London’s speakers corner reveals strengths of multiculturalism

It’s raining, dull and wet, yet an eager crowd gathers around Hyde Park corner, ready to participate in another intense dialogue of Speakers corner. What is Speakers Corner? It’s a public event which takes place every week at Hyde Park Corner, with participants who are welcome from all walks of life.

The Speakers corner event defines multiculturalism in London; it’s a popular form of public discourse which focuses on representation, diversity and inclusion; where individuals can have the opportunity to understand and discuss issues revolving culture, politics and global affairs.

Speakers corner has existed for over a century, it still regularly attracts highly opinionated individuals with strong political views, from. The event has welcomed discourse to discuss solutions to overcome this problem.

Recently, with the rise of issues such as Islamophobia and bigotry against minorities in the U.K. Speakers corner has become highly popular place for discourse on prominent issues.

Samuel J, a right-wing political activist from Marble Arch, is a regular visitor of Speakers Corner. Samuel is highly interested in current political affairs and believes that healthy public discussion on prominent issues is important. He states; “I believe that it is important to communicate with others who may have different beliefs and views towards oneself, it is important to understand individuals with different beliefs.”

Samuel, like most political activists, is highly opinionated on politics and society and therefore, was unsure of various ideas and beliefs, he believes that talking with people from different backgrounds educated him.

In addition, debates and discussions on Speakers Corner now receive hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube and social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, which proves the growing influence of the popular discourse. Evidently, speakers corner defines the strengths of multiculturalism in the City of London.