Differences bring us together
TV Presenter and children’s author Konnie Huq wants to celebrate the differences that mark us out as individuals and says children’s literature is the perfect platform for change.
WE are all minorities, and we all deserve to not be treated differently – that is the message from TV presenter and children’s author Konnie Huq.
Born to Bangladeshi parents and raised in West London, Konnie became the youngest ever presenter of Blue Peter when she joined the show in 1997 at the age of 22, and went on to become the longest serving female presenter of the show with a stint that lasted over 10 years. Earlier this year her debut children’s
novel Cookie and the Most Annoying Boy in the World was released, drawing on her own experiences growing up, her love of science and the notion that differences should be celebrated. Konnie, who helped launch Pen&inc., says she was aware of her own cultural differences as she grew up in Ealing but adds she rarely felt out of place. “I grew up in a leafy West London suburb where there weren’t that many Asians. Back in the 1950s when my parents emigrated and came here, there were lots of areas that were quite ghettoised, but that was much less so where my parents were. Down the road there was Southall, Wembley and these were the places my mum would go for vegetables and spices she couldn’t get locally. So, from that point of view we didn’t have that segregation.”
Different but belonging
She says that as a child she was keen to fit in, saying: “I was lucky because I never really experienced racism directed towards me, but I do remember being
Autumn-Winter 2019
in the playground at Primary school and someone shouting ‘She’s from India’ and me saying ‘No, I’m not…’, and what I was thinking was ‘I’m from Bangladesh’ “But that is not something I wanted to say out loud and so I just ended up saying ‘No I’m not... I’m from England, I’m just like you’.”
“So, I was aware of it, but didn’t experience it. It was something in the background and not really an issue for me – but it was there and I was aware of it. As a child, I think, you just want to fit in.” That sense of belonging and fitting in is something she is passionate about now, returning to the point that we are all different in our ways and that means we are all a minority in life. Recognising those differences and allowing people to be who they are is an ethos she is keen to spread, and she says children are the perfect way to do it. By giving children from all backgrounds insights into the lives of others and by allowing children to see differences as a normal part of life she believes we can help change perceptions. Prejudice is learned and once ingrained it can be difficult to shift, so children need to be able to see diversity and recognise how they fit in to society.
Positive values
Konnie said her experience working with children has helped shape her own views, saying: “You realise how important it is to give children the best start possible. So, diversity and social inclusion are things that we can be pushing through children’s publishing.
“At seven years old, 14 years old you
are being shaped, but at the age of 20 or 21 you are pretty much on your way to be fully-formed. Those opinions are becoming ingrained and as you move through life you are probably beyond hope of changing.
“If children pick up these values of inclusion and diversity, they will take them through life. It doesn’t matter where they go, where they end up – they will improve society if they have these values. Whether they are the CEO of FTSE 100 company, President of America, a scientist or a librarian – good social values will be part of their innate nature.
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Konnie interview
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