Ex-Sheffield Lord Mayor hopes to inspire people to ‘make change’ with new book

The Art of Disruption - A Manifesto for Real Change, is the first book written by former Yorkshire MEP, Magid Magid.

To give back to the city he has dedicated his book to, Magid randomly left 20 copies on buses throughout Sheffield, with one known recipient being a teenager.

Ed Rivers said on Twitter: “I have never and I mean NEVER seen my 18 year son read a book, regardless of how many times I encourage him!

“Today, he's been reading this book he claims he found on the bus for 3 hours straight!

“Words can't describe how much this means to the both of us. Love you.”

Magid told how it was ‘sweet’ to hear those words and thought the idea of leaving books for strangers would be a ‘nice gesture’ for Sheffield, the city he has learnt a lot from and which he talks of in his book.

Magid - a racial and climate justice campaigner across Europe - said: “It is a guide to being courageous, doing better, using stories from growing up in Sheffield, travelling, my experiences of being the local mayor.

“It is for anyone that wants to make change and is fed up with people not listening, who maybe don’t know where to start.

“It is a manifesto that everyone can get behind.”

As a British-Somali Muslim who ‘has done it all himself’, he gives a personal account on work, life, politics and activism, hoping it will inspire others.

Magid said: “Live with hope and compassion, do differently and do better, be courageous and disrupt age-old power structures in work, life and politics.”

He added: “If you are tired of asking people to do the right thing. If you want to make change big or small, this is the book for you.”

The Art of Disruption has been in the making for almost a year and is dedicated to, as Magid puts it, ‘hooyo macaan (my dearest mother), my beloved home city Sheffield and to all those who dare to hope’.

The idea for the book came about from Magid’s Sheffield's Ten Commandments poster at the 2018 Tramlines festival, which divided opinion and unexpectedly went viral.

Magid said: “People loved it.”

He decided to use the commandments as the basis of his manifesto - to share stories of what he has learnt from Sheffield.

Magid explained: “Sheffield's commandments have guided me in life. I want to pass that onto other people.”

Despite writing the book being the ‘hardest thing’ he has ever done, Magid has found the experience ‘really rewarding’.

He told how he had learnt a lot through the process and which allowed for reflection.

In his book, Magid talks about his own experiences with mental health, which he thought was an important subject to include, as he believes it is still a taboo issue for some.

He said: “Regardless of who you are, everyone struggles. It’s okay.

“First of all, it helps to speak to people close to you e.g. family members.

“We talk about being kind, but we should also be kind to ourselves.”

He believes research into mental health and knowing the symptoms are also beneficial.

Mental health is not the only topical issue Magid talks about in his book.

He discusses how he dealt with the racist letters he received while he was Sheffield’s Lord Mayor and recalls his experience of coming face to face with some of the people who had regularly sent negative letters about him to The Star.

With stories from his own first hand experiences included in the book, readers can also expect to learn about Magid’s encounters with strangers on buses, what life was like growing up for him and his family, his journey into politics and why, despite 2020 being a somewhat strange year, ‘it can also

be an opportunity that enables us to grow and see the change we desperately need’.

Although Magid was the youngest, first Green Party councillor and refugee to serve as the Lord Mayor of Sheffield, he believes it is an example of how change can happen, of which The Art of Disruption is a guide for.

Magid said: “It gives a lot of hope.

“It gives skills to know how to become an active citizen, in yourself or in a wider sense.”

Although with recent events around the world, ‘we have to consider what is possible’, he added.

As a backwards cap wearing individual who infamously banned Donald Trump from Sheffield, Magid is known for speaking his mind, which is why he believes there are many ‘invaluable reasons’ why people should give The Art of Disruption a read.

He said: “I hope that people will find it really engaging and inspiring. That people will be motivated to do something. To have learnt a few things that can lead to some kind of action.

“If you are ever in doubt that you can or can’t make a difference, the book shows that you can definitely make a difference and make change.

“That is from my personal experiences of real life.”

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