THE National is pleased to introduce three new regular columnists who will be joining the newspaper throughout March.
Kelly Given, Ellie Gomersall and Assa Samaké-Roman will all be joining as regular contributors, with more new columnists to be announced later in the month.
Meet our new columnists:
Kelly Given – Political commentator, campaigner on Scottish independence and Autism
Given said: “I want to write a lot about social justice, and put a lot of focus on neurodivergent things.
“I want to paint a picture of what an independent Scotland could actually look like.
“I’m sick of talking about referendums and the bureaucracy to get there, I want to talk about independence for Scotland and what it actually means – so I’ll be going into policy issues, a lot of focus on social justice.
“It’s such an exciting time to join The National, you’re getting a number of new voices from right across the spectrum that are joining. There’s a lot of attention on The National right now, it’s really popular on social media. So it’s definitely a really exciting time to be joining and I’m looking forward to contributing to that.”
Assa Samaké-Roman, journalist and author
Assa: “So my name is Assa Samake Roman, I’m 32, I’m a French journalist here in Scotland. I’m really looking forward to writing columns and giving my opinions on politics and society in Scotland in The National from the month of March.
“I’m very interested generally in where society is going – the decisions that we make as a group, as a nation, so I’ll be looking forward to writing about that. And also how people perceive Scotland outside of these islands – I’m interested in sharing more widely especially what people think in France about what’s happening in Scotland and in the rest of the UK.”
Ellie Gomersall, Greens campaigner and president of the National Union of Students
Ellie: “I am 23, I’m from Glasgow, I’m really excited to be joining The National as a columnist and to bring a young perspective to the paper, be able to talk about the issues affecting young people in Scotland today.
“I’m also an activist and member of the Scottish Green party, and really excited to be able to bring that Green perspective to the paper too, especially with the Greens being in government at the moment, to be able to have a look at what’s happening in the party and wider independence movement and Scottish political system.
“I’m also president of the National Union of Students, students are having a really, really tough time at the moment particularly with the cost-of-living crisis often disproportionately affecting them in ways a lot of people don’t necessarily realise.
“I’m really excited to be joining the paper and can’t wait to get writing.”
Welcome Ellie, Kelly and Assa.
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