You Press Rewind

You Press Rewind was a celebration of the You Press community and our accomplishments in 2022. Being a new intern, attending You Press Rewind was a fantastic, immersive experience. I was able to actively learn about 2022’s amazing accomplishments and programmes, as well as speak with some of our partners, freelancers, and clients. The guests were greeted with a lovely pastry and refreshments display.

2022 was truly a year of expansion for You Press. The highlights include the Design thinking video, Theory of Change video, Truth on the Roof video, ScribersHive Europe, Functional Learning Program, Creative Connect Events, and our 10+ year anniversary.

The Good Hotel in Newham, London hosted You Press Rewind. This hotel was particularly impressive to me because it was situated on the water (literally, it floats). The panoramic views of the lake were the cherry on top. A representative from the Good Hotel spoke briefly, explaining how the hotel was previously an old abandoned accommodation platform that Marten Dresen purchased and floated across from Amsterdam to its current site.

A key feature of You Press Rewind was Namuga’s performance. Namuga is an alumni from The Collective and sang a few of her original songs, my favorite being Temporary Love. Her music brought the ideal ambiance to carry over the rest of the event because it was evidently passionate, lively, yet still relaxing. When I looked around the room, I saw most people tapping their feet or bobbing their heads to the beat. You can find her on Instagram and Spotify @ Namugaamusic

What really stood out to me was everyone’s altruistic nature towards supporting their local, cohesive communities. Community, as defined by You Press founder and director Farah Mohumand, meant “common unity.” Farah used this definition to emphasize how the major accomplishments of 2022 would not have been possible without the assistance of partners and the community that our workshops have fostered.

Farah gave the audience members a chance to speak on behalf of their organizations and discuss how we can support them in achieving their objectives in 2023. This was truly additive to the “common unity” theme of the morning. As a new intern, it was really neat to hear people take the time to publicly announce how You Press has positively impacted their respective businesses and communities.

As the event was coming to an end and was giving his final message, Farah stated “this isn’t a final message, but this is the beginning.” I thoroughly appreciated You Press Rewind because often, as people, we get so caught up in progress that we forget to recognise how far we have already come or to pause and ask for support from our communities.

By: Jenna Goldberg