Humphrey Hawksley is the author of numerous books, the international correspondent for the BBC, and has been in the Navy. As such many were curious to hear what he had to say with regards to his career and the path that he took to get to where he is today at our “An Evening With” YouthUPF event.
However, Humphrey Hawksley didn’t just provide a window into what he has done in his career, he went further and offered some ‘heartfelt and sound advice’, which resonated with the audience because of the ‘simplicity and care’ with which he said it. That advice? “Never allow anyone to tell you that you cannot do it”, “don’t badly offend someone because life goes around and 20 years later you will need their help”, “marry someone who supports you, not someone who is going to compete with you” and “if you want to make a difference your private life is going to take a hit”.
His brave honesty, thought provoking opinions, and real insight into the economic and social problems that the world is facing were invaluable to all those who had the privilege to hear them, and helped everyone to remain curious and follow their passions.
Reflections from different participants to the event.
We arrived at Parliament with an open mind, many were very curious to hear the views of this gentleman, not knowing what to expect. What touched my heart was the heartfelt sound advice that Mr Hawksley gave, which resonated with me due to its simplicity and care.
“Never allow anyone to tell you that you cannot do it”… This was the advice given by this refined BBC news correspondent. He honorably 
spoke of how it is of paramount importance to be clear what we want in life, being aware that one’s personal life shall always be “hit”.
Mr Hawksley explained in such an honest humane way, that one should ensure that we have the right support partners along the way of pursuing our dreams, as great pressure can be inflicted on our personal life, if we do not have the understanding of a close companion or partner.
As the evening drew to a close, although touched by the golden pearls of wisdom given, I went away rather questioning just how much truth is allowed to be advertised by the journalists, as we are all aware how the governing bodies distort findings in order to import their view of how they would like society to perceive matters.
Some of us where left with many thoughts, as I did not manage to air our views. How can one remain sane and unaffected by experiencing such tragedies around the world; how can you avoid being scarred by such atrocities and continue your own life, knowing that you have witnessed such traumatic conditions. I wondered how you can have the heart to report such diverse disturbing stories, and yet be able to walk away, because it is just a job that you are completing at the end of the day.
Humphrey Hawksley, was super interesting and gave some invaluable advice to young people wanting to follow his career path into journalism and writing. His life experiences were amazing to hear about and I was captivated the whole way through, I only wish that we could have had more time to hear more about his life and career!
Humphrey shared a great deal of pertinent information with regards to economic injustice taking place around the globe and the full extent to which multinational corporations are intentionally exploiting and perpetuating poverty. His advice to young people was very practical and implementable, providing aspiring change makers with a blueprint for execution.
I really enjoy the UPF events because I feel they are always relatable to all of society no matter what background, race, or religion. Tuesday was another example of this as Humphrey Hawksley is always working on a number of important issues that are of great concern to many corners of the earth. He has a real passion to make a positive difference in this world and this embodies exactly what UPF strives to do through all their events and projects. It was a very interesting and thought provoking event and I would encourage more people to attend these types of events.
Some classics by Humphrey Hawksley: Don’t badly offend someone because life goes around and 20 years later you will need their help. If you want to make a difference your private life is going to take a hit. So take that into consideration and discuss it before you marry or settle down with someone.
If you treat the people in (manufacturing or resources) supply chain with respect rather than in semi-slavery, dignity rises from the bottom alongside development. If I see there is something wrong then I want to do something about it. That desire to make a difference keeps me going. I want to see good governance that allows people to thrive.
I must admit Hawksley talk was unique and different from other An Evening With events. His advice to “Marry someone who supports you not to compete with you” made a strong impression on attendees. This is because not everyone (even those people close to you) would be brave and honest enough to share such a priceless advice with you. Hawksley was more like a brother than just a journalist.
To conclude, we feel this was a wonderful evening to have had with Humphrey Hawksley, leaving us with food for thought, and encouraging us to remain curious and intrigued for my many questions that seemed to arise by the close of the evening.
Thank you to LaurenTurner for this report and to Roadworks Media for their support.
Thank you to Lenin Silva and Big Mouth Gets for these photos. 'Big Mouth Gets' wants to be be involved in activities that promote young people and politics in order to encourage young adults to vote.