a re th an it’s ev er been before in hu eens s ic “He said, 'but the Gr Id e n ti t y p o li ti c r socia l and econom an y ga y ca nd idate',” he recalls. to li b e ral So there are broade +44 (0)20 7408 0214. and I’ll supp or t a th re a t .” s just silly – someo ne’s c ie s forces at work here plex. “Now I think that’ les s d e moc ra ue s are nothing if not com in g for offi ce is Th es e iss ’re runn ’t a complexit y that sexuality when they Unfortunately, it isn an th e po sit ion s they hold.” politica l climate, important th ca n als o co nt ain tra ns lat es well to our current The discussion on the left ised by people t of es se nt ial ism , wh ich se ems to be character elemen an uncomfortable ta lk ing at cross-pur poses. tit y is un de rst ood as something ok, Unrequited FOR THE MUSIC LOVER in which id en er efo re pr on e to In Al tm an’s most recent bo (and th t how identit y polit ics inflexible and rigid Love, he ta lk s abou g in to ev er- sm all er subgroups). co m in g US splinterin the forth been a gay rights ac tiv ist might play out in Altman, who has labels on presiden tia l ele ction. not a fan of all the POLI TICA L TRIB ES oever is the Democ ratic since the 1960s, is A+ sp ec tru m . Amy “M y hu nc h is wh the LG BT QI Chua an,” what is now ca lled be an old white m de rm in es the idea that Ethni c and triba l nominee, it won’t fo rm id able “It actu all y un e ve ry ,” he sa ys . “I affini ties are he sa ys . “There are som sexuality and gend er are flu id mination, two ica l co rre ctn es s, beco ming a sourc e wo m en ca ndidates for the no don’t like ta lk ing about po lit s, one or two of th e rig ht , bu t of fragm entation Af ric an America n ca ndidate because that’s such a boge y enly gay man… FOR THE YOUNG rio r by po sit ion ing Hi sp an ic ca ndidates, an op people ca n feel mor ally su pe of a much greater I th in k this is a reflection one identit y again st anot he r.” t Trump appeals of id en tit y ac ce pt ance of diversity. Bu For many of today’s cr iti cs n white men are ek in g is a re turn to th e sense that America politics, what they ’re reall y se d if he surv ives of di sc ou rse . so m eh ow under threat, an to a more universa list ki nd r re-election that ’s co m m en ts in the lon g enough to fight fo To return to David Isaac the way his th at we sh ou ld id entif y wi ll be a major factor in t was Obser ver, his poin ca mpaign unravels. ” in a co un try or in the world ’, L O VE ions on identit y as ‘citiz en s su bg ro up . E Q U IT E D W hatever your in op a ree that there’s a lot bers of N R a n as opposed to mem U A ltm in Br ex it- torn D e n n is w il l po litics, we ca n all ag This impu lse mak es se ns e le c t io n s are not going he r co un tri es) is e 2020 e lo n g at sta ke here. These issue be and the onus wi ll man y ot T h t a Britain, which (li ke Ol ive r po ints r g e ly p la y ou n es aw ay any time soon, . FOR THE Howe ve r, as la o li tic a l li ake sense of them deeply fractured. re ar ou nd a e n tit y p on all of us to try to m ople to co he id FOODIE out, if you wa nt pe t what u’ve got to work ou W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 9 l id en tit y, yo nationa 8 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 9
WORLD WORLD SO CI A L The prevalence of pile-ons and allowing us to dash off a pithy bon mot or aren’t particularly proud of with who we recriminations on Twitter is an ugly slant in a matter of seconds, it can often believe we are, and who we want to be.” business. Speaking at a live event with come at the expense of context and tone. In his book The People vs Tech the the New Yorker in 2017, Author Zadie “Different registers can be completely British writer Jamie Bartlett describes the CO NSCI O USNE SS Smith rationalised her avoidance of social media as a means of allowing her “the right to be wrong”. lost on social media,” says Marshall. “You might mean something in a humorous way, like a meme, but people might not realise According to David Marshall, a Professor you’re joking.” “panopticon effect” of social media, in which, instead of one central watchman monitoring us, “we are all being watched by everyone”. This means everyone is As we grow, so our opinions and understanding of the world around in new media, communication and cultural However, when I suggest to Ulrike fair game for criticism, whether they are studies at Deakin University in Melbourne, Schultze that all of this has had a damaging famous or not. us change. But the long memory of social media means a misguided Australia, the trend also has to do with impact on self-development and personal Predictably, celebrities and politicians comment from the past can be dredged up within seconds. Have we the increasingly blurred line between reinvention, she isn’t so sure. For Schultze, generate the biggest Twitterstorms the private and the public, which he has Associate Professor in IT and operations when they are outed for perceived past sacrificed the ability to reinvent ourselves? Ross Davies reports “I labelled “privlic”. management at Southern Methodist misdemeanours online. Sometimes, the “What we are experiencing is a blending University, Dallas, Texas, social media dredging is impressively thorough. Earlier change during the course of a day. around us. Political stripes, in particular, memory than any of us could ever have of public, private, personal and the can actually allow us to self-curate the this year, Comedian Kevin Hart was forced I wake and I’m one person, and often change over time, as does our imagined. intimate into online culture,” he says. narratives of our lives. to apologise after a series of homophobic when I go to sleep I know for understanding of societal mores – for better Whether it be Facebook, Twitter or “It’s really destabilising. We still want to “What is required to reinvent oneself is tweets from 2010 resurfaced. certain I’m somebody else.” or worse. Instagram, we are seduced by the dopamine present ethical versions of ourselves, narrative,” she explains. “It’s While the original media predates the So claimed Bob Dylan in an The hardest part of all for many of us is hit of self-validation; putting out a even though we cross lines the ability to spin new age of social media, Canadian Prime interview with Newsweek in 1997. True the recall of opinions we’ve aired out in statement that defines our integrity and at different moments. yarns and narrativize. Minister Justin Trudeau has also found enough, the longevity of the singer- the open, only to regret them further down belief system – in other words, our identity. And when we do, it That’s one of the himself embroiled in controversy after songwriter’s career can be attributed to the line. It could be a politician whose But the world of social media can can really haunt us.” Before the advent of theories about photos were unearthed of him wearing mutability, from the cherubic troubadour leadership you backed, or an off-the-cuff be a noisy, angry place with little time Despite the social media, it was identity that’s blackface when he was teacher. In the case image of his early career to the gaunt, remark meant to be humorous but that was for nuance and balance, resulting in doubling of been commonly of a politician such as Trudeau, is it right flame-haired rock star filling out stadia deeply offensive to someone. polarisation and mass tribalisation. permitted character considerably easier to accepted for that he be held accountable for past actions only a few years later. Before the advent of social media, it was As Silicon Valley pioneer Jaron Lanier length from 140 to change one's mind. But a long time. in the name of public interest? But reinvention is not the sole preserve considerably easier to change one’s mind summarised, “social media platforms make 280, Twitter’s brevity digital technology has a It also forces “Elections have huge consequences, of the artist – not least when it comes to about something without being held to more money when people are irritated, can be a double-edged longer memory than any of us to reconcile so getting a sense of a candidate is really our convictions and beliefs of the world account. But digital technology has a longer obsessed, divided and angry”. sword for users. While events that we important,” says Schultze. us could have imagined 10 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 11
WORLD who id w a s hu rt ful to people “What I d e and discrimin ation to le ra n c live with in at I let a lot of out about themselves in the public domain. I k n o w th every day... “We are beginning to pull back,” he says. e, and le d o w n w ith that choic “We are starting to edit and curate ourselves peop for my huge to the point that we are eliminating a lot of e p ly s o rr y I am de information. This is partly down to a fear el terrible.” of surveillance. mistake. I fe “We are also starting to ask more DE AU questions, like, at what point does JUS T IN TRU ea u technology actually become a version @ ju st in tr ud of our voice? At what point do we say that it is a public version of our identity, or the Earlier this year, several images surfaced of the private version?” Canadian Prime Minister wearing blackface. As for the future, is withdrawal from Despite the initial negative public reaction, social media platforms the only way we can he was still able to win a second term in office. ensure our missteps and faux pas aren’t Suppliers and restorers calcified for digital eternity? Plenty of recent op-eds can be found advocating the deletion of stringed instruments and bows of our social media accounts, but for many “We live in a world of hyper-transparency. media accounts and decide whether a this would represent a fear of missing out Nevertheless, some politicians are better candidate is a liability or not.” (commonly abbreviated as FOMO). than others of overcoming these types of For those of a certain age, it’s a wonder However, in Schultze’s eyes, the concept of scandal, by narrativizing it in a way that to recall the internet’s early days – before selfsameness – the idea that we are the same is convincing and allows people to forgive the arrival of advertisers – as a type of safe person as we were yesterday – is not the case them.” space, in which users, in the words of Media for everybody, and never has been. Instead, As revealed in Jon Ronson’s So You’ve Historian Kate Eichhorn could “adopt an identity is something altogether more Been Publicly Shamed, the road to alternative gender, don wings or have sex complex and multifaceted. redemption following online scandal can with mythical creatures”. “As we become more familiar with these be a long one. In recent years, this has seen Cyberspace represented an outpost of technologies, I see identity becoming more the rise in Silicon Valley of virtual footprint geekdom, allowing a previously repressed fluid,” she says. “So, similar to the same way managers and reputational consultants, who identity to flourish. In a chatroom or forum, we have redefined marriage, so we will redefine – for a little short of a king’s ransom – can one could transform from an acne-ridden, identity, so as to essentially accommodate push negative news stories down into the tongue-tied adolescent into the avatar of the kind of reality that we live in. backpages of Google. However, where the elision of social media their own making. The dark web aside, most of us accept that “The definition of identity based on self-sameness and which ignores these ROSL members and identity can be especially problematic is when young people are involved. For many, to get the full benefits of social media we have to pay the price of relinquishing our other dimensions will fade away in favour of other forms of identity where we really receive a 10% adolescence can be a confusing time, in which identity is often not fully formed – anonymity. That said, says Marshall, users are becoming savvier around what they put are talking about multiple selves existing in different spaces.” discount on strings * or stifled by the constraints of peer pressure. In the name of exploration, teenagers do and say things that will most likely produce a shudder of shame and embarrassment “My behaviour was in when remembered as adults. appropriate & I apologise unrese This has prompted some to call for the rvedly to option of digital erasure, through which ever yone I've let dow people can opt to wipe anything posted n. I was stupid & there's no fool like online before the age of 18. an old fool” “I don’t know how that could be SIMON DA NC ZUK 020 7224 9099 accomplished, realistically, and whether @S im on Da ncz uk 999................... the tech companies would get behind it,” ......@.................. says Schultze. “There might also be people who don’t want their past to be wiped out. Labour MP for Rochdale Simon Danczuk sent 99 L..... G..G. “Where the problem comes in for explicit messages to an 17-year-old girl, causing L..... adolescents, is when they are being hired, him to be suspended from the party and a NW1 6UP because hiring firms – often through their public apology on Twitter soon followed. legal departments – look at their social *Offer valid until 1/2/2020 and can not be used in conjunction with any other offer 12 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
WORLD WORLD The most obscure of pastimes can now find a home on the internet and a community with which to share it. Has our collective identity changed now that people are free to indulge their passions? Abi Millar asks whether the old signifiers such as class, nationality, or wealth are becoming increasingly obsolete A s a teenager growing up in As we near the end of the decade, ups and pub crawls all over the UK. I’ve Weymouth in the 1990s, Facebook has 2.41billion monthly users met people at conferences in Canada who Sean Adams had two great and Instagram and WeChat both have moved there after falling in love with passions: music and the over a billion. Online dating is one of the bands through the site and chatting to burgeoning World Wide Web. most common ways to meet your partner, locals. I’ve probably forgotten a hundred “I was birthed in the blood and fire and Reddit (‘a network of communities other great examples of people coming of the early web,” he recalls. “The more based on people’s interests’) is the third together.” I read about the Dark Web-like bulletin most visited website in the US. It’s easy to As early as 1959, the Sociologist Erving boards of the 70s and 80s, the more take our online connections for granted. Goffman described the possibility of a I understand about the 90s internet Ten years ago, however, the very concept community that wasn’t constrained by I stumbled into via my AOL dial-up was a novelty. For many people on the physical space. His book, The Presentation of connection. It felt logical to my 16-year- early social sites, there was another source Self in Everyday Life, described community old brain to create my own outpost.” of excitement: the scope for converting as a mindset of belonging – if you felt That outpost became Drowned in online friendships into ‘real’ ones. yourself to be part of a community, then you Sound, an ‘online fanzine’ – and for a “There are so many examples at were, no matter where you were situated. while, one of the world’s most successful Drowned in Sound,” says Adams. “I know Today, the concept of virtual music sites – that celebrates its 20 th of at least one marriage between two communities is well established. As well anniversary next year. What gave it its regular users, who were also behind an as staying in touch with friends and energy was not just its content, but also A-Z club night where each month they relatives, the internet has enabled us to the sense of community that sprang up only played music by acts starting with a forge bonds with those who would have around its discussion boards. particular letter. There are regular meet otherwise remained strangers. As the “The social board became like the best zoologist Desmond Morris has put it: pub next door to your favourite music “although people are often criticising venue,” says Adams. “Conversations computers and saying they’re isolating The internet of the were unmoderated and in many ways us… in fact technology is actually helping early 2000s was an self-moderating, although a fair bit of it us to strengthen [our] old tribal ties.” was young men experimenting with the aesthetically challenged Professor Daniel Miller, a Digital boundaries of edginess, trying to find and faintly anarchic Anthropologist at University College themselves among the froth of banter.” place that nonetheless London, thinks we should be careful For those of us the right age to held a deep sense about the terminology here. While we remember, the internet of the early 2000s of possibility may talk colloquially about ‘finding our was an aesthetically challenged and tribe’, anthropologically speaking a ‘tribe’ faintly anarchic place that nonetheless refers only to your kinship bonds. held a deep sense of possibility. “Wide extended family are Rather than going to the the only group who could library, you could source actually be called a tribe,” he whatever information you says. “True, one of the things needed by Asking Jeeves. And, that happened really early on rather than finding others the internet, is that people who nearby who shared your had a minority interest realised interests, you could talk stamp this was a facility where they collecting or cha-cha dancing could contact people with with enthusiasts on the other similar interests in other parts side of the world. of the world. But I don’t think 14 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 15
WORLD that would have made much difference to platforms, where people want to fit in and storytelling platform that allows users to the degree they identified themselves with stand out at the same time… having a few share their experiences. We help them the activity, and I don’t think an awful lot grains of your identity that you can cling forge connections by exchanging stories, is gained by calling those people a tribe.” He points out that, as individuals, we to and other people can grasp is key,” he says. “That sensation of being just another or alternatively by searching for and connecting with people going through Paul A Young and his team work daily to make all their have many different identities and ways of presenting ourselves. To frame this as an line of content in a spreadsheet is an often unsaid existential crisis that drives people similar cancer journeys.” The idea came about from his hospital creations completely by hand. ROSL members receive issue of online versus offline is a major to join in with the herds.” bed, when he uploaded a post to Facebook 15% discount in store. oversimplification. At their most malign, online that went viral. He realised the impact “Online does create a new set of communities can become places where that storytelling had on his own mental possibilities about how we think of toxic ideologies can fester. For a certain health and subsquently how much a 143 Wardour Street, Soho, London, W1F 8WA ourselves, but I think we can easily type of lonely, disenchanted individual, digital platform could help people. www.paulayoung.co.uk overhype this and make it into something what begins as a source of belonging can “Sharing my experience with others more dramatic than it is,” he says. “There warp into a distorted echo chamber (we gave me a greater sense of purpose and have always been multiple offline selves only need click on an ‘incel’ forum or a site meaning than I have ever felt before, and and there are also multiple online selves. like 4chan to see this mechanism at play). helped me to overcome feelings of We shouldn’t necessarily expect we’re At their best, though, online isolation,” he says. “Having conducted going to be the same person on Snapchat communities can prove intensely healing. interviews with many patients and loved or Facebook or a website, any more than Once upon a time, if you were going ones since founding WarOnCancer, it’s we’re the same person at work or as a through something difficult, you might become clear that my experience was not mother or whatever else.” have been the only person you knew in unique. I struggled with loss of self-worth In short, our digital identities don’t so that position. Today, you can marshal the after being diagnosed, and many people much supplant old notions of identity as support you need online. affected also report losing their sense of add to them. It can be tempting to think of Fabian Bolin, a tech CEO from Sweden, identity and purpose – as well as the internet as a vast, democratising place founded WarOnCancer following his own struggling with the inevitable pity where you can be whatever you want to be, leukemia diagnosis, aged 28, in 2015. (He received from those around them.” rendering old signifiers of identity (class, is now in remission following 900 days of He adds that having a community of wealth, nationality, etc.) redundant. In chemotherapy.) people who understand these feelings is practice, however, we are unlikely to see “WarOnCancer is a tech company on a invaluable for those affected by cancer. such a dramatic breach between the online mission to radically improve the mental It’s a prime example of the way online and offline spaces. health of people affected by cancer,” he communities can foster a sense of “If you reflect on your own experience says. “We are a social network, and a togetherness – creating a safe space where with your phone and social media would conversations can be had and friendships you feel these things represented you well forged around a common purpose. by talking about it in terms of your identity It seems clear, then, that the ability to and tribe?” says Miller. “I doubt it. It build ‘digital tribes’ is neither a good thing doesn’t ring true on a common sense basis.” Our digital nor a bad thing in itself. Charlie Brooker, This said, there are those for whom the identities don't so creator of the techno-dystopia Black Mirror, online realm really has become all- has described technology as a ‘neutral’ – much supplant old consuming, maybe at the expense of ‘IRL’ if it leads to nightmarish scenarios along forms of social connection and self-worth. notions of identity the way, that’s down to how it’s being used. Adams takes a dim view of as add to them Online communities can what digital spaces are be helpful or harmful to doing to our sense of self, their members, just as noting that he sees more offline communities can. sadness and desperation And beyond that, they online than ever before. give us a tool to create “Being able to express identities that might who you are in a world of otherwise never have infinitely scrollable been realised. 16 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0
PEOPLE PEOPLE NOT-SO- AVER AGE ROSL MEMBER 1% 7% THE IMPORTANCE OF ROSL'S AIMS 2% 6% 2% 2% 7% 1% 8% 5% 22% 28% 21% 22% Trying to define the identity of the ‘average member’ is a 17% fruitless task. The breadth and variety of people who call ROSL their home from home, the reasons why they become 38% 31% members, and how they use the club, is hugely varied 36% 38% 36% D 32% 32% elving into the results of the and reasons for joining is staggering. projects around the world. You might enjoy access to the clubhouse facilities in recent members' survey, You might live in London and pop into the events held by your local branch and London, with 87% giving this as one of 35% 32% Support education projects in Support the conducted earlier this year, the clubhouse to entertain friends and only come into contact with HQ through their reasons for joining. This was also the Commonwealth 40% Commonwealth it soon becomes clear that colleagues, or attend the events programme. this journal every quarter. Despite these the main motivation towards membership what you all like about the Royal Over-Seas You may live further afield and stay at the differences, there are still common threads for almost half of respondents (46%). Encourage the arts, particularly Provide social and cultural League depends hugely on a number of clubhouse less frequently, but use it as a base that bind everyone together. Overall, members felt that all of ROSL’s amongst young people opportunities for members factors. With membership spread across when visiting London or the UK. You may According the membership survey values are important, with the fostering of the world in 103 countries, a 50/50 split live on the other side of the world, but conducted earlier this year by the Audience international friendship and understanding, between men and women, from teenagers become a member to support young Agency, the most commonly cited and the encouragement of the arts amongst Foster international friendship to nonagenarians, the breadth of interests musicians and artists, and education motivation for becoming a member was young people being the top two values. and understanding n Very important n Important n Somewhat important n Not very important n Not at all important 18 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 19
PEOPLE 95% rated the value 94% rated the welcome they 92% of members fed back 90% rated the events, for money of their received from members a positive experience including concerts, membership as good of staff at the club as of their time spent exhibitions, talks and or very good good or very good in the clubhouse tours, as positive A home from home and more Some of the common words in many It’s clear the clubhouse is important to a lot responses were: ROSL is a warm and welcoming of people, but what facilities are most sought after? According to the survey, the largest club in a great, central London “A very nice location in London for overseas visitors” number of members have at some point used position, with a comfortable the garden (with 82% of respondents having drawing room and an attractive “ROSL is a warm and welcoming club used the garden at some point during their in a great, central London position, membership), followed by the Duke of York garden overlooking Green Park with a comfortable drawing room Bar (81%), the bedroom accommodation and an attractive garden overlooking (79%) and the restaurant (79%). also watch recorded ROSL events, which Green Park” Beyond the clubhouse, almost all survey bodes well for the new AV equipment being “A unique, comfortable and friendly members were aware that ROSL has an arts installed in the Princess Alexandra Hall. place to stay in London with good programme (97%), and most (62%) had amenities and location” attended an element of it – most commonly Becoming a member, staying a member art exhibitions (38% of respondents), Overall, members gave a positive account of What is also worth noting, that for all the concerts (36%), and talks (23%). their experience of the various aspects of positive experiences that members fed back The events members are most likely to their ROSL membership. The most highly in the survey, many also offered suggestions attend in the future are art exhibitions and rated elements were the value for money of for areas we could improve. We take your music concerts. The most important factor the membership (95% good or very good); feedback very seriously and are working in attending an event is intellectual the welcoming staff (94%); the clubhouse to put your suggestions for the way we stimulation. 46% of overseas members would (92%); and tours, trips or talks (90%). operate and what we offer into action. 20 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 21
PEOPLE PEOPLE “A nyone can have their identity stolen from because they have more cash to begin with.” them – even me,” says Frank Abagnale. In the opening chapter of Scam Me If You Can, Abagnale He should know. For much of the 1960s, tells the cautionary tale of Helen Andrews, a 64-year-old SC M Abagnale was one of America’s most retiree, who has her identity entirely subsumed by a notorious impostors, assuming no fewer scammer thanks to stolen paperwork and credit card than eight identities, including airline pilot, physician and details from her home. lawyer. His story was immortalised in the 2002 Steven For Andrews, the months-long ordeal – which saw Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can. her account drained and credit rating totalled – left her Yet, since being released from prison in 1974, Abagnale feeling like “a non-human being”. This sense of violation has sublimated his eye for a scam for the good, establishing is common amongst victims, and in some cases carries himself as a highly respected authority on fraud, forgery the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). and cybersecurity. So, what lessons can be learned from Andrews' case? ME In between consulting and lecturing at the FBI Academy, First and foremost, says Abagnale, is that we do not yet Abagnale has found time to write a new book. Entitled live in a paperless society (despite what the insistence Scam Me If You Can, it is an expansive compendium of self- of futurists). Many of us still receive bank statements and protection tips for consumers to protect themselves from gas bills in the post, including account details and other scammers. It weighs in on everything from tax fraud and personal information – all grist for the mill for scammers. real estate ruses to charity rackets and Rule number one, says Abagnale: the oldest con of all – identity theft. “Invest in a good shredder. Because It’s a problem that is getting worse. we’re still more likely to see the IF In the UK alone, almost 500 people a paperless toilet than we are a paperless day fall victim to identity theft, claims society.” Cifas, the fraud prevention body. In the As highlighted by the Facebook- US in 2018, close to 16 million people Cambridge Analytica scandal last year suffered the same fate – losing roughly – in which it was discovered that the $17 billion in the process. social media giant had sold on the data For Abagnale, there is a direct of tens of millions of users to the British correlation between the epidemic and consulting firm – we also need to be YOU society’s willingness to flaunt personal aware of the potential for our data to be data online – particularly social media used without our permission. As alluded platforms. People give away so by Abagnale above, it might be in one’s “People give away so much interest to come off social media. information about themselves and then much information Unfortunately, the advent of the they complain that someone stole their about themselves internet means it is harder to track identity,” he says, speaking over the and then they down online scammers than the phone from his office in Washington DC. analogue confidence men of yore, complain that CAN “I’m not on any social media who, like Abagnale in his former life, whatsoever. If you told me where you someone stole relied predominantly on charm and were born and your date of birth on their identity... good patter. These days your identity your Facebook page, that would be is more likely to be stolen by “a guy in enough for me to go and steal your It's down to you his bedroom in Russia with a laptop”. identity.” to be smarter “These guys will never see their It is much easier for scammers to victim, so there is no compassion or assume another’s identity than it was emotion on their part,” says Abagnale. when Abagnale was on the lam. The demographic “They’ll take you for every penny – technology has made of victims is also much vaster than one might think. it easy for them.” With more and more of us sharing the minutiae of our lives on Abagnale was commissioned to write his new book by As Abagnale says, anyone at any time can find themselves the American Association of Retired People (AARP), at the unwanted end of a scam. It is often cause for social media, we are leaving ourselves at risk of identity theft. with the aim of helping senior citizens better safeguard embarrassment, but shouldn’t be. Victims would instead A little more self-awareness could make all the difference, as themselves. However, he soon discovered in his research do well to share their experiences in the name of education that younger people are more open to risk. and societal vigilance. conman-turned-security-consultant Frank Abagnale tells Ross Davies “I was amazed to find out that millennials are scammed That said, prudence should always start at home. “You can’t more often than seniors – they are really naïve,” he says. rely on the police, the banks or the government to protect “Although seniors tend to lose more money from scams you,” says Abagnale. “It’s down to you to be smarter.” 22 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 23
PEOPLE PEOPLE LOST Veronica Shen, 13, Singapore At four she watches round-eyed She is sixteen, in her heart flame rises A marriage, delight dressed in snow As smoke curls from temples And books burn with crackling cries Though brooks softly smile and sigh Traditions extinguished like candles A laugh extravagant, as tea flows Sister quietly recites, under night skies Fire in her hands, carmine Ju bei yao mingyue, dui ying cheng sanren 4 Plum blossoms in cold wind dance She speaks the words of ancients Dyed in fortune, in romance 1 Tongue flutters and fingers fly Four years come and go Living in the sound. Faster faster faster In her hand a bamboo flute Flute’s tremolo, unparalleled joy Her sister, the bride of years ago Dead bamboo’s song, living girl’s laughter Commonwealth Austerely directs a prelude Proud, uninhibited, pure, high Weighting every breath and blow Red scarf flutters, a lark’s wings The precision of tradition Dark head shining as it sings Upheld in her education creativity Decades go, caught in the madness Four years more She remembers a wedding In the orchestra she plays The blooms have lost their lightness Amongst others, students all In frost’s bite and sting As dizi 2 sings, she sways Red no longer means success The winners of the 2019 Queen’s Commonwealth A lark in the music hall And gunshots sound in Tian-an-men 5 She was there, in sepia photograph The city square, old gate to heaven Essay Competition have been announced. A part of them, caught mid-laugh The Junior Category winner, 13-year-old Veronica That was then, now is today Time flows by, four years She sits and tells a tale Shen from Singapore, was chosen by a panel Revolution comes, days pass To a child, and her head is grey chaired by ROSL Director-General Diana Owen The Loyalty dance 3 , a dance of fears Speaking as winter winds wail Tranquillity shatters like glass This child here, she may not stay Read Veronica’s winning entry, Lost, right Across the country fire sears But she is here and she will hear Winter’s plum was rosy in the snow The story of past years It darkens to blood red, a river’s flow Little girl, you wish to write You wish to write? But, my child Veronica’s poem Lost follows the story of a girl growing up You have not seen the sight in China as it explores a complicated relationship with the You know not of the wild country’s past. She entered the competition as a student of Only of this city’s cold bright night Raffles Girls’ School. Veronica chose to write on the topic Ashen, washed out by the rain ‘My Cultural Connections’ because she “wished to express The culture you speak of has waned my own feelings…and present an issue while developing 1 This is 1950s NE China, when brides started Yes, grandmother. I will write the art of writing.’’ When informed of her success in the to wear white. Red is associated with fortune. I wish to write, as your grandchild competition, Veronica felt ‘Surprise, elation’. 2 Chinese woodwind, usually made of bamboo. Bold was this country’s former might 3 Students danced to pledge loyalty to Mao Zedong. Though I know not of the wild 4 A line from a poem by Li Bai. Classical literature Only of this city’s cold bright night was one of the banned “Four Olds”. Memorials for the Tiananmen Square 5 The Tian-an-men (literally, heaven-peace-gate) This after all is the land of my birth protests of 1989 (Hong Kong) Square protests took place in Beijing, 1989. I will write. I’ll write for all I am worth 24 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 25
PEOPLE With over 250 photographs from 21 countries, the ROSL Photography Competition has been a huge success. We received images from all around the world, presenting many different interpretations of the theme of style. Visual Arts Curator Eilidh McCormick introduces the winners A s well as a huge geographical spread, there was also a range in the age of applicants with the oldest being 67, the youngest only 18 and the average 33, showing that the open format was very inclusive. The conditions of entry asked that photographs were taken within the last 12 months and had a link to a current or former Commonwealth country, ensuring the range of images captured the contemporary Commonwealth of today. All the images were judged by our panel of industry experts: Rakesh Mohindra, Co-Founder of pic.london; Renée Mussai, Senior Curator and Head of Curatorial, Archive and Research, Autograph Gallery; Germaine Walker, Director, Agent and Producer; Bryan Angelo Lim, Director, Singapore / qu’est-ce que c’est design; and Farah Mahbub, Photographer and Professor of the Photography Programme of the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Pakistan. Our overseas judges, Bryan Angelo Lim and Farah Mahbub, received information packs about the photographers and judged remotely, while the London judges met at ROSL to discuss the images in person. CAMERA CATEGORY WINNER Holding Hands Isabella Agbaje The winning image in the Camera She uses photography to tell stories and we do things, predominantly judged by encounter at Ikate bus-stop with Saliu Aso-Ebi, (or “family cloth” in English) category, chosen by the panel, is showcase unique experiences of love and appearance, but as a photographer and and Emmanuel who were on their a West African traditional style that Style is the manner in which Holding Hands by Isabella Agbaje. Born happiness in a society that’s hellbent on stylist she is interested in form, function way from evening Mass, dressed most depicts individuality and solidarity as in Lagos, Nigeria, Isabella ‘izzyella’ discord, anger and confusion. and symmetry in her image, “I chose to fashionably in their Sunday best and two sides of the same coin. Aso-Ebi is a we do things, predominantly Agbaje is a 25-year-old self-taught For Isabella, Holding Hands engages interpret the theme of this year’s ROSL discussing the ways in which “lagos style of dressing that ensures continuity judged by appearance, but as conceptual photographer. Influenced a community’s hope of oneness and Photography Competition reflecting dey hot, pesin no rest” - meaning the in relation and identification. The a photographer and stylist, by her experiences living and studying mutual support with common interests style as appearance but also symmetry frustrations of Lagos are many and tradition revolves around culture in London, Dublin, San Francisco and through fashion and friendship. She and continuity and unity.” Shot on the trying to advance in this society is a and the dynamic nature of style and she is interested in form, Boston, she is currently based in Lagos. believes that style is the manner in which streets of Lagos, Nigeria, it captures an tireless task. The men are dressed in fashion to reflect identity, individuality function and symmetry 26 OVERSE AS JOURNAL D E C E M B E R 2 0 19 - F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K 27
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