First ever exhibition of street paper design hits Glasgow for #VendorWeek

The UN climate conference COP26 has been ongoing in Glasgow. On Saturday, members of the public and activists alike took to the streets to make their voices heard for climate justice for all.

‘Empowering The Poor: Street Newspapers and their Global Impact’ was panel hosted by the Society of Journalists on Wednesday 18 August. Moderated by founder of Real Change and INSP board member Tim Harris, the discussion included members of staff from INSP and its associated member publications. Watch the panel again here.

Joseph Malik spoke at the head of Black Lives Matter protests in Edinburgh last year as people marched against systemic racism. Since, the formerly homeless singer has had a stroke and made an album that filters the rage of Scotland’s Black community into soulful music.

After working with inmates at Glasgow’s Barlinnie prison for some years, musician Jill Brown sought to establish a way for exceptional talent uncovered behind bars to release their music. The result is Conviction Records, a record label and social enterprise for ex-offenders. With backing from major music A&R Eric MacLellan, Brown hopes the outreach to former prison inmates and the songs created with them will help bring convicted criminals back from the fringes of society.

INSP recently moved office, and now shares a space with The Big Issue. During #VendorWeek, we chatted to Anabel – who has been selling The Big Issue only as long as INSP has been office neighbours with the Glasgow-based street paper – about getting involved and what the magazine means for her.

Lice v Lice vendors walked the corridors of power within the Assembly of North Macedonia for a special meeting with the country’s president Stevo Pendarovski, and motion by lawmakers to recognise the street paper’s work, to mark #VendorWeek.

The Portuguese street paper celebrated #VendorWeek with a gathering of all its 40 vendors in the capital city of Lisbon.

Portland’s Street Roots has a periodic column about the parts of homelessness most people don’t talk about. Some vendors say they’ve seen public transport inspectors profiling homeless people. Here they talk about their experiences.

According to Chicago street paper StreetWise, one of its goals is to be entertaining while highlighting issues affecting its vendors and giving them a voice. Reviewing Oscar-nominated films has become an annual opportunity to give them a chance to tell their own story in a unique way. This year, a cast of 17 vendors weigh in on some of the films up for honours at the 92nd Academy Awards.

Street paper vendors are often defined by their living situation, but as INSP and street papers are at constant pains to point out, they are much more than just homeless. Hinz&Kunzt’s Golem and Jörg connect with the catharsis of punk rock.

#VendorWeek is a time to celebrate vendors but, such is the nature of their lives, sometimes tragedy strikes, and it is good to remember that, and the people that tragedy touches, too. Earlier this year, Montréal-based paper L’Itinéraire lost one of their vendors. Stéphane Avard was a bright and loving person worn thin by years of homelessness, and his story speaks to the relationship between sleeping rough and mental illness. The magazine’s editor wrote a touching tribute.

2020 will be a momentous year in US politics. Will Trump evade impeachment to be re-elected? Will the Democrats find a big enough character to run against him? To measure the pulse in the US capital, two Street Sense vendors from Washington DC, with very different opinions, give their take on the state of the nation.

Real Change celebrate #VendorWeek with their third annual Day of Heroes, a chance for local celebrities to partner with Real Change vendors to try for themselves to sell the Seattle papers.

The Big Issue has been reaching out to vendors across the street paper network to get the inside scoop on the cities they know best. This instalment features Draussenseiter vendor Lothar talking about Cologne in Germany.

There is surely no more apt a time to announce your Vendor of the Year than to coincide with #VendorWeek. That’s what Ohio-based paper Toledo Streets have done. Its vendor Shaun “Rooster” Tinch exhibits all the qualities that the street paper hopes to inspire, says its vendor manager Claire McKenna.

Each year, one of the most trusted and oft replicated #VendorWeek events is a ‘Big Sell’, which brings together notable names and vendors to share in the experience of selling a street paper. In Australia, The Big Issue asks business leaders and entrepreneurs to become vendors for the week, and this year is no different.