What's the Catch this time?
By undertaking Catch21 Productions, Alex D Sergent is determined to bring to birth a project that would connect people with politics. Catch21's ambition is to invigorate and increase the electorate's participation in and awareness of political issues by providing a public show for the discussion of manifestos from a variety of individuals from different parties all over Britain. Although apathy is a clichéd diagnosis all too easily attributed to the malaise of waning interest in politics, the need for such a vision as Catch 21 is evidenced by dispiriting voting statistics. It is often the case that politics is an unattractive subject when presented as a package, but if the individual issues are presented then the interest levels are stimulated.
Catch21 has just received a grant from The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust to the sum of £30,000. It is constantly receiving more and more funding as we speak from commercial businesses, grants and educational institutions. The company, which is a Not-For-Profit organisation and is currently applying for charitable status is openly supported by the Lord Norton of Louth, The Rt. Hon. Alan Johnson and Channel 4's Jon Snow amongst others.
The long-term aim is to develop Catch21 into an organisation that will be able to solicit patronage and establish regular productions at institutions countrywide. There has already been an interest in broadcasting the shows live, with the BBC and regional radio stations making enquiries about the possibility; potential for generating a wider audience would be heightened significantly if this relationship with the media can be fostered and developed. In short, Catch21 is a combination of entrepreneurial spirit and original thinking which hopes to inspire a renewal of political support from a demoralised and frustrated generation.
