After a year of highs and lows, triumphs and losses, we’re ready for 2025! This year, we saw a banana sell for $6.2 million, marvelled at American politics, and held high hopes following the UK General Election.
As these world events unfolded, our Team at SOUK diligently continued their mission of enlightening young minds and carrying the torch of democracy — a reminder that we are not powerless.
Our team may be small, but it’s populated with weird and wonderful creatures that use their unique talents to create a little magic in the world.
This year, we’re going to take a closer look at these beautiful beings and the work they do.
Myles Hall: Opportunities Development Coordinator
I am a weird and wonderful creature because I spend my days crafting complex funding applications and deciphering evaluation data, all in the name of political and media literacy. This year has seen a heavy focus on evaluating recent Prevent projects and securing future ones, which has meant delving into the world of counter-extremism and safeguarding.
It’s been a challenging but rewarding experience, and I’m proud of the role I’ve played in supporting SOUK’s mission.
Looking forward to seeing what the new year brings!
Amanda Gurruchaga: Head of Programmes
I am a weird and wonderful creature because it’s a weird and wonderful world! In a historic year of elections where 4 billion people went to the polls, our work felt more relevant than ever. From combatting political disinformation to encouraging voter registration, it’s been an incredible year of high-impact campaigns, new partnerships and collaborations and constantly learning and improving our programmes.
It’s been amazing leading a team of incredible individuals who continuously inspire me.
Bring on 2025!
Jillian Rolnick: Strategic Partnerships Lead
I am a weird and wonderful creature because I get to work with the best people on Earth! From our international partners in far-out places like Nigeria, Syria, and Bangladesh, to the most amazing co-workers/friends here in London, I am so lucky and grateful to be surrounded by such smart, hilarious, and passionate people 🙂
Happy holidays!
Finlay Aitken: Digital Growth Lead
I am a weird and wonderful creature for surviving a snap-election while planning our largest-ever digital campaign: #BallotBound. This campaign helped to register over 250,000 young people from around the United Kingdom, while also encouraging groups to get out and vote on polling day. It was a pleasure to work with the team on this brilliant campaign, and I’m sure there will be even more success in 2025.
Samuel Kashti: Programme Coordinator
I am a weird and wonderful creature because I am enabling digital literacy skills across three continents simultaneously! Having joined Shout Out UK in 2024, I have learned the ropes quickly and found myself immersed in a variety of projects worldwide. The main focus of my work at SOUK has been coordinating a project with the British Council to ‘train-trainers’ in Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria & Kenya. This has proved both challenging and fun as we grapple with different logistical challenges and cultural differences. We are well on track for the New Year and will hope to reach beneficiaries far and wide!
Aside from this, I have been warmly welcomed into the SOUK team and have been enjoying their company massively. One of the pleasures of SOUK is to be able to work across several projects, and so delivering on PCVE and democratic empowerment has added a lovely variety to my working life. A highlight this year was signing up 300+ young people at London Voter Registration Week in September.
Looking forward to carrying on the good work in the new year!
Lucas Scott-Harston: Head of Opportunities, Monitoring & Evaluation (OME)
I am a weird and wonderful creature because I believe in the power of media and political literacy in the fight to improve the state of our democracy. From Nigeria to the Isle of Wight, this year SOUK reached new audiences via our programmes, continuing to protect our democracy one step at a time.
Thank you to everyone who supported us along the way.
This year, I hope to come up with new creative solutions to combating false information, which sows discord and distrust in our society, eroding the fabric of our democratic system.
Matteo Bergamini MBE: CEO & Founder
I am a weird and wonderful creature because I’m the CEO of a small social enterprise that works to combat misinformation and improve engagement in our democracy. It’s often a role that requires no downtime or rest, a small price to pay for doing what you love and seeing the ‘thing’ I dreamed up in my early 20s (leading the sector we aim to improve) become a reality.
These last ten-ish years have been incredible; many highs and lows, some remarkable achievements and many more things still to come. I can’t thank enough the amazing team, partners and clients we have who not only make our work possible but have been instrumental in helping us become leaders in the sector as we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible and revolutionise how we deliver this vital work.
Amy Turner: Programme Coordinator
I am a weird and wonderful creature because I somehow find a way to be the most unprofessional young professional whilst still maintaining professionalism. I like to keep the office a fun and fresh place but also somehow manage to be a professional weapon.
This year, I have also become a LinkedIn/ networking warrior and have begun building my community of political youths. Very grateful to all of the lovely people that I get the privilege of working with.
Anandi Saxena: Programme Coordinator (Democratic Engagement)
I am a weird and wonderful creature because I successfully managed communications with numerous event organisers, coordinated countless moving parts, handled last-minute changes, and took trains across the city for GLA Voter ID events—all without losing my sanity! It’s been a whirlwind of a year, filled with challenges and triumphs, and I’ve been privileged to contribute to safeguarding democracy and making a real impact in people’s lives.
As we wrap up this year, I’m filled with gratitude for the opportunities and growth it has brought, and I look forward to continuing this important work in the new year.
Wishing everyone happy holidays and a wonderful start to the new year!
Diana Aganey: Managing Editor
I am a weird and wonderful creature because I have the patience of a stone. I work with a variety of young, talented writers and believe that every person is capable of excellence and achieving their personal best with motivation, hard work and a little guidance. This year has been no exception. I have had the pleasure of working with some remarkable and remarkably driven young people who teach me something new every day. I am also proud of our Team; the most humble and hard-working collection of people one will ever come across.
Happy Holidays and let’s make 2025 another great year!
DISCLAIMER: The articles on our website are not endorsed by, or the opinions of Shout Out UK (SOUK), but exclusively the views of the author.
