What do young people think?

When we started this project so many people asked us, What do young people think? Is David Hume still relevant to them today?

Working with experienced youth worker and educator, Khaleda Noon, we collaborated with young people at the Royal High School in Edinburgh and Theatre of the Oppressed Scotland (TOScot). The aim was to support young people to examine Hume’s philosophy and racism through hip hop as a tool their own personal experience.

Over the course of sessions, the students took a deep dive into the origins of hip-hop, Hume and philosophy, including a challenge of determining whether a quote was from Hume’s work or a modern hip-hop artist.

The young people then created their own pieces of work as a result of their learning. They performed their pieces in front of an audience packed house at the Scottish Storytelling Centre in May 2025, and again in June at our The Story So Far event.

One student said,

“I never thought I could be a critical thinker but I know I am now.”

Another said

“Learning hip-hop education helped me definitely feel more confident in my own intelligence. Especially the way I’ve been putting words together I didn’t think I had the ability to do it. I’ve definitely shocked myself in my experience.”

Their teacher said

“The first time I heard about hip-hop education I was really excited about it… it’s beneficial for young people and for them to put their skills to good use.”

Two of the students were then asked to share reflections with The Guardian newspaper’s podcast discussing the 400-year history of the University of Edinburgh’s connections to slavery, colonialism and the development of scientific racism.

Hear them talk about their experience and watch their performances below.