Newport has played a surprisingly big part in uk democracy. Almost 200 years ago, when only 9% of the population had the right to vote, hundreds of men from around south wales decended on this square here in Newport to fight for their right to vote. The chartists may be relatively well know around Newport, but their impact spans much much further afield. One charity is hoping to tell their stories.
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00:00We've got this to be proud of and it's so much we had this joint uprising in Newport
00:05for the Voice of the People and it was communities coming together for that and yeah it's kind
00:10of what Newport stands for really and you kind of see it with how you talk to people
00:16on the street and they do have this village mindset even though it's a city.
00:22The charity says their mission is to engage with the people of Newport and teach people
00:27all about the city's fascinating history, particularly with the Chartists, and every
00:31year host a festival dedicated to the march on 1839, one of the biggest days in Newport's
00:37history.
00:38The Newport Rising Festival came about 2018 and we started the Torchlit March and then
00:43we had other history talks to get the public and other people to know about it but it's
00:49kind of become a new thing with creative arts, music and all sorts and then we've got this
00:55place but it's nice that we're on the street and anyone can walk in into the venue and
01:01ask what's this, what is it about, can I come along to a history talk sort of thing.
01:06Lucy says that tourists find it particularly fascinating when they visit the city and learn
01:10all about the Chartists, especially in the context of their home countries.
01:15Tourists coming in from other countries and they look at that radical history timeline
01:18and they relate to it by something that happened in their own country and that's really interesting
01:23actually, the relevance across borders and everything, you know.
01:28The charity though says it's more than just teaching people about the history and provides
01:32a space to share in what makes Newport the amazing city that it is.
01:37So mostly from the charity's point of view they want the education of Newport's history
01:42and especially the Chartist movement.
01:46For the festival it's bringing everyone in, it's creating that little sense of community
01:52and space for people to come and learn about things and be Newport, be part of Newport
01:58which is quite nice.