t2group.co.uk
August - October 2019
edge achievers
edition 40
Inside This Issue
What is Inclusion? The 8 best ways to stay fit this summer
INSIDE
HEART OF THE NATION The problem with plastic pollution in the ocean - See inside for details
What’s
ESDGC and Equality & Diversity
around the UK?
events 2019
On? August 1 – 4 8 – 11 15 – 18 19 – 20 23 – 25
Welsh Super Cup Bristol International Balloon Fiesta Green Man Festival V Festival Pride Cymru
September 8 13 – 22 15 21 27 – 29
Great North Run Jane Austin Festival, Bath Ironman Wales, Tenby British Speedway Grand Prix, Cardiff Elvis Festival, Porthcawl
October 3 – 6 Wales Rally GB 6 Cardiff Half Marathon 7 England v Bulgaria, Wembley Stadium 12 Rugby league - Super League Grand Final, Old Trafford
Health & Well-being events 2019
August
August
9 International Day of the World’s Indigenous People 12 International Youth Day 19 World Humanitarian Day 23 International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition 29 International Day Against Nuclear Tests
8 12 30 31
September 15 21 22 28
International Day of Democracy International Day of Peace World Car Free Day International Right to Know Day, Freedom from Hunger Day
October 1 – 31 7 10 16 17 31
Black History Month World Day of Bullying Prevention World Mental Health Day Global Dignity Day International Day for the Eradication of Poverty World Cities Day
Cycle to Work Day International Youth Day National Grief Day International Overdose Awareness Day
September 5 10 – 16 14 17 21
World Environment Day Men’s Health week World Blood Donor Day World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought International Day of Yoga
October 1 9 10 12 15 16 19
World Vegetarian Day Emergency Nurses Day World Mental Health Day, World Porridge Day, World Sight Day World Arthritis Day White Cane Safety Day World Food Day Evaluate your Life Day
SAFEGUARDING SPOTLIGHT National Hate Crime Awareness Week 12th to 19th October Hate crime is on the increase across the UK. The term ‘hate crime’ can be used to describe a range of criminal behaviour where the perpetrator is motivated by hostility or demonstrates hostility towards the victim’s disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity. During National Hate Crime Awareness Week, people are encouraged to call out and report hate crime they see, raise their awareness of different types of hate crime and to seek help if they have been subjected to hate crimes themselves. Below are some organisations that can support different groups of people with any hate crime they are experiencing. Why not take a look at their websites and find out more? Other useful organisation and webpages can be found here https://www.stophateuk.org/help-in-the-uk-nationalorganisations/
If you have any Safeguarding issues or concerns, please contact a member of our Safeguarding team: Safeguarding Officer
Stacy Preston 02920 799 133 / 07876 824 157 Deputy Safeguarding Officer
Jessica Wool 07881 093 512 Designated Senior Person for Safeguarding across the t2 group
Dave Marr 02920 799 133
or contact safeguarding@t2group.co.uk
When we talk about diversity, we mean respecting and valuing all forms of difference in individuals. People differ in all sorts of ways which may not always be obvious or visible. These differences might include race and ethnicity, culture and belief, gender and sexuality, age and social status, ability and use of health and social care services. It is recognised that some people and groups, because of a range of differences, find it more difficult to have their voice heard in mainstream society - their views, needs and perspectives may not be routinely taken into account. Inclusion is about positively striving to meet the needs of different people and taking deliberate action to create environments where everyone feels respected and able to achieve their full potential. Promoting inclusion is about helping people who have previously been excluded from mainstream society (such as the groups we mentioned above) to get connected (or reconnected) with the wider community. It requires us to pay attention to all aspects of a person’s life and support him or her to take part in the things that give life purpose. It might be something relatively simple, like a disabled older person being able to visit a place he loved in his younger years because the council has now built an entrance for disabled people, or supporting someone with mental health problems to understand a local bus timetable and enable her to visit friends. But it can also involve more complex work on issues such as helping people to:
• • • • • •
reconnect with their families and communities understand the benefits system and recognise what they are entitled to learn about democracy and become engaged in local politics take up volunteering opportunities in areas that interest them take part in work or education opportunities previously denied to them pursue an interest or passion in sport or the arts
All these things are not only worthwhile in themselves: they also help to support previously excluded people’s inclusion (or re-inclusion) into their communities.
The days are long, and the sun is shining (mostly). But how can you enjoy the best of British weather to make sure you become your fittest version of yourself? It’s time to get your sweat on. Try these eight activities whilst topping up on the sunshine vitamin (D) before autumn comes round again.
1
ORGANISED (FUN) RUNS
2
TRY A FITNESS FESTIVAL
3
WILD/OUTDOOR SWIMMING
4
OVERCOME OBSTACLES
Swapping the treadmill for varied terrain forces the body to develop greater resilience and core strength, not to mention the fact that it’s tougher because the ground remains still, rather than moving underneath you!
How the summer festival scene has altered, no longer just people drenched in mud and music for days on end, but also those invested in wellbeing. New fitness festivals include Les Mills Live. Now you can feel the festival spirit without battering your body - quite the opposite in fact; return healthier and happier, and with a stronger pair of lungs.
Why bother with lidos and lakes when you could dunk in a perfectly good indoor pool? Swim instructor and founder of Swim Lab Salim Ahmed says: “Not only will a well-executed swim stroke, performed at varying speeds, tone your entire body but moving through cool waters can improve circulation and boost immunity”.
Obstacle racing has become steadily more popular during the last decade and for the more adventurous amongst us anyway, it’s easy to see why. Training for outdoor events such as Tough Mudder, Spartan Races, or the beginner-friendly Gauntlet Games will help build mettle as much as muscle; character as much as cardiovascular endurance. The training is fun too and requires regular all-body workouts. Obstacle racing isn’t for the faint hearted, but the sense of achievement once you’ve done one really is a game-changer.
5
MULTI-DISCIPLINE SPORTS AND EVENTS
6
CALISTHENICS
7
PARKOUR
8
TENNIS TRAINING
Triathlon, Duathlon, Quadrathlon and Aquathlon - each of these multi-discipline events take place during spring and summer months and usually involve some combination of swimming, cycling, running and/or kayaking. Imagine cycling for 20km and then using those jelly legs to run 5km? It’s tough, certainly, but switching sports in this way helps keeps the risk of overuse injuries lower than with, say, marathon running, not to mention making things a whole lot more interesting.
Think of it as gymnastics for mere mortals - Calisthenics is the practice of bodyweight training using bars, rings and gravity and it’s become seriously trendy of late. With 525,000 outdoor calisthenics training areas worldwide (according to www.calisthenicsuk.co.uk). It’s never been a better time to learn how to become an everyday gymnast - and get a healthy suntan in the process. Not only will a regular calisthenics practice build coordination, poise, self-confidence and discipline but all those tiny stabiliser muscles (dormant from hours spent at a desk) will wake up, core strength will skyrocket.
Parkour (a.k.a. free running) is like the fitness Wild Child that’s recently been tamed. People think of Parkour as what stuntmen do (running over buildings and the tops of trains) but the definition is far more inclusive. Essentially it just involves moving one’s body through the natural environment, usually urban, overcoming rather than avoiding obstacles in the way. Sounds easy? It is, in some ways, though also demanding; do Parkour enough and you’ll build flexibility, core strength, endurance and a greater understanding of your limits.
What says British summertime more than a game of tennis? First and foremost, darting around the court builds cardiovascular fitness, speedy reaction times and all-round agility meaning next time you trip over you’ll be less likely to roll your ankle. Next, you’ll build greater spatial awareness, core strength (from all that twisting), grip strength and hand-eye coordination.
Although it has been pushed out of the news almost entirely by the current crisis on the Bangladesh/Myanmar border and the impending problems in Zimbabwe, the Syrian refugee crisis continues.
But what exactly is the Syrian refugee crisis? We have a saying in Welsh, “cenedl faint-hearted, cenedl hebingalon”– “A nation In 2011, following the ‘Arab Spring’ (a series of heb uprisings in Middle Eastern countries protest at totalitarian regimes), war broke out as government beganand a violent on protesters and very what they withoutcivil a language is ina Syria nation without aforces heart”– the crackdown Welsh language is still termed ‘political dissidents’. As a result of the ongoing civil war, towns and villages became battle grounds and as much at thelike heart ofand ourISnational culture. outside parties Russia got involved, people were forced to leave their homes. It belongs people ofhalf Wales, they speak it or not; it’s part our Since the startto of all the the civil war in Syria, of the whether country’s population have either been killed or fledof Syria altogether. That’s over 11 million people who have died or been displaced; more than three times the population common heritage, from the place-names all around us to the National Anthem. It’s of Wales. spoken by over half a million people and understood by many more.
The UK government has pledged to rehome 20,000 Syrian refugees by the year 2020 and has pledged £2.46 billion towards helping refugees in Syria’s neighbouring countries rather than encouraging the, often dangerous, journey Welsh spoken by 19% of the population in Wales as a whole, is aimed at young people and attracts 40,000 competitors each to theisUK.
and in many areas, you’ll hear it used alongside English on the year. Matthew Rhys, Bryn Terfel, Cerys Matthews, and Ioan Currently, immigration and but healthcare, housing and education streets, in the shops and on theasylum buses. are under the UK government’s Gruffyddremit, are among those who have profited from their earlyare devolved issues which means that the Welsh government makes decisions them. experiences at thisabout Eisteddfod.
‘Welsh is now used alongside English in all spheres of life and has equal status legally’.
As the above names suggest, using Welsh is no bar to success beyond the border. Mwng by the Super Furry Animals was the So, with a potential 20,000 refugees the way the first on Welsh-language albumto in the UK topUK, 20, andwhat the films Hedd The Welsh Government recently announced its plans to ensure Wyn and Solomon a Gaenor both received Oscar nominations. does this has mean Wales? that the language a millionfor speakers once again by 2050. Every child in Wales now has the opportunity to learn Welsh, Children’s programmes suchseemingly as Sam Tânstretched (Fireman Sam) Can Wales afford house a stream of refugees with healthcare and housing already to the limit? and the demand for to Welsh-medium education has grown originated on the Welsh-language TV channel S4C and have been consistently, particularly in Cardiff and the South East. sold all around the world. More recently, the detective drama Y
In fact, since the onset of the crisis, fewer than 2000 Syrian refugees have been rehomed in the UK and of those, Gwyll hasmore done the same. But just as significantly, As a result, language hasbeen become more ethnically diverse less than athe quarter have rehomed in Wales. While there are(Hinterland) considerably refugees here whose status is S4C and itsabout radio counterpart BBC they Radiocan Cymru now provide a than ever with speakers from and African yet to bebefore, determined (i.e. they areAsian waiting for Home Office decisions their whether stay here or not Welsh-language window on Wales for viewers and backgrounds as well as from of Vulnerable Europe. But Welsh or whether they qualify forother the parts Syrian Persons Relocation cheme (SVPRS)), theand factthe is world that the UK is far listeners at home, whether home is in Llandeilo or in London. has always been an inclusive language. It includes loan-words from approaching its promise of 20,000. from Latin, Irish, Norman French, and of course, English.
Welsh language been ready to embrace new Even if the UK were to rehome 20,000 by 2020, 20,000 overThe a period of what has willalways have been five years is barely media. The first books in Welsh were printed back in the 1540s Its roots, however, are Celtic. Breton and Cornish are its nearest noticeable.
and 100 years ago there were 25 weekly newspapers published relatives, its ‘sister languages’. Irish, Manx and Scots Gaelic are in the language. is continued today, its first cousins. Welsh first emerged some 1,500 years ago, and Wales has a history of welcoming refugees. From the Basque children whoThat fledtradition the Spanish civil war to not theonly by Y Cymro in print butIdi alsoAmin, by news such asinBBC the earliestAsians Welsh literature dates back toremoved the sixth from century – homes Ugandan who were forcibly their by and the Golwg then president, all websites are welcome Cymru Fyw and Golwg 360. some 800 years before the English of Chaucer! Wales. Welsh is now used alongside English in all spheres of life and has Our national picks out ‘beirdd chantorion’ – theand poets Across the anthem UK, local people have acome together formed groups whose mission is to promote awareness of equal status legally. Can we reach a million speakers by 2050? and singers – for special mention. That tradition continues to this the Syrian crisis and to let the government know that refugees are welcome here and that the British people will stop there? Welsh and English have coexisted in Wales for day at the Eisteddfod, an annual celebration of the language and not stand by and watch while people who are so desperateWhy to flee the devastation in their homeland that they risk centuries now – and perhaps our long experience of its culture. trafficking, exploitation and death to get somewhere they think is safe. bilingualism is something we can profitably share with the world The National Eisteddfod of Wales is held in a different location as webe reclaim ourunnoticeable. heritage. The facts would suggest that the impact of 20,000 by 2020 will almost It would be nice though, in August each year and is the biggest arts festival of its kind. It to think that the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis was that Wales stepped up and helped traumatised, desperate includes learners’ competitions for those who are still striving people who will only add to the already rich, multi-cultural tapestry of life here. Source: wales.com to master the language. The Urdd Eisteddfod, held each June,
Right now, an estimated 12.7 million tonnes of plastic – everything from plastic bottles and bags to microbeads – end up in our oceans each year. That’s a truckload of rubbish a minute. Travelling on ocean currents this plastic is now turning up in every corner of our planet – from Cornish beaches to uninhabited Pacific islands. It is even being found trapped in Arctic ice. Our oceans are slowly turning into a plastic soup and the effects on ocean life are chilling. Big pieces of plastic are choking, and entangling turtles and seabirds and tiny pieces are clogging the stomachs of creatures who mistake it for food, from tiny zooplankton to whales. Plastic is now entering every level of the ocean food chain and even ending up in the seafood on our plates. A few months ago, a young whale that washed up in the Philippines died from “gastric shock” after ingesting 40kg of plastic bags. Marine biologists and volunteers from the D’Bone Collector Museum in Davao City, in the Philippine island of Mindanao, were shocked to discover the brutal cause of death for the young Cuvier’s beaked whale, which washed ashore. In a damning statement on their Facebook page, the museum said they uncovered “40 kilos of plastic bags, including 16 rice sacks. 4 banana plantation-style bags and multiple shopping bags” in the whale’s stomach after conducting an autopsy. Images from the autopsy showed endless piles of rubbish being extracted from the inside of the
animal, which was said to have died from “gastric shock” after ingesting all the plastic. The D’ Bone Collector Museum biologists who conducted the autopsy said it was “the most plastic we have ever seen in a whale”. Marine biologist Darrell Blatchley, who also owns the D’Bone Collector Museum, said that in the 10 years they have examined dead whales and dolphins, 57 of them were found to have died due to accumulated rubbish and plastic in their stomachs. In June last year, a whale died in southern Thailand after swallowing more than 80 plastic bags, which weighed up to 8kg (18lb) in the creature’s stomach, and marine biologists estimate around 300 marine animals including pilot whales, sea turtles and dolphins, perished each year in Thai waters after ingesting plastic. Find out your plastic footprint. Have you ever wondered how much plastic you actually use?
Find out here -
https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/content/ plastics-calculator/?js=false&source=wb
Source: Greenpeace, theguardian.com
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