The award highlights the contributions of King’s students, academics and parent groups to the Make London a Living Wage City campaign, launched by Citizens UK and Trust for London. The initiative aims to lift tens of thousands of Londoners out of in-work poverty by increasing the number of accredited Living Wage employers. The real Living Wage, currently £13.85 per hour in London, is an independently calculated rate based on the cost of living. It takes into consideration expenses that are necessary to maintain a reasonable standard of living, such as housing, food and energy, and is paid voluntarily by employers.
Through community organising and active participation in negotiations with employers, the King’s community supported the Living Wage accreditation of major Southbank institutions, including the National Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, the BFI and Tate Modern.
King’s involvement in the campaign was led in part by Empoderando Familias, a collective of Latin American parents supported by King’s Social Mobility & Widening Participation department that addresses issues related to education, housing, immigration and low pay. Empoderando Familias collaborated with King's BA Social Sciences students from the Social Change Lab module to deliver a series of creative actions celebrating workers’ rights and the contributions of those working in London’s cultural sector.
The Social Change Lab module is open to students on the Social Sciences BA programme and explores how the social sciences can be used to create meaningful, real-world impact. Co-delivered by the School of Education, Communication & Society and Citizens UK, the module challenges students to think creatively and develop effective responses to global issues, drawing on methods such as grassroots campaigning and community organising.
Aditi Banerjee, a BA Social Sciences student, shared a spoken word poem at the event, highlighting the often unseen labour behind Britain’s film and television industry and advocating for fair compensation. She said that her involvement in the Make London a Living Wage Campaign taught her the importance of collective action in driving meaningful change.
Dr Farhan Samanani, who co-teaches the Social Change Lab module with Citizens UK, accepted the award on behalf of King’s. He spoke of the powerful connections the campaign had forged between King’s, local community leaders in Southwark, and Southbank institutions.