#9: “If You Want To Talk About Devolution, Turn Up At The Food Bank”

The Sussex And The City Podcast

– Episode 9:
“If You Want To Talk About Devolution, Turn Up At The Food Bank”

Host: Richard Freeman
Guest: Kaia Allen-Bevan – Activist, speaker, founder of Youth The Gap, poet and education reformer

This episode is brought to you in partnership with:
Projects – A B Corp-certified workspace provider in the heart of Brighton’s Lanes. Projects is building a better local economy by supporting freelancers, founders, and changemakers with flexible, welcoming workspaces, events, and community.
👉 projectsclub.co.uk

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🔍 Episode summary

What does grassroots activism have to do with devolution? In this powerful episode, Richard sits down with Kaia Allen-Bevan, a leading voice in education reform and racial justice, to explore what it really means to build a future where every community is heard.

Founder of the award-winning social enterprise Youth The Gap, Kaia speaks from lived experience – growing up in Whitehawk, leading Brighton’s Black Lives Matter protests at just 17, and now shaping national conversations on allyship, inclusion and structural change.

This conversation unpacks how young people are engaging with power (or not), why policy language creates distance, and what politicians need to do differently if they truly want to build trust in Sussex’s most marginalised communities.

Topics include:

• How protest can be a start – not an end – for democratic engagement

• Why Sussex has an activist backbone – and why that should be embraced, not feared

• The difference between being visible and being listened to

• How local government structures and growth agendas can alienate the very people they aim to help

• Why devolution needs to mean decentralisation of trust and language, not just of Whitehall power

• Kaia’s experience of breaking the odds – and why she’s working to make sure others don’t have to

• The danger of tokenism, and what real inclusion and co-creation look like in practice

• The vital role of community spaces, culture and grassroots organisations in holding democratic space

• What intergenerational collaboration needs to look like – and why it starts with calling people in, not out

If you care about representation, accountability, or just understanding what the next generation of leaders really expect from the system – this episode might be unmissable.

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👉 Explore Kaia’s work and related resources:

• Youth The Gap – A social impact consultancy creating long-term systemic change in education

• Watch This Sp_ce – Diversity and inclusion consultancy focusing on allyship and anti-racism

• TEDx Talk – Does Revolution Need Decolonising?

• Kaia Allen-Bevan on LinkedIn

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📚 Further reading and links

• Class Divide Report – Whitehawk (BBC) – The area Kaia references and its connection to social mobility

• Runnymede Trust – The State of Anti-Racism in England

• Brighton & Hove City Council – School Admissions Consultation – Referenced for accessibility critique

• Joseph Rowntree Foundation – Trust and Anti-Poverty Strategies – The link between community voice and effective policy

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🎧 Production credits

Host: Richard Freeman
Guest: Kaia Allen-Bevan
Sound design / editing / original music: Chris Thorpe-Tracey
Production management: Letitia McConalogue
Recorded at: Projects: The Lanes, Brighton

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📣 Get involved

Want to help reimagine democracy, identity and regional change in Sussex?
Join the conversation and find resources at sussexandthecity.info