8 Furthermore, the ‘Big Conversation’ is not just important for expanding your opinions or seeing things from other people’s perspectives, but it is also important for growing as a society. Take for example the increasing focus on sexual assault and violence against women after the murder of Sarah Everard. Sadly, it took such a tragic event to bring this discussion more into the public eye, but there was and is undoubtedly much more awareness because people are willing to speak about their experiences and opinions on the matter. This is only one example: there have been countless other instances where these conversations have touched more people than ever before, whether it was sparked by a specific event or not. Social media has had a huge impact on how we communicate and how awareness is spread - barely a day goes by when there isn’t a poll or campaign or opinion about a topical matter that springs up on my Instagram feed. I see more positive impact in this than negative. There will always be people who disagree or who have separate opinions, but change only happens when many people unite, and as proven many times in the past year, one event can cause ripples that spread across the entire world. This brings me back to the two questions I started with.Why are these ‘Big Conversations’ more relevant now? Arguably it is because more people are paying attention and new forms of communication are allowing us to discuss these matters in the hope that we can improve society together. And why should we talk about these matters rather than keeping them to ourselves? It is because these conversations unite us - as Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “We all came in on different ships, but we’re all in the same boat now.” In my opinion, this is a reminder that although we all come from different backgrounds, different places, different cultures, we share one world. Ideas are changing all the time and it is important that as many voices are heard as possible. So to conclude, what is the importance of the ‘Big Conversation’? It allows us to see things from different perspectives. It allows us to challenge others’ beliefs, as well as our own. But most importantly, it allows us to move forward as a society, together. By Joanna Burgess
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