IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League

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IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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
IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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:
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                                                                                                                                                                                                    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
IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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
IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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
IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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
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                                                                of  di   sc  ou   rse     .                                                                          so   m  eh   ow under threat, an
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                                                         th  at   we    sh   ou   ld     id entif y                                                                    wi  ll  be a major factor in
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                                                                                                                  U                   A ltm
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                                                   es    se ns   e                                                                     le c t io n                                                                s are not going
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                                                                                                                                                                                                            and the onus wi ll
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                  deeply fractured.                                      re   ar  ou      nd   a                         e n tit y p                                         on    all of us to try to m
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 W W W. R O S L .O R G .U K   9
                               l  id en  tit y,  yo
                   nationa

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IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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

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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
IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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

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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.

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IDENTITY Age? Gender? Nationality? The way we define ourselves and others is so much more - Royal Over-Seas League
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

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      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.

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                                                                                       “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.”

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                                                                                                                                                                      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

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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

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