Life is What U Make It
Osmond speaks into a microphone on stage during National Gathering 2023.
In this episode, hosts Max and Mark sit down with Osmond Gordon-Vernon, the creative mind behind Life Is What U Make It, a unique board game inspired by his experiences growing up in London. Designed to help young people navigate social choices and understand the consequences of their actions, Osmond’s game has made a profound impact in schools and youth communities. Listen as Osmond shares his motivation for creating the game, its impact on young people, and his plans for London. Tune in and learn more about Osmond’s inspiring journey, including winning the 2023 National Lottery Fund Young Hero of the Year Award.
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MaxWe're the Agency, an entrepreneurship team for 15 to 25 year olds to join as our agents and create change in their communities. I'm Agent Max, and joining me is our fantastic agent, Mark, as we interview agent Osmond, developer of the board game Life is What You Make it. Inspired by his childhood and meant for lost young people to understand consequences. He won the National Lottery Fund Young Hero of the Year Award in 2023. Game on. So, firstly, who are you and what are your interests?
Osmond
Hello, my name is Osmond Gordon-Vernon. I'm the agent from London. That's my territory. And my idea was a board game based on my estate and social choices that young people have coming up in London.
Max
Okay, are there any interests that you have?
Osmond
Interests I have are communicating with my environment, setting up community events, and connecting with young people everywhere.
Mark
How did you find out about the Agency?
Osmond
The summer of 2014, I was at my local youth club, Providence, in the area of Battersea, and the facilitator at that time came to introduce themselves and I decided to sign up, even though I was underage at the time.
Max
So going on to your project, why does it matter to you?
Osmond
The reason my project matters is the history of modern London is so relatable to young people with crime and gangs, and being able to kind of combat that lifestyle, be able to show resilience to change and being a stepping stone into society, because we're important. So this is trying to change our narrative. What were your initial insecurities when starting your project and how did you overcome them? Honestly, I didn't really have any insecurities. I think it was just trying to construct what the board would look like in a sense of how it works. I didn't want to copy Monopoly's board structure or any other board game's board structure, so I had to come up with my own ideology and methodology of how it would work and play. So those were my only concerns.
Max
Are you much of a board game fanatic?
Osmond
My grandma is. She likes to play Scrabble. So again, I grew up seeing those kind of things when I was a child, like Ludo and stuff.
Max
Could you share an example of a community need that you identified through your project and well solved through your project?
Osmond
In my area, there's a lot of tension between young people, just naturally. Again, I think London's so clustered, they haven't got enough space to breathe. So when young people kind of live in the same area and there's not really much to do, maybe small, humane problems can occur. But since I've made the game, I've been able to, like, penetrate younger generations. So not my age group directly, but maybe like, 14, 15 years old. So I've got a ten year gap on them. I can introduce the ideology of the game to them and let them know that there's more to life than being angry or trying to express your mood in a certain type of way, like try to broaden your network of people. Like even in school chill with different people in class, trying to inspire a new way of getting around things.
Osmond
I think everybody knows who I am. Before my game, I was already a figure in my community. But again, since the game's come about, it's just giving me more traction. And people are proud that people like to see good things, especially where it's not fabricated. It's literally something that we all live, but again, it's not glorified in the same way. So I feel like I'm doing something unique and that's the feedback that I'm getting.
Max
And based on that feedback, what are the future plans of your project?
Osmond
My future plans of my project are to have it like, I've got a life size one that I go into schools with. So I do workshops in schools with a life size model, not an actual table top board game. So my dream would be to go to places like Brixton, Peckham, that are really, like I said, modern history, known for being notorious and play the game in that kind of environment. So the society civilians that are around who are actually the narration of the game, can play the game in real lifetime. Yeah, that'll be a moment for London.
Max
I mean, sorry to interrupt. And I'm just going off. Going off the script now. How many schools have you been to with your project so far?
Osmond
I've been to two main schools, but I usually go to PRU, which are pupil referral units. So when the student is no longer in mainstream school that you'd wear a uniform for, they've got another department of education that they go to. And I really deal with those people because they are the more at risk and the more need that kind of encouragement and they can probably relate to me more.
Mark
How has been a part of the Agency changed your perspective on your ability to create change?
Osmond
I think in general, I knew I could create change just from my personality. I think I have an impact on people. I could come into a room and see if anybody needs help or get on the bus or have that kind of impact. The Agency is like solidified, like a receipt of achievements to say that, yeah, you are this person. And, yeah, just came give me a confidence boost if I don't really feel too good in the morning. Some days you just reflect and you don't feel as great as you did the other day. But I've got my receipt to let me know that, yeah, I'm valid.
Max
You are. What is something you would like to see more of from the Agency in the future?
Osmond
That's a good question. I think I'd like to see more involvement within the Agency from the agents. Again, we are promoting the Agency by doing our work and things, but when it comes to our own affairs, like in house politics, I think we should have more of a hand in the steering role, in the sense of if we're going to collaborate and meet, like a national gathering, maybe we should have a say on certain things that's going on, like what we want to participate in and that be eyes onto the budget, because if we're dealing with money anyway, we should be dealing with our own money. So, yeah, just more hands on the steering wheel with our own matters.
Max
I mean, again, going off script, is there anything like, in particular that you'd want to use or that you'd want to implement if you were in the steering wheel?
Osmond
Yeah, I think, like, just seeing what people think, maybe having heads of state for different territories, like London's got a head that. Again, it doesn't. It changes every so often. And then we just make sure that we're keeping in contact with each other to see what we can do. External funding, maybe learning more, how to write, funding different kind of ways, just to educate ourselves more and have more ability as agents to just do more for the organization.
Mark
What advice would you give to someone struggling to identify their passions or community needs?
Osmond
I'd say think about what you need. Change your conversations with your friends and people that you're around. Try to concentrate it towards more socialistic matters. Again, depending how old you are when you're listening to this or receiving this message, depending how fast and more intense you're able to do it. But again, it's not everybody's concerned. Some people will have the solution, some people will be getting the solution given to them. Doesn't really matter what end you're on, but if you're part of the Agency and you've got a project and you're trying to find inspiration, just look around you, see what problems there are, speak to people and I'm sure it will come to you.
Max
Well, all I have to say is, thank you so much for sharing this. And do you have any final thoughts, Mark?
Mark
No, I didn't. Thank you.
Max
Yeah, well, bottom line, thank you for doing this. Get out. Alright. Life is what you make it. A game with a name that just says it as it is. Make sure to punch in https://wearetheagency.co/ You should see more about the Agency and the great projects it has to offer. Right there. Agency policy. We think outside the box.
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