bHM Magazine - The Official Guide to Black History Month 2013

2013

Let’s be exceptional

As one of the UK’s largest energy companies and the largest producer of low-carbon electricity, we’re dedicated to creating a better future for everyone. Which is why we are proud to celebrate Black History Month.

Year-round, we run programmes that reach out into our communities to celebrate difference and promote EDF Energy as a diverse workplace.

Now and for the next generation.

Find out more at www.edfenergy.com/careers

The UK chart’s hottest newcomer

The perfect place to be who you are

We believe that the key to excellent customer service and exceptional business results lies in attracting the right colleagues – and giving them the skills, tools and leadership to deliver their very best performance. We provide an inclusive and supportive environment for both our staff and customers alike, ensuring you can reach your full potential. Our can-do culture is built upon the contribution made by everyone who works for us.

THE WINDRUSH 65 YEARS ON KRIO’S OF SIERRASantander LEONE is an award winning top UK employer with a healthy balance sheet, an unrivalled global branch network, a clear and inspiring strategy, a brand that continues to build recognition with consumers and businesses right around the world.

DR MARTIN LUTHER KING Join us, and yours could be just as exciting. That’s because we’ll make sure you have all the STEPHEN LAWRENCE FOUNDATION support and opportunities you need to progress your career, grow your influence and help us be the very best bank for our customers. and much much more

Find out more and search our current vacancies, at www.santanderjobs.co.uk

Sponseredwww.santanderjobs.co.uk by

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Supported by Sky 209

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Produced by Talent Media Ltd and distributed by the Telegraph on Sunday.

Better energy, better future.

The City of London Corporation is a unique organisation with a long history but modern outlook. This is reflected in our diverse workforce and employment policies which underpin our ethos of inclusiveness.

Refer to page 76 for further details. Search online at “City of London jobs� www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

CONTENTS

2013

04 A word from the Prime Minister 06

Stephen Lawrence Foundation

18 SHELL’S diversity and inclusion networks

22

The Runnymede Trust

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He Had A Dream

39 Channel 4 - All inclusive 4 43

The Krios of Sierra Leone - a Unique Heritage Linked to Britain & Beyond

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The Early History of Sickle Cell

58

The Empire Windrush 65 years on

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27 Santander - Recognising

SOAS -Pioneering the study of Africa in the UK

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NASUWT

72

The African Health & Sex Survey

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A*M*Eing for the top

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The Africa Channel - What’s on during Black History Month

2013

Published by Talent Media Ltd, Studio N,Container City 2 Trinity Buoy Wharf London E14 0FN

The UK chart’s hottest newcomer THE WINDRUSH 65 YEARS ON KRIO’S OF SIERRA LEONE DR MARTIN LUTHER KING STEPHEN LAWRENCE FOUNDATION Sponsered by

Supported by

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E: info@talentmedia.org T: 020 3697 9371 W: www.talentmedia.org

Cover Image courtesy of John-Paul Pietrus - www.johnpaulpietrus.com Printed by : Content Managed Communications - www.contentmc.co.uk Publisher: Darren Waite - Sub Editor: James William - Sales and Advertising: Stephanie Matthews/Darren Waite - Design: Chris Powell Produced by Talent Media Ltd and distributed by the Telegraph on Sunday.

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Better energy, better future.

As one of the UK’s largest energy companies and the largest producer of low-carbon electricity, we’re dedicated to creating a better future for everyone. Which is why we are proud to celebrate Black History Month.

Year-round, we run programmes that reach out into our communities to celebrate difference and promote EDF Energy as a diverse workplace.

Now and for the next generation.

Find out more at www.edfenergy.com/careers

5

Stephen Lawrence Foundation

Trust Sets a Plan to Open up more opportunities within the next 20 years Twenty years on from the murder of Stephen Lawrence, not enough has changed in Britain and there are still too many young people who do not have a sense of hope, who just don’t get the chance to live their dreams, says Symon Sentain, Chairman of the charitable trust that bears Stephen’s name.

Established 14 years ago to help young people from ethnic minorities and deprived backgrounds get a foothold in professions dominated by peers from more privileged backgrounds, the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust (Trust) is now looking ahead to the next 20 years to speed up change and help Britain build a fairer society and a more successful economy.

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This year the Trust launched a new business model for employers which demonstrates to industry leaders across every profession that greatness can come from anywhere. It also supports employers in developing the model and supports them to develop it within their own organisations.

“Our work to transform needs to continue, so that the decision-making and management structures reflect and benefit from the rich diversity this country has to offer,’’ says Symon Sentain, Chair of the Trust. “We want to make sure that young people get a fair chance to contribute their talent and develop lasting successful careers.”

Access to Professions The Trust wants its programmes to make a sustained and measurable impact. It has identified five key areas where it wants to affect change over the next 20 years. It wants broad acceptance that in society “greatness can come from anywhere” and it wants companies to stop wasting talent and recruit more broadly. The Trust also wants government to lead the way by embedding race equality in education and recognising companies that set the highest standards.

“Justice for Stephen is about all of us, every one of us, in society having justice,” said

Stephen Lawrence Foundation Stephen’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, who was made a Labour Party Peer in the House of Lords in July. “I want all our children and young people to feel inspired, be confident and have hope in their own future.

We are building hope – but there is more to do. There are still too many young people who do not have a sense of hope, who just don’t get the chance to live their dreams.”

However, despite improvements in recent years, genuine diversity in the workplace still lags behind.

“Anecdotal evidence suggests that it’s not only a matter of

hiring a multi-ethnic workforce – it’s also about having an inclusive, supportive work environment that encourages people from BME backgrounds to stay in these hard won, desirable roles. Even where these people secure jobs in professional environments they often leave them after only a few years in the role, demonstrating that cultural changes need to occur before we can say that there is equal opportunity for all in British businesses,” says Sentain.

The Trust has found that there is still not enough diversity in senior roles. Research

shows us ethnic minorities in professional occupations can often struggle to move up the career ladder in their industry even when they have the requisite qualifications, skills and experience. Only 4.1% of the directors of FTSE 100 companies in 2010 came from minority backgrounds.

“We need to change this to make sure that business is more representative,” says Sentain. “We believe that we can change the face of corporate Britain by providing people with the opportunity to really be the best they can be.

While this may be a challenge

“The senseless killing of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 was a tragedy. But it was also a moment that sparked monumental change in our society – change that was brought about by the tireless efforts of Stephen’s family in challenging the police, Government and society to examine themselves and ask difficult questions.

the exceptional contribution of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, who for many years have been helping young and disadvantaged people to overcome barriers and realise their potential. Much has been achieved, but we know that more still needs to be done. We owe this to the memory of Stephen.”

I believe that many of those questions have been answered: from improved community relations to more accountability in policing. And it is important to recognise and support

RT Hon David Cameron MP Prime Minister Statement of support given at 2013 Memorial Service 7

Stephen Lawrence Foundation

Doreen Lawerence taking the Olympic flame

Tayyeba story Tayyeba, a 24 year-old graduate in Graphic Design at London College of Communication said support from the Trust helped her secure a placement at Red Magazine.

“My experience at Red was amazing, I absolutely loved it,’’ said Tayyeba. From the people, the work to the atmosphere; the location of the office was amazing and so easy to access. The experience at Red gave me the ability to thoroughly understand the work and also achieve a realistic understanding of the work that goes into the role on a full time basis.

I strongly recommend voluntary work. It enables you to collaborate with people who can identify your skill. The key is to build your contacts through networking.”

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today, we believe that it can be overcome and look forward to working with a range of industries to develop a Britain where everyone can achieve their full potential.”

Earlier this year, the Trust announced a partnership with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to broaden access to careers in law firms, creating a scholarship scheme specifically designed to combat under-representation in magic circle firms of black men from low-income backgrounds. The scholarship will include funding, mentoring and training, the opportunity to spend time at the firm during university holidays and a guaranteed interview for a training contract. Freshfields and The Stephen Lawrence Charitable

Trust jointly designed the scholarship after holding a symposium with a senior law faculty to share details of the initiative and gain insights into critical areas of the scheme. The first six scholars were selected in summer 2013.

The Trust is this year expanding its Access to Professions programme, providing students with the support to complete their studies and working with firms to make sure they recruit and retain candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Architecture The Trust has a long track record of supporting young

Stephen Lawrence Foundation

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Stephen Lawrence Foundation people from disadvantaged backgrounds into architecture as well as inspiring school children about the built environment, helping aspiring young architects fulfil the dreams that were so brutally ended when Stephen was murdered 20 years ago. Over 100 bursaries have been awarded and so far nine students have completed their seven years to become fully fledged architects – three with their own practice.

This year, budding architects from east London are being offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure a summer work placement with the design team behind Chobham Manor, the first new neighbourhood at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Leading national homebuilder Taylor Wimpey and L&Q, one of London’s largest residential developers teamed up with the Trust to offer two work placements to architectural undergraduates, graduates or post-graduates from east London who are currently out of work.

The six-week placements will see the successful candidates

“

spend time with leading architectural firms working on the Chobham Manor neighbourhood at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford London, including PRP, Make, Haworth Tompkins, Karakusevic Carson and MUF architecture/art. Candidates were shortlisted by the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, and then invited to enter a competition to design a sustainable home for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Further inspiration for young architects came during the annual memorial lecture by architect Daniel Libeskind, who faced strong competition in his bid to reconstruct the site of the World Trade

Further inspiration for young architects came during the annual memorial lecture by architect Daniel Libeskind

Srimathi’s story BA (Hons) in Architecture at University of Kent Architectural Assistant at Lee Evans Architects LLP “Winning a £4,000 bursary award from the Trust in 2009 was a huge help during the course of my Undergraduate BA (Hons) degree in Architecture.

The funds went towards appropriate materials, field trips, printing and other related costs. I haven’t spent the entire bursary as I wanted to save some funds for my upcoming Masters’ degree, which I hope to start in September 2014.

Being an award-winner in the architectural field has boosted my confidence.

The Stephen Lawrence Trust has helped me in so many ways and I am extremely grateful.

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Stephen Lawrence Foundation

Tina’s story Learner on SLCT Smarter Communities courses “I got involved in community work as I wanted to get out and meet people after being housebound for a while after falling ill with M.E. I first got involved in SLCT after looking at the website and booking a few courses on going back to work and confidence building. I decided to try a weekly art course that the Trust was running even though I hadn’t done art since I was 14.

Since attending the Stephen Lawrence Centre, I’ve started attending two art classes. I never would have dreamt of doing art before as I didn’t think that I had the ability but it has given me the confidence to try. The courses that I attended helped to build my confidence and I am now a volunteer trainer at the Centre.”

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Centre. In September 2013, he delivered the keynote speech on “Architecture and Memory” at the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Libeskind said, “I am honored to give the Stephen Lawrence Memorial Lecture this year.

Clearly, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and prejudices of all sorts are unacceptable in a democracy.

Mi Soul Radio, Play Back Studio and Live Vision are thriving media businesses based at the Stephen Lawrence Centre. As funding for the centre remains scarce, they have partnered with the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to develop the Media Hub – a social business that will contribute to ensuring that the Trust can continue to meet its charitable objectives.

I strongly recommend “enables voluntary work. It you to collaborate

with people who can identify your skill Forging a better future means fighting against the intrusions of these evils into society.

Building a city of the future does not only involve building in concrete, steel and glass – but involves building a better civic society.”

The Stephen Lawrence Centre This state of the art community and education centre helps disadvantaged young people with creative and skill developing courses. The Centre, designed by David Adje was opened in 2008. As a beacon of architectural excellence in the heart of Deptford, the Centre is designed to inspire young people.

Using the latest in multimedia, real-life challenges and expert facilitation, the Trust will work to enhance their communication, creative problem solving, team working, technical, project delivery and leadership skills. This includes a marketing challenge in the style of ‘The Apprentice’ where teams will create branding, campaign materials, merchandise and radio or ‘TV’ ads to make a pitch. They can also have the opportunity to try music making – from company anthems and jingles through to music videos and radio show mixes.

OlympICs

Stephen Lawrence Foundation

Advert British Heart

A healthy balanced diet can help protect my heart.

We’re here to help, visit: bhf.org.uk/africancaribbean 12

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Stephen Lawrence Foundation

Protecting your heart

OlympICs

People of African Caribbean descent are more likely to experience high blood pressure, stroke and type 2 diabetes than their European counterparts, so this Black History Month find out how you can protect your heart without taking the fun out of life.

This leads to abnormally high glucose (sugar) levels and can increase the risk of fatty deposits to build up in your arteries. If you have diabetes, or even if not but you want to keep your risk of heart and circulatory disease as low as possible, the following will help:

Heart and circulatory disease is the UK’s biggest killer and if you’re African Caribbean you could be at greater risk. But fortunately, the disease is largely preventable and with Advert a few small lifestyle changes you can help protect your heart now and in the future.

British Heart

• Doing more physical activity • Eating a healthy, balanced diet • Controlling your weight and body shape

The term ‘heart and circulatory disease’ covers all diseases of the heart and circulatory system including heart attacks, angina and stroke.

Having high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, being physically inactive and eating a poor diet are all risk factors that can increase your likelihood of developing heart and circulatory disease. But read on for our top tips of how you can reduce your risk from each one.

1. Blood pressure Blood pressure is the pressure of blood in your arteries. You need a certain amount of pressure to keep your blood flowing but if this is too high – generally considered to be anything above 140/85mmHg – it can increase your risk of a heart attack or stroke.

You can reduce your blood pressure by: • Doing more physical activity • Keeping to a healthy weight • Cutting down on the amount of salt you eat • Cutting down on alcohol • Eating more fruit and vegetables • Stopping smoking

2. Diabetes Diabetes significantly increases your risk of developing heart and circulatory disease, and it can cause other serious health problems too.

Diabetes develops when your body doesn’t produce enough of a hormone called insulin, or when the insulin doesn’t work effectively.

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3. Eating Well Eating too much saturated fat is bad for your heart, and so is too much salt. If you’re of African Caribbean descent, you’re even more sensitive to the effects of salt, which can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure and stroke.

But cutting back doesn’t mean you’re consigned to a bland and boring diet. We’ve got a series of recipe cards showing how to make traditional and tasty dishes, such as curry goat with ginger and sweet potato and mango and pear cobbler, with a healthier twist. You can order these from our website.

Eating well also helps you control your weight – another way you can reduce your risk of heart disease.

While ensuring you stick to the recommended daily limits for alcohol will help your heart too.

4. Smoking Smoking damages your heart and can cause the build-up of fatty material in your arteries.

Yet around one in four African Caribbean men and women currently smoke.

Giving up smoking is the single most important thing you can do to improve your heart health.

Once you’ve decided to stop smoking, getting support is the next essential stage.

Your GP practice nurse should be able to offer information, advice and support on things such as: • Practical tips on how to stop • Local stop smoking services Medication to help you, such as nicotine replacement therapy 13

OlympICs

Stephen Lawrence Foundation

More information You can find out more information, order our recipe cards and download our Healthy Living, Healthy Heart booklet designed specifically for African Caribbean communities at bhf.org.uk/africancaribbean If you’d prefer to speak to someone, you can call our Heart Helpline on 0300 3303311

5. Physical activity Getting active helps to improve your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, control your weight and reduce your risk of developing diabetes. It’s also a good way of relieving stress.

The best activity for heart health is ‘moderate intensity’ rhythmic (aerobic) exercise.

Moderate intensity means you should feel warm, and breathe more heavily than normal, but should still be able to talk. Brisk walking, cycling and swimming are good examples.

To protect your heart, you need to do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week. One way to tackle this is by doing 30 minutes of activity at least five times a week.

©British Heart Foundation 2012, registered charity in England and Wales (225971) and in Scotland (SC039426).

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Stephen Lawrence Foundation

I had no idea I could adopt, as I’ve already got my own children

I don’t mind, so long as you’ll love me too.

Take a second look at Adoption www.hackney.gov.uk/adoption 16tel: 08000 730 418

PJ52478

Fostering and Adoption

H

ackney is one of the most exciting and culturally diverse areas of the country, and it’s fair to say that our residents – and the children we as a council look after – reflect that. But our corner of east London is the same as many parts of the UK in that we desperately need permanent, loving homes for children of all backgrounds.

Sadly the number of black and minority ethnic children who are looked after by local authorities is increasing year on year, but the number of BME adopters coming forward is not. Black children typically wait about a year longer than white children to be adopted, and the wait can be ever longer for youngsters aged over five, sibling groups or those with disabilities. Just 3% of children adopted every year are black, but in Hackney we refuse to give up on them.

Our adoption team is very open minded and we’d never let someone’s race get in the way of providing a family to a child in need, but we also acknowledge

the enormous value black adopters can bring to a black child’s life.

Whatever the circumstances, children in care will have been through a terrible time in their short lives; for whatever reason their birth parents are unable to look after them and as a result they will feel a huge sense of rejection, so stability is absolutely crucial. The ideal adopter will be able to nurture and support a child, and that includes making sure they are aware of their heritage and given the opportunity to explore this if they want to. Working out who we are and finding our place in the world is something we all go through when we’re growing up and adoptive parents should be there to help them make sense of this and to be a positive role model for children who need it most.

In Hackney we pride ourselves on offering a seamless, outstanding service for potential adopters. Choosing to start – or add to – your family is one of the most important decisions

you will ever make, so we want to make it as easy as possible.

Of course it’s not a case of simply filling in a form; there are rigorous checks and interviews – and rightly so. The process can take up to six months from the moment you first apply to having a child placed with you, but our staff are on hand to answer any questions you have, no matter how small, and support you every step of the way.

So if you’re considering adoption, please consider Hackney. We don’t care if you’re single, married, straight, gay, if you own your own home or rent, have children or not…all that you need to adopt a Hackney child is space in your life and room in your heart.

Get in touch and find out more by visiting www.hackney.gov.uk/ adoption or calling

Cllr Rita Krishna, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services and Education London Borough of Hackney.

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Fostering and Adoption

SHELL’S DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

NETWORKS

VALUE DIFFERENCES Shell is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and there are currently seven employee groups, including the African Network, that help to embed the company’s D&I policy.

At Shell, diversity means all the ways we differ.

It includes visible differences such as age, gender, ethnicity and physical appearance, as well as underlying differences such as thought styles, religion, nationality, sexual orientation and education.

Inclusion means creating a working culture where differences are valued, where everyone has the opportunity to develop skills and talents consistent with Shell’s values and business objectives.

Vital to progressing D&I at Shell is the evolution of its employee networks. Following the establishment of the Shell African Network (SAN) in 2000, six more employee groups have followed – Asian, Women, Disabled & Impaired, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), Young Professionals (for graduates) and Experienced Hires (for more senior candidates).

SHELL AFRICAN NETWORK – A PIONEER EMPLOYEE GROUP SAN is open to staff of all racial backgrounds, enabling it to educate and inform others about African & Caribbean culture, values and countries.

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The network currently has almost 300 members with a presence in the UK, the Netherlands and Africa. It acts as a platform to voice and navigate sensitive issues around race in the workplace, as well as provide support, advice and tools to enable professional progression for its members.

Mavis Oti-Amankwah, Global Downstream Financial Analyst, is a founder of SAN and is currently its deputy chair. Mavis, who is on the shortlist for the Race for Opportunity (RfO) 2013 Diversity Champion Award, explains that SAN was inspired by advances in D&I in Shell US. Leslie Mays, the then Global Director of D&I, had moved to the UK and was pushing forward the D&I agenda. When Leslie established D&I as a Group Standard in 2001, this was a major step towards institutionalising D&I globally.

Mavis and a few colleagues were invited to meet Leslie at a lunch to discuss how staff could establish employee networks. “It was quite an emotional meeting,” she says. “It was the first time that black people had come together as a group at Shell in the UK,” says Mavis. “We were really inspired by Leslie and realised we could come together and share our journey.”

“On the one hand, we were helping to embed Shell’s D&I principles; on the other, it was a way for us to feel we could be our ‘true’ selves at work.”

Today SAN remains a strong, influential force within Shell UK. It has pioneered a youth work experience programme and a range of mentoring programmes – it won the RfO 2012 ‘Mentoring Award’ and has initiated tailored career development courses that have been adopted by other employee networks, including the Shell Women’s Network.

BLACKHISTORYMONTH2013 Fostering and Adoption

MENTORING

PROGRAMME AIMS HIGH

The Shell African Network’s award-winning mentoring programme is helping the group promote inclusion in the workplace by bringing value to its members and Shell.

Established in 2006, the number of people participating in SAN’s mentoring programme grew at a rate of 150% each year until 2012.

While the target audience is SAN members, the programme (and membership of SAN) is not restricted to African Caribbean employees.

More than 120 Shell staff have benefited from the programme so far, which offers four types of mentoring – one-to-one group mentoring, circles, workshops and external coaching.

There are many benefits. In 2011, 30% of staff in one mentoring circle secured promotions, while three gained multiple promotions within three years. The scale of this achievement is all the more impressive when the time to gain promotion at Shell is usually four years per job level. Those joining mentoring circles have also reported an increased level of confidence and self-awareness.

Overall, the programme contributes to Shell’s Diversity and Inclusion principles internally by developing leadership capabilities of participants that increase confidence and externally by giving back to the community as mentees tend to become more active network participants.

The programme’s efforts have paid off, with it coming out on top in the Race for Opportunity Awards 2012 – a real coup for the network.

The programme was lauded for achieving “a real mindset shift”, with judges stating: “Exposing senior executives to real issues creates profound changes in attitude and leadership style, which then permeates the organisation.”

Peter Fashesin-Souza, chair of SAN and Shell’s Head, IT Management Assurance, says: “Winning the RfO Awards confirms the quality and uniqueness of what we are doing, and that it is a leading initiative among the big corporates.”

One of the programme’s challenges is to break the perceived ‘glass ceiling’. Peter explains: “The glass ceiling is the subconscious perception that a person from Africa may not be competent in certain types of roles.”

The programme’s achievements are celebrated in a lively annual dinner that has been described as the “best black diversity and inclusion event hosted by a company in the UK”. According to Peter, the dinner recognises the different achievements of the network and its members, and invites senior executives and external guests. “It is a big deal for us in Shell and in SAN.”

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Fostering and Adoption

CLIMBING THE

CAREER

LADDER

Roland Ilube was one of the first members of the Shell African Network and has risen through the ranks at Shell since he joined 18 years ago.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND? I was born in England to an English mother and a Nigerian father, then moved to Nigeria when I was six before returning to England aged 16. Many people ask me about my identity, but I find it difficult to prioritise one side of my heritage over the other. I’m a product of my experiences in both countries.

DESCRIBE YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE SHELL AFRICAN NETWORK I have been involved since it was set up in 2000 and, because I joined Shell in 1995, I have been able to share my experiences and give advice to other network members.

ARE THERE ANY ISSUES THAT AS A NETWORK YOU’RE ABLE TO DEAL WITH WELL NOW? A challenge in the past was getting people to give us the opportunity to demonstrate what we were capable of.

That has certainly improved in the 18 years I’ve been with Shell and SAN has raised the profile and improved the opportunities of its members.

WHEN YOU FIRST JOINED SHELL, DID YOU FACE ANY PARTICULAR BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT OR SUPPORT DUE TO YOUR BACKGROUND? My first manager in Shell was very supportive. I was conscious that I was very much in the minority; the only other people I saw from ethnic backgrounds at the time tended to be admin. or cleaning staff, and sometimes when I met people for the first time they were a bit taken aback – which is something that still sometimes happens today – but once we got to discussing substantive matters it generally wasn’t an issue.

CAREER AT A GLANCE 1991 Graduated from London School of Economics 1991 Qualified as a Chartered Accountant -95 at Coopers & Lybrand UK 1995 Joined Shell’s Retail division, London, as Management Accountant 1998 Posted to Gabon, Central Africa, as Shell Downstream Finance Manager

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2000 Moved to Abidjan, Ivory Coast, as Business Integration Manager then Finance Manager

2002 Returned to the UK as Senior Finance Advisor, Downstream Portfolio 2006 Seconded by Shell to a joint venture in London looking at developing an LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) facility in Nigeria 2008 Transferred to Shell Upstream in Lagos, Nigeria, as Mergers & Acquisitions Manager, Commercial Finance team 2012 Became General Manager, Finance, for Shell’s European and African Lubricants and Commercial Fuels business

BLACKHISTORYMONTH2013 Fostering and Adoption

A

WINDOW INTO

CORPORATE LIFE This summer, more than 50 young students – most of whom are from black and other minority ethnic groups – took part in work placements across Shell.

Shell has offered work experience to young people in the UK since 2009, when the Shell African Network (SAN) set up a placement scheme led by Ebenezer Ademisoye, a former employee and member of the SAN Leadership Team. The programme previously welcomed up to 20 students during the summer.

This year, however, to tie in with the 50th anniversary of Shell Centre on London’s Southbank, things were done a little differently.

Sounez Charles – a Business Analyst who represents SAN and runs the company’s work experience programme – was tasked with finding 50 candidates to complete work placements within 50 Shell teams across three London offices.

Undaunted, Sounez and her colleagues managed to find 52 students in just a few short months. “It was quite difficult to find that many students, especially during the summer months,” she explains.

SAN used its affiliations with local schools, universities and Generating Genius, a charity that works with inner city disadvantaged youths, to find candidates.

The students spent two full weeks in Shell departments, then one week focusing on soft skills and personal development, and attending workshops and talks. On their last day, the students formed groups to present to senior leaders and Shell employees.

It was all an eye opener for many of the students.

“The majority associate Shell with petrol stations, but we give them a window into the corporate world,” says Sounez. Actor Michael-Joel David Stuart, who has starred in Eastenders and The Lion King musical, was one of the students who is now considering a change of career after completing the programme.

“What is amazing to me is the positive feedback,” Sounez continues. “The students have said that the workload was genuinely interesting, that they were made to feel welcome and that their opinion was valued.

“One mother told me that after her son had started his placement he became more motivated and positive almost overnight. A lot of them were so shy on their first day but during their placement they really came out of their shell.”

Naomi Walters, 16, worked in Shell’s UK Country Chair office during her placement.

“It was great because I felt like I was making a real contribution to Shell. I was able to stand back and think ‘I did that!’”

SAN runs the only work experience programme in Shell, and while it’s targeted at those with African/Caribbean heritage, it’s open to everyone. Sounez concludes: “It’s still an experience that a young person might not have had, so why should we close the doors on them?”

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Feature

The

Runnymede Trust

I

n 2013, racism and racial inequality still exist in the UK. The ethnic group which you are born into still has a significant impact on your life chances. This does not have to be true forever.

Racism is a created by our society, and it is within our power to eliminate it.

Runnymede, the UK.’s leading race equality think-tank, has launched the End Racism This Generation campaign because we believe if everybody makes changes in their own lives, workplaces and communities, we can create a society free from racism and racial inequality.

Our website (www.end-racism. org) is a platform where individuals and organisations can pledge to take actions to help end racism and race inequality.

Their pledges will be mapped by area, which will allow individuals, organisations and businesses to see what is going on around them.

During Black History Month, we are taking the campaign to Bristol and setting up a pop-up think tank at The Galleries mall in the city centre between 7-12 22

October. You can come to one of our specific workshops, or just drop in to find out more about the campaign at any other time during the day.

The events at the pop-up include a small business startup surgery with NatWest, a session on challenging racism in the workplace with Unison, a workshop on fighting hate crime, and a film night on race and gender. We will also be looking to the past and the UK’s civil rights movement by hosting a book signing with the famous Bristol Civil Rights campaigner Paul Stephenson OBE. A full list of the events can be found on our Facebook (www.facebook.com/ RunnymedeTrust).

This Black History Month we want all individuals and organisations to think what they can pledge to do to help end racism in the UK. No action is too small, no pledge too insignificant.

Everybody should feel empowered to end racism, regardless of the resources at their disposal. A pledge could simply be to find out more about racism in the UK or to spread the word on how to tackle it through social networks.

On a larger scale, organisations could pledge to show how their work already reduces racial inequality or use the momentum of the campaign to launch new activities. Businesses can pledge to work harder to ensure employees reflect the make up of the population at all levels of the business, including the boardroom. Schools and universities can pledge to take action in ensuring equality of educational experience for its minority ethnic students. And everybody can support the campaign by a donation, by giving money, time or offering the resources at their disposal.

For more information go to our website: www.end-racism.org or follow us on Twitter @EndRacismUK or Facebook www.facebook.com/ RunnymedeTrust

Feature

Let’s fueL their imagination to think of more innovative energy soLutions.

How do we meet the growing energy needs of the modern world? Not just for today, but long into the future? It’s a complex question to which there is no simple answer.

Whatever happens collaboration is essential. And a better mix of different, sustainable energies. At Shell we’ve been working with schools and universities around the world for the past 25 years on the Shell Eco-marathon – an innovative competition that challenges students to design, build and drive some of the most economical vehicles possible.

Last year’s winner achieved 3688 km/l. It’s an incredible figure. But one we hope to beat this year. And is an example of how we’re working together to help develop a mix of energies that can power and sustain all our lives long into the future. Let’s broaden the world’s energy mix. www.shell.com/letsgo

Search: Shell Let’s Go

Let’s go.

To explore interactive stories on innovation in energy on your iPad, scan the code or search ‘INSIDE ENERGY’ in the App Store.

iPad and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

23

Feature

He Had A Dream

This year marked the 50th Anniversary of the march on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Dr Martin Luther King’s “I HAVE A DREAM “ speech 50 years on, bHM Magazine takes this opportunity to commemorate this historical event.

Dr Martin Luther King, representing the SCLC, was among the leaders of the so-called “Big Six” civil rights organisations who were instrumental in the organisation of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which took place on August 28, 1963. The other leaders and organisations comprising the Big Six were Roy Wilkins from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Whitney Young, National Urban League; A. Philip Randolph, Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; John Lewis, SNCC; and James L. Farmer, Jr. of the Congress of Racial Equality.

King delivered a 17-minute speech, later known as “I Have a Dream”. The speech’s most famous passage—in which he departed from his prepared text, possibly at the prompting of Mahalia Jackson, who shouted behind him, “Tell them about the dream!”—King said:

24

“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream.

It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with

the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.”

“I Have a Dream” came to be regarded as one of the finest speeches in the history of American oratory. The March, and especially King’s speech, helped put civil rights at the top of the liberal political agenda in the United States and facilitated passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The original, typewritten copy of the speech, including Dr. King’s handwritten notes on it, was discovered in 1984 to be in the hands of George Raveling, the first AfricanAmerican basketball coach of the University of Iowa. In 1963, Raveling, then 26, was standing near the podium, and immediately after the oration, impulsively asked King if he could have his copy of the speech. He got it. bHM

Feature

25 credit- wallpapersus.com

Feature At Santander we recognise everyone for the individuals they are

“A person is a person because he recognises others as persons.”

Bishop Desmond Tutu It’s our diverse spectrum of customers and colleagues that ensure we continuously improve the way we do business. By embracing all the different skills, knowledge and experience that we have at Santander, we are better able to meet our customers’ needs.

This is core to our strategic goal of becoming the best bank in the UK. For this reason that we value strength in difference and we are honoured to celebrate Black History Month once again.

Innovative Within Santander, our training is recognised by the Employers’ Network for Equality and Inclusion, and our Diversity Support Team provides advice and guidance to our customer-facing teams who encounter any related issues.

What’s more, to further encourage a culture of inclusion, our Cultural Awareness Network reviews the different faiths and beliefs shared by both our diverse workforce and our customers.

26

At Santander, we are proud to be Champion members of Race for Opportunity and support their work to reduce ethnic minority youth unemployment. It is our belief that a diverse leadership team and workplace is good for business and good for society as a whole.

Committed Santander strives to be a great place to work and we want to support our people in building a successful career. Our Talent programme is committed to helping our people deliver their best. Just some of these initiatives are: • A specially designed support structure for school leavers, interns, graduates and those building a career.

• Bespoke senior leadership development programmes enhancing mentorship and coaching skills.

• A successful programme for discovering and nurturing talent.

Equally, we’re committed to providing a range of benefits to suit our people’s individual needs and lifestyles. Some of these include in-house gyms, flexible working, childcare vouchers and a 24/7 employee assistance helpline.

At Santander, we also believe in giving back to society, and our people are closely involved in community-based programmes.

What’s more, we attract, develop and retain a skilled workforce that’s in tune with our diverse customer base. Together these initiatives move us another step closer to our aspiration of becoming the best bank in the UK.

www.santander.co.uk

With your support he can achieve his goals

Feature

Islington urgently needs foster carers to look after children of all ages.

You don’t need qualifications but you do need to be good with children and be able to keep them healthy and safe.

Islington foster carers:

• • • •

can live in a rented or owned home in or near Islington can be couples or single people receive training and 24-hour support receive generous allowances.

To find out more about fostering and our next information session, call free now and take the first step towards making a real difference to a child’s life.

0800 073 0428 or email us at fostering@islington.gov.uk

www.islington.gov.uk/fostering 27

Advertorial

Could you help change a young person's life?

Islington’s fostering team urgently needs carers with a spare room to help local black young people. There are just not enough carers from the black community coming forward to foster these children, and we urgently need to change this.

The need to be brought up within a family that reflects their birth heritage is vital. This gives them a sense of cultural background so they feel positive about themselves. This then allows them the opportunity to grow in confidence and self-worth.

These are particularly important years for the over 11s when they start making decisions and developing the life skills that will shape their future.

They may be confused or frustrated by their experiences and will need someone who will be patient and listen to them.

Unfortunately people may not make an application thinking they would not be suitable to foster because they do not own their home or hold any qualifications. This is not true. Islington welcome applicants from all backgrounds and situations, it’s all about what you can offer the young person.

Islington foster carers get full support and training opportunities as well as receiving generous allowances. If you think that you could make that difference to a young life, give us a call on 0800 073 0428 or check on www.islington.gov.uk/fostering

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Advertorial

NASUW T-Defending Black and Minority Ethnic teachers The NASUWT, the largest teachers union, is committed to racial equality in schools and colleges and actively supports black and minority ethnic members within both the Union and the workplace.

of challenging these unacceptable attitudes.

action to defend salaries and working conditions.

“I didn’t realise that so many people still face racial discrimination. Now I realise these are issues are prominent in some people’s lives.” Caryna, final year primary education student

“It is very important that all teachers are involved in the industrial action. The professional status that we have is being eroded because we are being asked to do more and more.”

Hardial, supply teacher from Dudley

Conference Declaration

Black and Minority Ethnic Teachers’

The NASUWT believes that a racially diverse teaching profession is vital to securing high educational standards for all children and continues to challenge and fight the unacceptable attitudes faced

by Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) teachers.

Consultation Conference

‘Celebrating Diversity and Embracing Unity’

This government’s watering

BME teachers play a key role in the education of children and young people.

It is therefore concerning that the recent NASUWT Big Question survey showed that 63% of BME teachers are seriously considering leaving the profession.

BME teachers continue to face discrimination in the workplace and the NASUWT has a proud tradition

NASUWT The Teachers’ Union

down of equality legislation, its continued refusal to ban BNP members from the profession and the spread of unaccountable academies and free schools contributes to a divisive environment in society, where racism and prejudice is still being allowed to thrive.

The NASUWT condemns the Coalition Government’s ideological attack on state education and on the working conditions of teachers, which are having a disproportionate impact on BME teachers. Teachers in the UK are therefore currently taking industrial

The NASUWT organises an annual BME Teachers’ Consultation Conference, which is the largest gathering of BME teachers anywhere in the UK. This year’s conference will take place on Saturday 7 December 2013 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham. For more information log onto www.nasuwt.org.uk/BME

“I would advise others to come to this conference.

There is so much they can take away from an event like this.” Abderrezak, maths teacher and NASUWT representative from Sheffield

The largest teachers’ union in the UK 29

Music

ING

for the Top The UK’s newest chart topping act is set to take the music industry by storm. bHM finds out more In January 2012, a DIY fanzine, populated with the unique wisdom of youth began circulating the pop stratosphere. Half way between SuperSuper and Just 17, it took a fresh, candid look at street-style and teenage concerns, body-swerving cliché and brimming over with personality. The cover star was a beautiful black girl wearing a cute rain mac, make-up blitzed on-point,

30

weave slick, carrying a small inflatable cow on a leash.

Three letters bestrode the top of the publication.

A*M*E. Buzz began about the 16-year-old who had audaciously named her magazine after herself. ‘Why not?

There aren’t any magazines out there that talk to girls my age.’

Before we had even got to hear a bar of the infectious, blue-chip, street-sounds urban pop that A*M*E (pronounced Amy) had

fashioned mostly in her friend’s bedrooms and now owns, the attitude was laid out.

A*M*E is putting the C*O*O*L* back into F*U*N*.

Well, someone had to.

Fast forward just one year from the first issue of The A*M*E, and the cover star herself has been tipped by the BBC Sound Poll 2013, while her Radio 1 A-Listed collaboration with Duke Dumont, Need You

Music

(100%), is currently racing towards the top of the charts, with a No.1 on Shazam and No.1 on the Pop Charts.

Enchanting both the pop, alt and fashion crowds, she has appeared everywhere from Elle to i-D, Dazed, BEAT, Vice and Wonderland. She is currently recording her album with the likes of pop wunderkind MNEK, Quiz & Larossi, Midi and Mafia.

Magazine shoots, chart-topping singles and record label deals are all a long way from the war-torn

political landscape of Sierra Leone where Amy Kabba was born. She lived there until she was eight.

Despite her mother’s hair salon and one early family house being burnt to the ground and frequent midnight flits to new addresses, including a spell in neighbouring Guinea, she looks back with relish at that first half of her life so far. ‘It was still troubled. We didn’t have the best economy. There was a war.

But we were the fortunate ones.

We had a house made of bricks. It might seem mad now but I have

very fond memories of that time.’

Her father was a local musical star, he and his brothers entertaining under the family name Kabba, flitting in and out of fame and fashion. Little A*M*E would study her father’s musicality. She tried writing songs over hits he had written with her own little girl lyrical spin.

Back home in Sierra Leone, she loved the music of boybands. ‘I’m

31

Music not embarrassed. Everyone’s got to start somewhere and I still like a lot of that Backstreet Boys and *NSync music now. Set against a fractious backdrop, it probably was her best friend, at least the thing she could most rely on: ‘The saddest thing that happened was my mum and dad left to set up home in London and me and my sister were stuck there on our own for six months. I stayed with my uncle, crying myself to sleep all the time saying “I want my mum.” But it was so worth it in the end.’

The kaleidoscopic world of London was a plane journey away. ‘I didn’t even know what it was going to look like. Everything was massive and freezing compared to back home. The only things I knew about the first world were learnt from pop music.’

‘I felt like I’d stepped into the future. This was a new age.

Absolutely breathtaking. So much to take in, starting with language.

I could only speak broken English.

I’d been schooled in French. I didn’t know formal English, I couldn’t hold a conversation. I was curious.

I read the dictionary back to front.

I’d pick out words and find out what they meant. Such a nerd. And then I found books. Harry Potter I didn’t quite get into. But Twilight however! I must have read each one of those books five times each and every time it’s like a brand new journey.’ (FYI, she is categorically Team Edward).

From her first steps in the new world, A*M*E began forging her little path to pop glory. At primary school she fronted the Destiny’s Child indebted schoolyard girlband, Independent Girls (‘Independent?

In year five? Really?’). ‘Whenever I was with them performing I always wanted something more. I always tried to flick my hair that bit harder

32

Music than them or do a little vocal run when I wasn’t supposed to. I kind of knew I could do it.’

A choirmaster at her secondary school noticed, too. The choir was called Vocalize. Little A*M*E was put at the front and took lead vocals on their South London choral renditions of Rihanna’s Please Don’t Stop The Music and her beloved Justin Timberlake’s Cry Me a River. And then a bug hit. ‘I learnt about ‘90s pop,’ she says, with the careful phrasing of a Paleontologist excavating the prehistoric world.

‘O.M.G. That stuff was so real.’

A solo A*M*E began to take shape.

Her fashion chops were already

to part of be any of that. I always wanted to rebel against that.’

And so the music followed.

Introduced to sonic wizard, recent major label signatory and the similarly capitalised MNEK, the two wrote their first great song together in a mutual friend’s bedroom.

A*M*E was 15. ‘He’s a total 90s pop head, like the male version of me. I was a bit shy at first, a bit jealous that he’d been signed. He had a chorus idea and everything started to flow.” she says.

Drive and Olly Murs. Releasing a host of viral videos including City Lights, Ride or Die and Find A Boy (which she wrote with Emeli Sande and Naughty Boy) and performing at the Olympics ahead of the Boxing Gold Medal fight. There was also a change of record label.

A*M*E was snapped by Epic/Sony, home of Olly Murs and The Script.

Her next single will be the 90s referencing, massive pop firecracker ‘Heartless’, produced by Carl Falk and RamiYacoub set for release in June.

A*M*E’s opening shot at pop glory, was her first single that is fittingly an MNEK collaboration, City Lights.

‘When we wrote it I knew that I

Now, A*M*E would like to take on the world, thank you very much.

But she would like to do it on her terms. ‘I’m a bit of a chameleon,’

“

The kaleidoscopic world of London was a plane journey away. ‘I didn’t even know what it was going to look like.

radicalising. ‘When everyone was dying their weaves blonde I dyed mine bright ginger. When other girls got heels I got 16-hole Doc Martens. When girls got their big hoop earrings I got 13 different piercings. It’s in my nature to go against what everyone else is doing.’ She didn’t want to fall into anyone else’s cliché of what a young black girl ought to look or sound like. ‘I didn’t look at contemporary artists. I studied the Beatles instead. I didn’t want to fall into anybody’s stereotypes.

I’m 16. I’m black. I’d be stupid not to think that people would come with certain preconceptions. It’s tragic but if you say black girl from the street, instantly people have negative associations. I didn’t want

had found a fresh sound, something that felt like me.’ Its street smart, impish beat and one-listen addictive chorus felt specifically disposed to brighten up the post Katy B pop landscape. Like the magazine she fashioned, she had taken a strictly DIY approach to the video accompaniment. ‘I know it might sound silly for a 16 year old, but I want to do this on my terms.’

But with the spring and bounce of City Lights in the bag it doesn’t sound silly at all. This is just the start of the songs beginning to flow. ‘I found my own chemistry, I think,’ she says.

Now 18, A*M*E had a busy 2012 - touring with the likes of Jessie J, JLS, The Wanted, Rizzle Kicks, Cover

she says, staring directly at her zebra print nail-art. ‘I’m influenced by what’s happening in the present and by things in the past, too. I’m now. I’m looking to the golden age of pop but heading it straight to the future.’

She said it.

Check A*M*E’s fanzine here - http://issuu.com/officialame/ docs/theame1 Soundcloud here - http:// soundcloud.com/ameofficial Twitter here - https://twitter. com/#!/theofficialAME

33

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Facebook - http://www.

A*M*E took a little time facebook.com/theofficialame out of her busy schedule to

sit down and have a chat with bHM bHM: What first inspired you to get involved with music?

Music has always been in my life, my earliest memories of music goes back to when I was about 6, listening to my dad and his brothers play their own songs at their own headline tour made me want to do it. I didn’t want to be part of the audience. I wanted to be the one at the forefront of it all. bHM: What was your first big break?

My big break came in the form of a song I wrote and featured on called ‘Need U 100%’ which went to number one and stayed there for 2 weeks.

Getting signed at 16 and supporting major artists like Jessie J and JLS was also quite a big thing for me to do.

incredible at what she does.

As a pop star I think Janet Jackson was one of the greatest. I also love Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and Donna Summer, all the greats that paved the way for music now. bHM: What’s the best advice you can give to a new up and coming musician?

I was always taught to be humble, hard working and dedicated and that’s the best advice I can give to anyone. bHM: To date what has been the biggest highlight of your music career?

Getting signed I would say and getting to number 1. I also was a cover girl for ‘hunger’ magazine and I was shot by the incredible Rankin so that was pretty special too.

bHM: Has it been tough?

Every job has its ups and downs, and music is included in that. I would say I’ve had many more ups than downs though. bHM: Who are your idols?

Janet Jackson is who I look up to, everything about her screams star and she’s just

bHM: What’s the next step for you?

More number 1s hopefully. I want to keep expanding my fan base. I want my music to be heard all over the world and I want to be successful, not just as an artist but also as a writer.

bHM Note: We’ve just found out that A*M*E’s number one collaboration with Duke Dumont “NEED U 100%“ has just gone gold in Australia.

35

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Her head wrap was just a piece of cloth she ‘easily’ wound around her head. In the midst of the numerous compliments, she found that many of today’s young ladies struggle with the knack of tying the head wrap so that it stays comfortably intact on their heads whilst looking attractive and stylish. Realizing what she had taken for granted all these years, the concept for ThandiWrap was born.

A headwrap that was practical and easy to wear, suitable for all hairstyles, appealing to the modern woman. Its unique hat and wrap combination ensures a practical and simple to wear solution that easily addresses many hairdressing experiences.

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Advertorial

Who wants TV without colour?

Colin Campbell-Austin is the People Development Manager and Ade Rawcliffe is a Creative Diversity Media Project Manager at Channel 4.

BHM: Can you tell us about Channel 4?

Colin Campbell-Austin (CCA): Channel 4 is a unique organisation: a public service broadcaster with a distinctive creative remit, funded within the marketplace, existing to provide a range of distinctive, challenging and provocative content. Our portfolio includes Channel 4, E4, More4, Film4, 4Music and 4Seven. As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is required to commission UK content from the independent production sector. We are a major investor in the UK's creative economy, working with around 400 creative companies every year and investing significantly in training and talent development throughout the industry.

BHM: Can you tell us about Creative Diversity?

Ade Rawcliffe (AR): Creative Diversity works with new, emergent companies and unorthodox talent – focussing on creative diversity of supply, both regionally and culturally. As a team we are embedded within commissioning and work across all genres and platforms.

We commission developments and pilots often in partnership with genre editors to bring talent into the system and make their early work more likely to be taken forward into full production.

BHM: You are currently working together on ‘Open4’*, can you tell us more about this?

CCA: Open4, is a pioneering new open learning platform and traineeship programme aimed at people interested in developing a career in television programme production. It’s available online via the 4Talent website, and offers fifteen innovative learning modules written by our Creative Diversity team aimed at inspiring users to kick-start their career in media and the production of Factual programming specifically.

The modules are designed to educate users about various aspects of the production process and will set relevant tasks and challenges to complete e.g. the importance of programme titles.

AR: It also features video interviews with top level Channel 4 people, including our CEO David Abraham and Stuart Cosgrove our Director of Creative Diversity, who share their insights into the world of TV and describe the journeys they have been on to get to where they are today. Further to the online platform, the next two years will see sixty users selected to attend a three week media boot camp; a three month paid, practical traineeship with a Channel 4 associated independent production company and gain an accredited Creative Skillset qualification.

*‘Open 4’ is part of ‘Open Channels’, a ground-breaking collaboration with the BBC and Creative skillset.

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BHM: Who can access Open4?

AR: It’s free to anyone over the age of 16, from any background, regardless of work experience.

BHM: Channel 4 has a reputation for championing diversity on-screen.

What challenges do you face?

AR: The biggest challenge is to make sure that the next generation of creative diverse talent gets noticed in an era dominated by aggregated super-indies.

We are ideas-led and want to work with the best new and small companies to ensure that Channel 4's reputation for diversity of supply is as exciting in the future as it has been in the past.

BHM: How does extend to off-screen?

CCA: We pride ourselves on the wide range of passionate and talented people that we employ. It’s well known that a diverse workforce promotes creativity, which for us is the life blood of what we do. By attracting people from all backgrounds and walks of life, we have created an environment in which everyone feels free to be who they are at work. Diversity of thought and opinion helps us to innovate, be distinctive and encourage people to think in different ways.

Advertorial

Who wants TV without colour?

Channel 4 is proud to promote diversity in all parts of our business. On and off screen.

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DIVERSITY PLEDGE

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Krios

The Krios of Sierra Leone:

a Unique Heritage Linked to Britain and Beyond by lyamide Thomas, Vice- Chair, Krio Descendants Union –London With contribution from Nigel Browne-Davies, Historian The Krios of Sierra Leone have a fascinating history and heritage, linked to Britain and beyond. On 24 September 2011 a unique charitable organisation called Krio Descendants Union London (KDU- London) was launched in the United Kingdom for people of Krio heritage. KDULondon is a member of the Krio Descendants Union Global body which has chapters in the United States, Canada and Sierra Leone. It aims to provide Krios with a forum for preserving, learning and promoting their history, culture and heritage which can be passed on to the next generation and to help in the development of Sierra Leone through fundraising and other projects.

“Who exactly are the Krios, and what, if anything have they got to do with Britain” I hear

you ask! Well, if asked “What ethnic heritage do footballer Ryan Giggs, composer Samuel Coleridge –Taylor, actor Idris Elba and actress Ellen Thomas all have in common” does this begin to give you some idea about the Krios and what they might have to do with Britain?

Read on!

The Krios - Where did it all begin?

The Krios’ historic links to Britain began with Britain’s part in that heinous ‘Slave Trade’- for the ethnic group called ‘Krios’ are descendants of various African American, Caribbean, and African ex-slaves and freemen who the British resettled in Africa in the modern day West African country of Sierra Leone.

In 1772 Lord Chief Justice Mansfield declared slavery illegal in Great Britain, through efforts of abolitionists such as Granville Sharp. Following the American Revolutionary War, there were thousands of freed slaves in London suffering from acute poverty and unemployment. In 1786, Sharp and other philanthropists formed the ‘Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor’ to provide sustenance to these people. Sharp also conceived the idea of founding a ‘Province of Freedom’ in Africa for their resettlement. He belonged to the ‘Clapham Sect’ that included abolitionists such as William Wilberforce, Zachary Macaulay and Thomas Clarkson (In 1792, this sect subsequently founded in Sierra Leone what would become the first major British Colony in Africa). Sharp’s

L-R: British people of Krio ancestry: Ryan Giggs, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Idris Elba, Ellen Thomas (Photo Credit: 1-3 Google Images Photo 4. A. Daramy)

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Krios

“

L-R: Granville Sharp, Olaudah Equiano, William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson (Google Images)

Krios among Sierra Leoneans can easily be identified from their typically British surnames such as Smith, Williams, Thomas, Davies and Christian names like Nigel, David, Florence And John.

‘immigration scheme’ had received vocal support from some influential Blacks in Britain, but some such as Olaudah Equiano decried what looked like the ‘deportation’ of Blacks to a potentially dangerous land. Historians differ as to whether the motives were purely altruistic or whether the key motive was to remove Black people from London!

However, on April 9th 1787, 411 Black American, African, Caribbean, and a few Bengalis (collectively called the ‘Black Poor’) set sail for Sierra Leone.

Also included were a few dozen White women, likely wives and girlfriends though they are traditionally depicted as London prostitutes!

The immigrants arrived in Sierra Leone in May 1787 and established ‘Granville Town’. The colony lasted until December 1789 as disease and hostility between the colonists and indigenous people left only 64 original

44

returnees remaining by early 1791.

Following the demise of the first colony the next group of settlers were known as the ‘Nova Scotians’ or ‘Settlers’, mainly American slaves who had earned their freedom after escaping and fighting for the British during the American Revolution. The British had resettled some in Nova Scotia, Canada where they soon felt the familiar hand of discrimination and the harsh Canadian winter!

One called Thomas Peters travelled to London to protest their situation and returned to orchestrate their resettlement to Sierra Leone. On January 15th 1792, fifteen ships carrying approximately 1200 Nova Scotians left for the shores of Africa.

The Nova Scotians were more resilient than their predecessors. Many were skilled artisans or had other trades. They built a new settlement called ‘Freetown’ which was the basis for the

Freetown Homecoming in 1792 (Google Images)

Krios stationed and disbanded in Sierra Leone.

Statue of Thomas Peters, African American leader of the founding settlers of Freetown, Sierra Leone.

new Colony of Sierra Leone that eventually encompassed Granville Town. By the 1820’s they had become the Black bourgeoisie.

In 1807 the British Parliament passed a bill forbidding the slave trade within the British Empire and from 1808 onwards the thousands of people resettled in Freetown were known as the ‘Liberated Africans’ or ‘Recaptives’, for they had been rescued from slave ships before they reached the shores of the Americas.

Many were from the modern day countries of Nigeria and Congo, and were of Yoruba, Igbo, and Bakongo stock.

Others had come from along the coast of Africa such as Cameroon, and Senegal.

“

They attended universities in Oxford, Edinburgh, London and Cambridge and made important contributions to British history particularly in the educational, legal, and medical fields.

In December 2011 Krio Descendants Union Freetown erected a statue to honour Thomas Peters. In October 2012 KDU- London launched the ‘Thomas Peters Benevolent Fund’ to help towards needy Krios in Sierra Leone.

The next group resettled were the ‘Maroons’, ferocious ex-slaves from the Jamaican mountainside. Many were of Ashanti and Fanti origin. They had long fought the British and when the Trelawney Town Maroons lost the Second Maroon War they were deported to Nova Scotia and subsequently 600 were resettled in Freetown in 1800.

The Maroons were not the only Caribbean settlers, West Indian soldiers from the 2nd and 4th West India Regiments were also

St. John’s Maroon Church (Google Images)

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Krios

Krio Heritage -The Different Legacies What’s in a name?

British Royal Navy Parade past old style Krio houses (©IWM (A24464)

Krio ‘Bod Ose’ (A. Daramy)

The descendants of these four settler groups (i.e. the Black Poor, the Nova Scotians, the Maroons and Recaptives) make up the unique ethnic group known as the ‘Krios’. Krio heritage is thus an interesting mix of various cultures including British. This is reflected in the language, architecture, dress, lifestyle and traditions.

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Krios among Sierra Leoneans can easily be identified from their typically British surnames such as Smith, Williams, Thomas, Davies and Christian names like Nigel, David, Florence, John. Additionally, many have African Christian names originating from Ghana and Nigeria. Historic Krio names include Sir Samuel Lewis, Bishop Adjai Crowther, Constance Cummings-John and Dr Davidson Nicol. The African names of slaves were forcibly changed during slavery (remember Kunta Kinte in ‘Roots’ and his refusal to answer to ‘Toby’?), however, a lesser known fact is that some Krio names originated in Sierra Leone where in return for supporting the Church Missionary Society (CMS) work, African children were named after the British benefactors!

Some Krios did not convert to Christianity and remained Muslim. These Muslim Krios known as ‘Oku’ have surnames such as ‘Mahdi’ and ‘Iscandri’.

Freetown’s street and place names also reflect the Krios’ unique history. ‘Victoria Park’, was named for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, whilst ‘Howe St’ was named after the British General who served during the American Revolution. The

NASUWT The Teachers’ Union

g

in t a r b e Cel

The NASUWT supports the celebration and promotion of black history in education and wider society.

Teachers and other school staff have a vital role to play in promoting black history every day and every month of the year. The NASUWT is committed to challenging racism and discrimination and holds events and an annual consultation conference for black and minority ethnic (BME) teachers. This year’s conference will be held on Saturday 7 December in Birmingham.

For further information about the NASUWT’s work on equality, contact: Telephone: 0121 453 6150 E-mail: equalityandtraining@mail.nasuwt.org.uk To join, make one hassle-free phone call on 0121 457 6211 or go online at www.nasuwt.org.uk The largest teachers’ union in the UK

Krios

USA Bod Ose

Above: Krio Lady in ‘Kabaslot and Kotoku’19th and 21st century Krio Gentlemen in Breeches Maroons lived in ‘Maroon Town’ with street names such as ‘Westmoreland St’ and ‘Trelawney St’, after parishes in Jamaica. Their ‘Maroon Church’ still stands today. ‘Soldier St’ and ‘Sojaton’ were in recognition of the West Indian Regiments whereas Recaptives from Congo lived in ‘Congo Town’. “What’s in a name”?

Quite a lot actually!

Krio Language The Black Poor and Nova Scotians arrived speaking some form of English whilst the Maroons spoke an Englishbased ‘Creole’. Recaptives spoke Igbo and Yoruba etc and soon there evolved a type of ‘patois’. This language also called ‘Krio’ is drawn mainly from English. Its sentence

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structure and vocabulary is influenced mainly by African languages particularly Yoruba e.g. Krio greetings ‘Kabo’ and ‘Kushe’ are from the Yoruba greetings ‘Ekabor’ and ‘Ekushe’ respectively. Krio also incorporates words from other European languages like ‘boku’ meaning plenty -from the French word ‘beaucoup’ and ‘sabi’ meaning to know - from Portuguese ‘sabir’. English is Sierra Leone’s official language but Krio is the main source of inter-tribal communication.

“Kabo, yu sabi for tok boku Krio?” demonstrates the blend that is Krio!

‘Bod Ose’. As a youngster on my first visit to Washington I screamed gleefully at the sight of similar wooden houses, little knowing how significant they were to my Krio heritage! The Krios of Freetown had lived in these wooden houses which were a direct legacy from the Nova Scotians. These wooden houses with stone foundations and American –style shingle roofs were being built on the American Eastern Seaboard in 1776 and the Nova Scotians had replicated them in Freetown, as well as the more elaborate versions found on Caribbean plantations!

Krio Architecture

Nearly all the remaining houses are over 100 years old as after 1940 further construction was forbidden due to fire hazard and the style of building was

Scattered around Freetown are a distinct type of ageing wooden houses locally called

Krios

already in decline as stone and concrete became more fashionable.

Krio Attire Traditional Krio dress was a fusion of both Western and African influences. The ‘Kabaslot’ worn by Krio women combined nineteenth century Victorian dress with adaptations from the Americans and Maroons.

Krio men often wore top hats, frock coats and swallow tailcoats in addition to the African ‘Agbada’, worn by the Recaptives. Today Krio men and women wear Western styles or cultural dress and most men have done away with those so British top hat and tails!

Other Aspects of Krio Culture The early settlers were encouraged to promote a British, Christian and middle class life grounded on the church, education and commerce. Intermarriage between Europeans in the

colony and the various ethnic groups all coalesced to form the Krio identity. The Recaptives not previously exposed to Western values modified their customs and culture to that of the Nova Scotians and Europeans, but kept some of their ethnic traditions which contributed greatly to the Krio culture.

Krio culture emphasized the role of education and with the CMS establishing Fourah Bay College (which affiliated to Durham University), the CMS Grammar School for boys in 1845 and the Female Institution in 1849 to which Queen Victoria sent her adopted daughter Sarah Forbes Bonetta (the ex slave girl) the Krios became a highly literate group even when compared to British society during the nineteenth century. They attended universities in Oxford, Edinburgh, London and Cambridge and made important contributions to British history particularly in the educational, legal, and medical fields.

By 1885 fifteen Krios had qualified as medical doctors including Dr. James Africanus Horton, the son of an Igbo Recaptive who in 1859 gained his MD as the first African graduate of Edinburgh University and went on to have a

distinguished medical career in the British Army (see also ‘the early history of sickle cell’ elsewhere in this publication). Krios traded and worked throughout West Africa and some settled in countries like Gambia, Nigeria and Fernando Po.

Did you know? Thelma Stober, previously Director of the Legal Team at the London Development Agency and Wilben Short, then Transport Head at ‘LOCOG’, are two Krios who played key roles in London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in July 2005.

This article gives only a snippet on the unique ethnic group called Krios. Learn more by visiting www.kdulondon.org.uk and become a ‘Friend of KDU’! or email: secretary@kdulondon.org.uk

lyamide Thomas

Nigel Browne-Davies

49

Looking beyond London 2012 to the next generation.

After an incredible summer in London last year, EDF Energy is using its legacy as an official partner of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to build relationships with colleges in ethnic minority communities.

By creating the Indoor Athletics Challenge (IAC), they helped pupils develop transferable life skills and learn about where those skills could take their careers.

Sponsored by EDF Energy’s BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) Employee Network, the programme provided specialist athletics coaching to 60 students in six colleges in East London, including time with former 400m specialist and Olympian Donna Fraser, who works at EDF Energy. The 8-10 weeks of training culminated in the Indoor Athletics Challenge Final in March, which saw NewVIc Sixth Form College triumph as overall winners across five events.

The winners were not just decided on the field however, as scores were also given for attributes such as teamwork, commitment and respect. Which is why the six colleges were delighted with the programme.

They saw it as a unique opportunity to inspire students and get them back on the right track.

In turn, the teachers themselves were inspired to see the key skills the students had learned be put to use in the final. In fact, a survey at the end of the programme showed that over 70% of the students felt the challenge equipped them with additional mentoring skills and helped improve their punctuality.

Which shows just how well the programme harnessed the students’ energy and created genuinely transformative results.

There are a range of career opportunities at EDF Energy. To find out where you fit in, visit www.edfenergy.com/careers

Sheena Raichura has been a Senior Business Analyst with EDF Energy for almost two years and knows just how diverse the company is.

‘EDF Energy places a huge emphasis on ensuring that its workforce is diverse and multicultural. Doing so allows us to tap into new ideas from people who have very different backgrounds and perspectives.’

‘Our BAME network has been very helpful in that regard.

I have been a member for just over a year and a half and have been involved in a number of events. For example, as a network we have built on the success of the IAC by providing employability workshops to students of the six colleges.

I have personally delivered some of the workshops which I felt was very rewarding as the students were appreciative of the support we provided.’

‘Events like this make me feel proud to be part of the BAME network and EDF Energy. So I’m committed to seeing the network develop, grow and do even more in the future.’

Sickle Cell

The Early History of Sickle Cell

A Tale of

Two Discoverers

By Iyamide Thomas Regional Care Advisor, Sickle Cell Society, UK

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood condition that can cause severe pain, anaemia and organ damage. It affects millions of people around the world and it is most common in people who have originated from malarial areas since the ‘sickle gene’ is thought to have evolved to give ‘carriers’ (i.e. people with only one copy of the gene) some protection against malaria. This is why sickle cell disease mainly affects people of African, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, Indian and Mediterranean heritage.

Most text books or publications on sickle cell disease will tell you that the condition was discovered in 1910 by Dr James Herrick an American doctor from Chicago when he looked under the microscope at a blood smear of one of his anaemic patients and saw peculiar, elongated half-moon shaped cells that reminded him of a farmer’s sickle (a curved cutlass). The patient’s name was Walter Clement Noel a dental 52

student studying in the USA but originally from Grenada. Walter Clement Noel is thus cited as the first known case of ‘sickle cell anaemia’, but this was really only when the disease first became known in the West! Thanks to one particular text book I read, I learnt the tale of another ‘discoverer’ of the disease we now know to be sickle cell. I read that long before James Herrick’s ‘discovery in 1910’, Dr Africanus Horton an illustrious Krio doctor born in Sierra Leone and the son of an Igbo ‘Liberated African’ (see earlier article on the Krios of Sierra Leone) had published a book in 1874 called ‘The Diseases of Tropical Climates and Their Treatment’ in which he gave the first written

Sickle Cell account of the disease that Herrick subsequently called ‘sickle cell anaemia’! I was fascinated by this not only because I work in the sickle cell field but also because of my own Sierra Leonean Krio heritage. Thus began my quest to research more on the early history of sickle cell.

The James Herrick Discovery Let’s start with Dr James Herrick whose first recorded case was Walter Clement Noel, who subsequently died in 1916 and is buried in Grenada. Mr John James, Chief Executive Officer of the Sickle Cell Society by coincidence also happens to be from Grenada so when he announced his plans to return home on holiday in April, little did he know he would also be sent on a mission to visit Walter Clement Noel’s grave! John came back with an amazing update to the first known case of sickle cell anaemia in the West and more.

Here is what he had to say: “I am a regular visitor to the island of Grenada, the country of my birth. During my last visit in April 2013 I visited the grave of Walter Clement Noel in Sauters, Grenada. Sauters is located in the parish of St Patrick’s and I have visited the town on many occasions over the years. In particular I have visited Sauters cemetery as well as Leapers Hill (sometimes known as ‘Caribs Leap’) where the original Carib natives of the island leapt to their death

in the 1650s rather than face enslavement by the French colonialists. Whilst I was aware of Walter Clement Noel prior to joining the Sickle Cell Society, I can honestly say that I was not aware that he was buried in Sauters. In my previous visits I had not noticed any signage or honorary plaque to mark Walter Clement Noel’s burial at the Sauters cemetery site. However on my last visit in April this year, I am very pleased to say that there is a prominent honorary plaque at the entrance of the cemetery in Walter Clement Noel’s memory. This is a good thing!

Despite his sickle cell, Walter Clement Noel graduated from Dental School and set up a dental practice in the capital of Grenada; St George’s. He died aged 32 from health complications and was buried next to his sister and father in Sauters cemetery”. Walter Clement Noel’s status is the first recorded case of sickle cell disease (in the West).

The Africanus Horton Discovery Next we go to Dr Africanus Horton whose book ‘The Diseases of Tropical Climates and their Treatment’ is reported to have given the first written description of the disease Herrick subsequently called sickle cell. This is a very old book but thanks to a friend working at the British Library I was able to locate it and plough carefully through chapters of Dr Horton’s amazing medical knowledge searching for anything that would point to a description of sickle cell! Like others before me I too concluded that what Horton described in his chapter on ‘chronic rheumatism’ was almost certainly sickle cell disease. He anticipated by decades some of the features of sickle cell disease that others later recognised; such as the fever associated with

Tombstone of Walter Clement Noel (left) with that of his father (right)

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Sickle Cell galley proofs while he was engaged in the Ashanti War of 1873!), where long before Herrick’s description of sickle cell Ghanaians had recognised it as a dangerous hereditary condition which they called by various tribal names.

Plaque at entrance to Sauters cemetery to commemorate Walter Clement Noel

crisis, the rheumatism which shifted from joint to joint and ‘metalized’ to internal organs causing severe sometimes fatal complications. Most importantly Horton also mentioned the “long continuance and frequent recurrence of symptoms”, the constant abnormality of blood

and the peculiar tendency for the condition to be prevalent among natives of the Tropics who then suffered more in the rainy season. Dr Africanus Horton gathered most of his evidence whilst stationed as a British Army Surgeon in Ghana (it is reported he read the book’s

Reading through Dr Horton’s book not only made me certain that some credit should go to this man for one of the earliest descriptions of what became known as sickle cell disease, but it also made me immensely proud to see in print the work of this Sierra Leonean born son of a ‘Liberated African’ educated in Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom during the 1800’s who in his time excelled in the field of medicine and much more!

Sickle Cell Society :Layout 1 09/08/2013 15:06 Page 1

Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood condition in England. Here are the sums: 12,000 - 15,000 Individuals with Sickle Cell, +380,000 with Sickle Cell Trait, Only 1 Sickle Cell Society.

Sickle cell disease can cause excruciating, crippling pain and severe anaemia. This can last for days, weeks or months and can lead to frequent stays in hospital. Children with sickle cell often miss out on school.

Children with sickle cell often feel isolated and lack confidence. The Sickle Cell Society provides a one week, fun packed holiday for children living with sickle cell.

@SickleCellUK

Sickle Cell Society UK

E: info@sicklecellsociety.org

020 8961 7795 54

Michelle age 9 “I had a wonderful time meeting other children in the same situation like me, we shared our experiences together which boosted my confidence”.

Bolaji age 12 “I learnt that I am not the only one that has sickle cell. It’s good to know that I’m not alone and I can hang around with people who understand me”.

Every child living with sickle cell disease should not feel different, alone or isolated.

Please help us to improve their life chances by donating £3 today.

TEXT CFUN07 £3 to 70070

Sickle Cell

Screening for sickle cell and thalassaemia Sickle cell disease and beta thalassaemia major are serious, genetically inherited blood disorders which affect haemoglobin and its oxygen carrying capacity.

Genes are the codes in our bodies for such things as eye colour and height. Genes work in pairs. For everything that we inherit we get one gene from our biological mother, and one

from our biological father.

Carriers for a haemoglobin disorder are healthy and have inherited one unusual haemoglobin gene and one gene for normal haemoglobin A. Carriers are unaware of their status unless they have a specific blood test and they will never develop a haemoglobin disorder.

But the gene is still there in

the background, and they could pass it on to their own children.

Anyone can be a carrier of a haemoglobin disorder. It tends to be most common among people whose ancestors come from Africa, the Caribbean some parts of India, Pakistan, south and south-east Asia and the Middle East. This is because carrying a gene for

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Sickle Cell

“

Screening is not just for women. Know the facts, know the choices.” TIim Campbell, winner BBC The Apprentice Programme

a haemoglobin disorder may help protect against malaria in childhood, so in places where malaria has been widespread, the genes have become more common. Carriers can still get malaria, and should always protect themselves when travelling.

Where both parents are carriers, there is a 1 in 4 (25%) chance that their baby could inherit both unusual haemoglobin genes and have a condition that requires treatment.

Sickle cell disease is the name given to a family of conditions.

The most serious type is sickle cell anaemia (Hb SS).

Symptoms include pain known as a ‘crisis’, severe anaemia, susceptibility to infections and damage to major organs.

Sickle cell disease affects approximately 1 in 2,000 births in England, with an estimated 240,000 healthy carriers.

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Beta thalassaemia major is caused by a defect in the normal haemoglobin gene, which prevents the body from producing haemoglobin.

The result is life threatening anaemia, and people need regular blood transfusions for survival and treatment to clear excess iron from the body, throughout their lives.

There are currently an estimated 214,000 healthy carriers of the beta thalassaemia gene variant in England, and over 700 people with beta thalassaemia major.

Sickle cell anaemia and beta thalassaemia major can sometimes be cured with bone marrow or stem cell transplantation.

In England all pregnant women (and the baby’s father where the woman is identified as a carrier) are offered screening for carrier status. All newborn babies are offered screening

for sickle cell disease as part of the newborn blood spot (heel prick) test.

Testing at other times Blood tests can be offered at any stage in life. It is helpful for people to know their carrier status before they plan a family. The test can be done by GP or specialist sickle cell and thalassaemia centre.

NHS Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Screening Programme September 2013 http://sct.screening.nhs.uk/

Sickle Cell Society http://www.sicklecellsociety.org/

UK Thalassaemia Society www.ukts.org.uk

Volunteer for something ‘Special’ Special Constable

David Forbes Thirty-three year old David Forbes joined Hertfordshire’s Special Constabulary in June this year. As a youngster he dreamed of becoming a police officer and by joining the Specials he was able to fulfil this dream whilst also pursuing a full time career in the film industry.

David recently moved from London to Hertford and in the time he has been with the Constabulary, he has taken part in local neighbourhood patrols and supported police teams in keeping Hertford’s pubs and clubs safe at the weekend. During a shift he can be called to anything from a road traffic collision to supporting a victim of assault and apprehending a distraction burglar.

On his first shift, David was called to a domestic incident where a man attacked his girlfriend's work colleague and vandalised her car. David promptly arrested the man for ABH and criminal damage.

David said: “I’ve always enjoyed working as part of a team, so being a Special Constable provides plenty of opportunity to do that. Also every shift presents something different, so it’s never boring and it was very satisfying making my first arrest.

“When I decided to join the force, I was slightly concerned about what to expect, but from as far back as the application process the support has been faultless.

“It’s nice to work in a diverse environment and the Constabulary is always striving to reflect Hertfordshire’s whole community. So if you have always wanted to know what it’s like to be a police officer, why not go for it? It’s a great way to get an insight into policing, work with people from a variety of backgrounds and make a difference in society. I can safely say that being a Special Constable is one of the most fulfilling things I have been involved in.”

By becoming a Special Constable, you would be doing something not only rewarding and exciting, but it will also give you the chance to develop a range of skills.

Special Constables have full police powers, uniform and protective equipment and work alongside the regular force. As volunteers, Specials are not paid but expenses are reimbursed.

So, if you are 18 or over, have great interpersonal skills and want to give something back to the community for at least 16 hours a month in your free time, why not become a Special Constable?

Visit www.herts.police.uk/specials to browse the pages to find out more.

Alternatively, call 0800 358 3990.

Windrush

The Empire Windrush 65 years on

By Sundar Katwala www.britishfuture.org (reproduced from opendemocracy.net)

Above: Sam King

A foundational moment in the story of multi-ethnic Britain, and brought to life in Danny Boyle’s Olympic ceremony, the Windrush is an integral part of the modern British narrative and its relevance continues to this day.

Though it will always be 1945 which marks the transition between war and peace in the history books, a strong case can be made for 1948 as the year when several of the most important foundation stones of modern, post-war Britain were laid. That summer, the nationality and citizenship act gained its Royal Assent. The NHS was born on July 5th, a fortnight after a boat docked at Tilbury as the HMS Windrush brought almost five hundred West Indian immigrants to England.

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The images of its arrival – an era when men wore hats with their sharp suits, as they carried suitcases from a boat – have become central to the iconography of migration to Britain. The inclusion of the Windrush, as a paper mache replica made of newspaper headlines, in Danny Boyle’s Olympic retelling of our island story ratified its place as a founding moment in the making of a multi-ethnic Britain.

The 65th anniversary, today, is being celebrated as the inaugural Windrush Day by a broad civic coalition, reaching across the party political spectrum, as a day of thanksgiving for the positive contribution which those who have come to Britain have made to British society. It is also to affirm a commitment, whether we are migrants, the children and

grandchildren of immigrants to Britain, or among those who can trace our family histories here back many generations to much earlier arrivals to Britain’s shores, to work together for a shared society.

Yet before it was a symbol, the Windrush was a boat, and one with a fascinating, chequered history, having been a captured Nazi German warship before being renamed Windrush. Before its passengers became iconic pioneers of post-war immigration, they were people who made a personal decision to seek new opportunities in Britain. I spoke to one of them, Sam King, now 87, in what is now Brixton’s Windrush Square, as the civic square opposite the town hall is now known, having been renamed for the fiftieth anniversary of the boat’s arrival.

Windrush “I came here to work. We helped to rebuild London which had been so badly damaged by the war. It wasn’t easy. We had rationing. I remember walking around London and you would not see a single black face. But I worked hard and made this my home. I wanted to build a life for my family and I am proud that my children and grandchildren have done well here, and now my great grandchildren too”, he said.

King also told me about another moment when the West Indians believed they had arrived in England. It came two summers later: the pride felt at winning the Lords Test. He was there, and talks about the bowling of Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine as if it was yesterday. None of the West Indian fans had expected

arrivals - yet many of those coming to Britain on the Windrush were often coming back to Britain.

That was true of Sam King who, like about a third of those on board, had fought for the RAF and had his medals pinned proudly to his chest when we met this week. Indeed, the Windrush had been sent to Jamaica to bring back some West Indian RAF men on temporary leave. The decision to place an advertisement in the Jamaican Gleaner newspaper was an entrepreneurial opportunity to fill the empty berths.

Windrush is a post-colonial story about what happened after Empire–yet Empire was far from over. From the viewpoint of 2013, with India having become

This imperial context was important to the Windrush story in at least two ways. The persistence of Empire was a reason to leave for those who could, particularly for those who had been away from the Caribbean during the war and gone back to what then looked like more limited horizons than they were willing to accept. “I did not want my children to grow up in a colony”, Sam King says. He believed that they would have a better life and opportunities in Britain.

Empire also helps to explain what can otherwise sound like a rather romanticised attachment to the idea of the Commonwealth, and to free movement within it. It was clearly a reason for Clement Attlee to repel pressure from ten of his own backbenchers, who had

“

It is traditional that British subjects, whether of Dominion or Colonial origin (and of whatever race or colour) should be freely admissible to the United Kingdom

the result, he says, but they stayed behind at the end as a lyric to a Victory Calypso,“Cricket, Lovely Cricket” was written on the spot to celebrate. King tells me that the cricket result sent a broader message too: “I think it did us good. The Empire could see that if you trained these people up, they could do the job”.

Exploring the history of the Windrush can sometimes disrupt as well as illuminate some of the intuitions and narratives that are often now projected onto it. We think of this as a story of new

independent, 1948 can seem like a moment when the need for Britain was to adjust to its post-imperial power. That was not the intention of the government at all, with the unanticipated shock of Suez still the best part of a decade away. Labour’s Herbert Morrison, as Foreign Secretary, was quite as committed to maintaining imperial possessions as his Victorian predecessors. The Colonial Office’s rather cloudy crystal ball envisaged holding on to the remaining colonies for generations, perhaps centuries.

written to him on the day that the Windrush docked. Attlee’s terse reply understated the impact of Windrush, suggesting that “it would be a great mistake to take the emigration of this Jamaican party to the United Kingdom too seriously”.

“It is traditional that British subjects, whether of Dominion or Colonial origin (and of whatever race or colour) should be freely admissible to the United Kingdom.

That tradition is not, in my view, to be lightly discarded, particularly at a time when we are importing foreign labour in large numbers.

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Windrush

It would be fiercely resented in the colonies themselves, and it would be a great mistake to take any measure which would tend to weaken the loyalty and goodwill of the colonies towards Great Britain”.

This was a matter of crossparty consensus. David Maxwell-Fyfe had declaimed for the Conservatives from the frontbench, during the passage of the Nationality Act, that “we are proud that we impose no colour bar restrictions …we must maintain our great metropolitan tradition of hospitality to everyone from every part of the Empire”.

But one reason that Windrush gained more attention than the Almanzora had seven months earlier was because it triggered the beginning, too, of post-war anxiety about immigration, its arrival being raised in the House of Commons and, somewhat tentatively, in the newspapers.

Attlee added that “if our policy were to result in a great influx of undesirables, we might, however unwillingly, have to consider modifying it”. In the meantime the door remained open, while attempts were made to use shipping regulations to discourage any significant inflow. The door to Commonwealth migration remained open until 1962 when

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politicians on both sides began to introduce more restrictive policies.

Trevor Phillips, with his brother Mike Phillips, co-wrote a book and television series in 1998 which brought the Windrush story to a broader national prominence, outside the academy and the classroom, and sought to bring out the real lives of the Windrush generation from underneath the symbolism of the stories that have been told about them. He is confident that the Windrush merits its status as something different.

“There is always a philosophical question, about when did anything begin”, he told me, and whether to go back to Adam and Eve. The danger of implying that there was no previous non-white presence in Britain before 1948 is understood, but there is little point, he says, in trying to offer a false reassurance that nothing changed in post-war Britain. What made the Windrush different from previous waves of migration was that it was an act of large-scale voluntary migration, says Phillips.

Immigration to Britain did not begin in 1948 but with the groups who had come before, from the Huguenots to the Jews, while the story of black migration had been dominated by the legacies of slavery. What motivated many who

took the Windrush was neither compulsion nor fear driving the need to escape, but their “spirit of adventure”, Phillips notes. The £28 fare was advertised as a half-price bargain but, as Robert Winder’s history of immigration notes, it represented six months wages for many Jamaicans.

The Windrush has naturally been seen as a founding moment of the black British community for the Afro-Caribbean. It has, over time, become a broader symbol of other journeys to Britain.“The experience is a particular AfroCaribbean one, but the story and the fable have many connections and resonances”, says Phillips, although the patterns of migration were often different.

Few people are aware that there were also sixty Polish refugees on the Windrush too. The presence of the Windrush Poles partly captures the role of contingency in the Windrush story – these displaced people had been on a remarkable round-trip by the time the boat was advertising for more passengers in Jamaica. They had begun the journey in Siberia, and their route via India, Australia and New Zealand to Mexico, and then Jamaica, was not the most direct route to Tilbury. The Polish presence on the boat captures how the immediate post-war era

Windrush also continued to be a moment of movements, of disruptive change, when a great many people were on the move, a story captured in that greatest of all refugee movies, Casablanca. Yet the balance of the Windrush passenger list speaks to the shift from sanctuary to economic migration as the dominant reason that people came to post-war Britain.

The half a million Poles in Britain are usually found at the end of a long list of those who have come to Britain – from the Huguenots and the Jews, through the AfroCaribbean and Asian communities, to the Polish wave when the country joined the European Union after 2004. In terms of numbers, there is a truth in that, but it is not the whole truth. There is a great deal of Polish involvement in Britain at many previous points, just as there was a long AfroCaribbean history of engagement and involvement with Britain before 1948.

The Windrush story casts interesting light on contemporary debates about integration. The Windrush passengers believed that their Britishness was nonnegotiable and yet they were to find, after arrival, that they would have a long process of negotiation to secure it. This was an important moment of disenchantment: to find that the idea of Britain inculcated in Kingston’s classrooms was far from universally acknowledged on London’s streets. In her novel, Small Island, Andrea Levy (whose father was on the Windrush) gives her fictional ex-RAF man Gilbert Joseph the plaintitive cry, “How come England did not know me”.

generation is partly about an unwillingness to accept those who want to belong; a critical impediment to integration.

Nobody would claim that the history was easy. This is a story about contribution and change, but also about a sense of loss: the disappointment of racism shattering ideals and illusions about Britain; a sense of displacement and dislocation in Britain too. “Every generation of migrants believes that they have come temporarily, until they have children”, says Phillips. Just as the Windrush generation, by the 1960s, realised that they were here to stay, Britain was still debating.

In slogans like “send them back” the experiment of multi-ethnic Britain was a subject for reversal.

These were painful years. Yet Windrush has become part of a shared history that suggests this renegotiation of national identity was, ultimately, successful.

Questions of who counted as British were largely settled though there is certainly still much anxiety about immigration today, as there was in 1948. What is striking is how often anxiety about the present or future can now be combined with an uncomplicated acceptance of those who came before. That suggests that Britain has more of a history of integration than we tell ourselves,

though it can sometimes feel as though integration can be signified when those who were part of the previous wave share an anxiety about whoever may come next.

The arrival of the Windrush was the beginning of a new chapter but is, perhaps, now best understood as a half-way point in Britain’s island story. As Zadie Smith wrote at the end of her novel White Teeth, looking back from late in the century at the mutual entanglements of multi-ethnic Britain, “endgames must be played, even if, like the independence of India or Jamaica, like the signing of peace treaties or the docking of passenger boats, the end is simply the beginning of an even longer story”.

Britain will continue to debate and argue about immigration, but the story of social change can also be seen through more than a million individual stories. Today, Sam King, at 87, lives in south London with four generations of his family. He has made an enormous contribution to his adopted home, both during the second world war and since returning with the Windrush. It is good to have a day to be thankful for his contribution, and those of so many others, to our shared country - because he chose to come, and chose to stay.

Integration certainly depends, foundationally, on the desire to belong. The story of the Windrush

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School Direct and the Tollgate Teaching School Alliance Are you interested in becoming a teacher? Do you feel you have the necessary skills to become a teacher? Then consider the School Direct teacher training programme organised and facilitated by the Tollgate Teaching School Alliance. We will work to support you through the programme and provide you with opportunities to secure employment at the end of the course.

The Tollgate Teaching School Alliance is an alliance of 20 schools that span the age

range of Early Years Settings, Children’s Centres, Primary Schools and KS3. We are also an inclusive alliance with specialist provision for children with autism, behaviour support and the teaching of the deaf. We have a further 5 associate schools with whom we work to deliver the School Direct programme.

Tollgate Teaching Alliance has the capacity to offer high quality support for teachers and leaders at all stages in their career.

We have three National Leaders of Education leading schools within our Alliance

and six Local Leaders of Education. The Tollgate Teaching Alliance has also 23 Specialist Leaders of Education who deliver on the School Direct training programme and are trained Professional Tutors. In 2012/13 we successfully trained 5 School Direct trainees and they have all been appointed as NQTs within local schools.

Tollgate Teaching School is the lead school for a route into teaching through the School Direct Salaried and Non Salaried Programmes.

We have 40 trainees currently

on the programme. For September 2014 we are looking to recruit 40 more trainees for the primary phase and 5 secondary specialist trainees.

School Direct Salaried: This route will be a school based training model and there will be cross phase Primary placements across our network of schools and secondary placements. You will be trained, mentored and coached by highly experienced classroom practitioners and the course will have a strong focus on pedagogical understanding.

The trainee teacher would be employed by one of the schools within the alliance throughout the training.

SCITTELS and the University of East London are the accredited providers for this programme who will recommend the trainee teacher for Qualified Teacher Status.

School Direct Non Salaried: This route is a school based training model and there will be cross phase Primary placements across our network of schools and

secondary placements. You will be trained, mentored and coached by highly experienced classroom practitioners and the course will have a strong focus on pedagogical understanding. This is a postgraduate programme and a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) will be awarded by either Roehampton University or the University of East London. SCITTELS and the University of East London are the accredited providers for this programme who will recommend the trainee teacher for Qualified Teacher Status.

Further information about the programmes can be found on the following websites: http://tollgateteachingalliance. com/schools-direct/ www.education.gov.uk/ teachschooldirect

TO APPLY FOLLOW THESE STEPS Apply for a place on the School Direct Salaried / Tuition Fee Funded programme by visiting https://dataprovision. education.gov.uk/ schooldirect/ui/landing. (will need to check this for future applications) Select Tollgate Primary School and follow the instructions in order to register and apply to the programme.

You will be issued with a reference number which will enable you to book your skills tests.

Book your skills and sit them within 2 working weeks of applying for the programme.

Ensure that you inform the lead school when you have successfully passed the skills tests in order for your application to be processed.

ADVERTORIAL

Discover more

about Black heritage in the UK. Black Cultural Archives is opening the first Heritage Centre dedicated to Black heritage in the UK. They will move to their new home in Windrush Square, Brixton in 2014.

Black Cultural Archives is the largest archive collection dedicated to Black heritage in the UK. The growing archive collection includes periodicals, ephemera, journals, object and a unique library of rare books.

There are materials dating back to the 18th century, with a wealth of materials from past decades to present day.

Immerse yourself in the collection and make discoveries such as the popular 1950s Black magazine The Drum 64

and Flamingo, stunning photographs capturing life in the 1970s including work from Neil Kenlock; and newspapers articles documenting the uprisings of the 1980s. With the guidance of the archivists you can unlock the histories of people who have made important contributions throughout history.

Join the conversation and discover more through their programme of exhibitions and events that bring the collection to life. The gallery spaces and dedicated education room offer a range of workshops, talks and events for adults, young people and families, there is truly something for everyone.

Discover more about Black heritage in the UK. Black Cultural Archives will open its doors in 2014. The first exhibition is Heart of a Race. Join the mailing list at bcaheritage.org.uk for more information.

Follow Twitter @bcaheritage twitter.com/bcaheritage Facebook bcaheritgae (https://www.facebook.com/ bcaheritage)

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The UK requires modern, battle winning forces to defend its interests and to contribute to strengthening international peace and security.

These forces increasingly depend on scientific and technological advances to maintain their ability to operate effectively; this means the provision of technologies of tremendous speed, power and capacity to deliver a decisive operational edge.

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Organisation Description: Government Department. The DESG is the team of thousands of engineers and scientists within the MoD.

DESG offers you many benefits including: 1. Probably the very best graduate development scheme for engineers and scientists available in the UK – fully accredited by IMechE, IET, ICE, RINA, RAeS, IoP and IMarEST. 2. Considerable investment in support of your personal professional development; along with a wide range of exciting placement opportunities (including placements in industry).

3. An accelerated path to Chartered or incorporated status in your engineering or science profession; with the DESG it’s possible for you to achieve professional Chartership in just four years.

4. A truly rewarding career. MoD projects are fascinating, valuable, unique and sometimes highly classified.

Degree Disciplines required: A multitude of engineering disciplines, including: Electronic and Electrical Engineering and Naval Architecture.

Applications: DESG plans to open to graduate applications in the autumn of 2013; when open, apply on-line via our website (click ‘How to Apply’).

www.mod.uk/desg The MoD is an Equal Opportunities Employer.

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For more information & UK-Wide Listings go online www.officialblackhistorymonthuk.co.uk

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Make a difference by contributing to our work For more than 70 years, the Citizens Advice service has provided free, independent and impartial advice and information to help people resolve their legal, money and other problems. This year we helped over 2 million people solve over 7 million problems, we answered a further 2 million phone calls and our website received more than 13 million visits. Our national network of Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) deliver face to face and phone advice services from over 3,500 locations in England and Wales. Our policy positions and local and national campaigns will impact everyone, including those who have never used a Citizen Advice service, and help create a fairer society.

CAB TO

Our cause – to make society fairer – will only become a reality if we are serious about transforming the way we work. Citizens Advice is undergoing large-scale transformational change taking on a range of new consumer services and responsibilities, and we are improving the channels available to access our advice. In addition we are strengthening the support offered to our member Bureaux and ensuring we are equipped internally to deliver this change.

To that end, Citizens Advice is developing and implementing an ambitious People Strategy – an integral part of our wider transformation and modernisation agenda. We’re committed to taking a fresh look at how we recruit, manage, develop and support our people, and to becoming a better, more attractive place to work and volunteer for everyone.

SET

The diversity of our staff, volunteers and clients help shape who we are and the services we provide. We value how our differences enrich our communities and improve our effectiveness at work. We know from experience it’s only by having diverse staff, volunteers and clients that we can properly understand the effects of discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion – and challenge them. That’s why we welcome applications from everyone.

Our National Black Workers Group provides support and networking for black, Asian and minority ethnic volunteers and staff and advises on issues of race equality within and outside of the Citizens Advice service.

Whether you are looking to develop your professional career, or just starting out – there are opportunities for you.

A very significant element of the agenda is how we lead, manage, develop and empower our people, including our 22,000 volunteers, without whose generosity we would not be able to deliver.

For job vacancies and volunteering information please visit www.citizensadvice.org.uk.

Your Big Career Starts Here The Fashion Retail Academy delivers a unique contemporary educational experience, with a range of vocational and work-orientated courses to successfully prepare learners, aged 16+ for employment in the fashion retail sector.

The FRA is genuinely employer led, and was the first National Skills Academy to be opened in the UK in September 2006. An initial governmentmatched investment from the Arcadia Group, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Next and Experian has been followed by practical support from other retailers. We are now working with over 110

retail companies who provide meaningful work placements, master classes, industry projects and resources to aid teaching and equip FRA students for working life.

The FRA is a private training provider which offers free government funded places on fulltime Further Education courses for students under 19 years of age. The FRA has proved a resounding success growing from 50 to over 720 students in 6 years.

Located in a fantastic building just off London’s Oxford Street you will learn in an inspirational environment with the latest facilities including Lecture Theatre, IT suites and our very own Fashion Academy Boutique mock shop.

Lecturers at the FRA have diverse retail experience, offering a wealth of knowledge about the industry.

A large proportion of FRA students go straight into jobs with real career prospects. It’s a great opportunity to gain the skills and experience needed to kick-start a career in the sector and

develop the skills required for today’s fashion retail industry.

For further information visit our website: fashionretailacademy.ac.uk We also offer a number of Short Courses at the FRA which can help to develop new skills, pursue a particular passion, start your own business, or improve you career prospects.

Courses are available at introductory, intermediate and advanced levels and are delivered in different modes including one day workshops, 3 day modules, 5 day intensive and 6 week programmes as well as evening courses to enable you to fit them around either commitments of work or study. fashionretailacademy.ac.uk/short-courses

ADVERTORIAL

Family Mosaic is proud to support Black History Month 70

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ADVERTORIAL

Graduating Students 2012

The Africa Department 1948

Pioneering the study of Africa in the UK SOAS, University of London has unrivalled expertise in languages, cultures and histories of the civilisations in Africa – with more than 350 degree combinations available, specialist programmes on the languages of Africa and home to the Centre of African Studies, constant innovation keep SOAS teaching and learning relevant and rewarding. SOAS’ unique perspective on the world is reinforced by the diversity of our academic staff, with the highest proportion of BME professors in the UK. SOAS, was founded as the School of Oriental Studies on 5 June 1916.

Its original purpose was to train colonial officials for work in Britain’s colonies in Asia and Africa.

From the early 1930s, the School taught many of the languages of Africa. Among its students of African languages was Paul Robeson who studied Swahili and phonetics in 1934. The distinguished American singer-actor-activist was a leading campaigner against racism in the US.

Over time, the focus of SOAS’ work relating to Africa broadened considerably and it played a key role in establishing African history as a distinct field of scholarship.

A major figure in development of the study of Africa was Professor Roland Oliver, whose interest in ecclesiastical history led him to focus on the historical impact of Christian missionaries in Africa.

Through his studies, Oliver realised there was no academic study of African history, only the study of Europeans in Africa. As eminent historian Hugh Trevor-Roper was to state so controversially in 1963: “Perhaps in the future there will be some African history to teach.

But at present there is none, or very little: there is only the history of Europe in Africa.” It was Oliver who challenged that perception, becoming a lecturer in the tribal history of East Africa at SOAS, a ground-breaking appointment which marked the beginnings of the contemporary academic field of African history.

Later still, the School embraced the social sciences, teaching and promoting research on

African politics, economics, and development ambitions.

Notable SOAS alumni from Africa include BBC news presenter Zeinab Badawi (MSc Near & Middle Eastern Studies 1989); Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, His Excellency Mr Francis K. Butagira (African Law 1966); and Chief Dr (Mrs) Cecilia Ibru (Hausa 1981) - Former Managing Director and CEO of major Nigerian bank, Oceanic Bank International. More recently, Liberian-born Development Studies PhD student Robtel Neajai Pailey was awarded the Diplomatic Courier and Young Professionals in Foreign Policy 2013 “99 Under 33” - an international list of the most influential foreign policy leaders under the age of 33.

SOAS also offers a vast range of public events, ranging from the languages and arts in Africa, archaeology and cultural heritage, development and food security, post-conflict governance and colonial and post-colonial history.

For more visit www.soas.ac.uk

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Return To Somalia

Black History Month is an amazing platform celebrating the achievements of individuals making a difference in their communities. Inspiring stories that bring achievement to the forefront. These conversations around black history go beyond the month of October. The Africa Channel focuses on cultural heritage and history from the continent and the diaspora all year round.

“We are proud to be playing our part in advancing the ideals of Black History month. We offer a diverse range of factual and general entertainment programming and showcase wherever we can engaging and often untold stories throughout the year. We are also delighted to help build bridges between the diverse communities that enjoy The Africa Channel. Black History month provides a strong focus point each year.” Aubrey Owusu (CEO The Africa Channel) The Africa Channel takes a fresh perspective on Black

History Month. Hosting a variety of inspiring documentaries celebrating the achievements of extraordinary people bravely challenging traditions.

The programming this October features intriguing, unusual and inspirational stories from our ‘Africa Untold’ series. We start with two hope-filled documentaries challenging common perceptions of Somalia. Transition to Transformation (Thursday 10th October at 9pm) explores Somalia’s political journey towards peace after two decades of civil war. Return to Somalia (10th October, 10pm) tells the story of three young Somalis on an intrepid journey back to their homeland.

Londoners Adam and Abdi attempt to set up an NGO whilst music promoter Aliya from Washington DC, sets up a school in Mogadishu and embraces her identity as a Somali woman. On Thursday 17th October at 9pm the season continues with Sons of Africa. Director Jim Becket brings together the sons

of two bitter enemies - Julius Nyerere, founding father of Tanzania and Idi Amin, the Ugandan dictator - as they climb Mount Kilimanjaro more than 30 years after the brutal war between the two countries. The Man who Stopped the Desert on 24th October tells the unique story of Yacouba Sawadogo a peasant farmer from Burkina Faso, who has successfully battled to become a pioneer of an innovative farming technique that fights against desertification. Additionally, the inspirational documentary Sisters in Law on 31st October follows State Prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Court President Beatrice Ntuba in Cameroon as they dispense wisdom, wisecracks and justice in equal measure. Tune into The Africa Channel on Sky 209 and Virgin 828 for these, and many more, inspirational stories.

Sky 209

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T

he City of London Corporation have actively supported the ethos of inclusiveness over recent months.

We now have a multi-faith prayer room at our Guildhall headquarters in which our staff can spend quiet time or in prayer throughout the week.

Earlier this year, at the Guildhall Art Gallery, we staged the “FIERCE” exhibition by acclaimed London-based photographer Ajamu. This explored the power of portrait to capture a generation of

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movers and shakers whose physically visible image may otherwise be lost in the transience of the new virtual world. FIERCE presented a series of portraits of under-35 black British-born LGBT people including artists, activists, poets and designers.

In February at our London Metropolitan Archives in Clerkenwell, we hosted the Eighth Annual Huntley Conference, incorporating the Youth Forum, the theme being “educating our children”. The Huntley Archives provide

a positive account of the Black Community’s activities and achievements in London during the 1970s and 1980s and the conference looked at a collection of teaching videos on the translation of “West Indian English” in London Schools.

At the start of April 2013, the City of London were also proud to welcome our first black Chief Officer. Ade Adetosoye was appointed as Director of the Community and Children’s Services department.” www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

The African Health Do the African Health and Sex Survey now!

& Sex Survey There are nearly 1 million African people living in the UK, spread all across the country. While HIV can affect anyone, it is an unfortunate truth that more African people in the UK have HIV than most other sections of the population. In fact, nearly 1 in 20 Africans living in the UK right now will have HIV, and some may not even realise it. The good news is that there is free, effective medication available that means if you have diagnosed HIV, you can live a full and healthy life. The most important thing is that people take an HIV test and find out whether or not they need treatment.

Help improve the lives of Africans in England

Health professionals in England take very seriously the needs of African people when it comes to sexual health. There are many different charities that try to help African people avoid catching HIV, and try to support people who already have it. But in order to do their job well, and to spend their money wisely, it’s important that these charities It only takes 10 minutes and is and other health professionals have up-to-date information about whatanonymous African people think confidential and about HIV and the ways in which they behave that

could pick them at risk of catching it. This kind of information can help them to understand what new campaigns they might need to do, what kinds of services they might need to offer, and where they need to prioritise their money in order to help as many people as possible.

In order to help charities and health professionals with their work, Sigma Research (part of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) is currently leading a large survey of African people in England. The survey asks questions about your health and about the kind of sex you have. It also asks you what you know about HIV and whether you have ever taken an HIV test. It’s complete anonymous and confidential – they don’t ask for your name, they just want to hear about your thoughts and experiences. They need as many people as possible to take part, so please, please click on it and now and ask you friends to do it too! It’s easy to complete and only takes 10 minutes.

www.AfricanHealthSurvey.com The African Health and Sex Survey is being carried out by Sigma Research at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Individuals pictured are models and are used for illustrative purposes only

bHM Recipie

Pineapple’n’ Rum A delicious recipe from www.caribbeanpot.com

On its own or as a topping for a couple scoops of vanilla ice cream, this grilled pineapple will excite your taste buds!

1.

Peel, core and trim the pineapple into spears, then sprinkle and mix around in the cinnamon.

2.

Brush a non stick grill pan with some vegetable oil then (med/ high heat) grill the pineapple spears for 3-4 minutes on each side. Set aside to get the sauce ready. Don’t over-grill or you’ll find the pineapple will go soft and lose its shape.

3.

In a deep saucepan on medium heat, add the brown sugar and butter and cook/stir until it has melted and starts to go a darker colour and develop big bubbles (frothy). Takes about 4-6 minutes. Remember to keep stirring.

4.

Now turn off the heat and gently pour in the rum. Have a whisk handy as it will clump and you’ll think it’s ruined. Fear not, keep stirring. After 2 minutes of stirring, turn the heat back on (the alcohol should have dissipated by now) and keep stirring until you have a semi-thick consistency. Have the heat on medium.

Now add the grilled pineapple pieces to the pan and gently toss the sauce all over them. Cook for a couple minutes (until all the flavours blend and you have the consistency you’ll be happy with).

You’ll Need…

1 ripe pineapple 1/2 cup dark rum 1/2 cup golden brown sugar 4 tablespoon butter 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon If you’re serving this to youngsters or you just don’t deal with alcohol, then no worries. All the alcohol burns off during the simmering process but you do get a wonderful flavour from it.

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You can store in a sealed container in the fridge for a week or so.

Just microwave to heat every time you’re ready to use. One average sized pineapple will give you enough for 4 people and about 6-8 people as a topping for ice cream.

NB: You can top this with some toasted coconut flakes if you want to add some additional flavour and texture to this wonderful dessert.

Additionally, you can add some raisins in the rum sauce if you like rum and raisin ice cream.

Cultural Teacher, Algeria

EXPLORE

CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING SOAS is the world’s leading institution for the study of Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Choose from a diverse range of 450 degree combinations and benefit from cultural learning rooted in global relevance. Our expertise and cutting-edge research is complimented by our unique campus environment, where studying alongside students from over 130 different countries gives you a first-hand insight into differing cultural perspectives. * Image by Leena AlBelooshi, Human Rights Law MA

Meet the world at SOAS www.soas.ac.uk • Language & Cultures • Arts & Humanities • Law & Social Sciences

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