I've accepted an invitation by the RNIB College Loughborough to take part in the official opening of their new Faith and Reflection Room today, during the College's Winter Festival.
The RNIB College Loughborough is a national specialist college, supporting people aged 16 and upwards who are blind, partially sighted and/or have other disabilities, through day and residential places.
I'm met at reception by Norma Curtis, Quality Improvement Manager (with responsibility for Equalities and Staff Development - in the pink top in the photo above), who shows me a space among the tables offering tombola, raffles, crafts and games where I can display our pop-up banner and leaflets (as well as literature from the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership – REDP).
Once I’ve got that set up, Norma takes me to the Faith and Reflection Room ahead of its official opening, so she can show me what’s there and tell me how it has been developed. The room has been designed by learners for everyone's use: fellow learners, staff and visitors. It's reserved for use by Muslims exclusively every week day, 1310-1330.
Given its particular setting, those designing the room have addressed needs and sensitivities that are not often considered: high colour contrast between objects; soft furnishings; appealing to different sensory experiences than might be found in other such rooms (a fragrance diffuser, a basket of stones of varying textures, a speaking clock); use of braille and large type.
There’s a small chest of drawers with space for resources for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Humanism, Judaism, Sikhism (and for Islam, stored in a separate box, as one of the Muslim learners has particular access difficulties). Some of these are less full than the others; hopefully, we can encourage the relevant communities to donate some appropriate material.
Copies of the 2011 Directory of Places of Prayer, Meditation and Worship in Loughborough in large print and in braille are mounted on the wall (and copies to take away).as well as the "Find a Church" directory.
"He who sows courtesy reaps friendships, and he who plants kindness sows love." (St Basil)
"It is easy to do what is harmful to ourselves. What is helpful and good is hard to do." (from the Dhammapada)
"Life is a progress and not a station" (Ralph Waldo Emerson) "Wonder is the beginning of wisdom." (Socrates)
Leicester Council of Faiths doesn't have any specially adapted material for people with sight loss, but we have tried to bear in mind best practice in terms of layout, typography etc for print and display materials to promote better accessibility (thanks for this advice and guidance to Eric Day, Access Officer at Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living). We’ve tried to do the same for our online presence (e.g. website, blog).
We gather for the official opening shortly after 1100. Following a brief introduction by Tony Warren, Principal of the College (centre, in the photo above), a blessing is delivered by Father Joe Mullan, Roman Catholic Chaplain at Loughborough University (left of Mr Warren in the photo above). Next, I’m asked to say a few words about the multi-faith nature of the room and its resources.
Among the small party a the official opening of the Faith and Reflection Room is Lesley Ansari (far right in the photo) whom I know from Human Rights and Equalities Charnwood and as being involved with Loughborough Council of Faiths. What I didn’t know until today is that she’s also a member of the College's Board of Governors
Above and beyond the particular Protected Characteristic of Religion or Belief represented by opening of the Faith and Reflection Room, it's gratifying to see how the College is dedicated to equality and diversity in their fullest forms.
A statement of the college's Code of Practice on Equality and Diversity is on public display, not only in the Faith and Reflection Room, but throughout the building. There are also names and photos of the college's Equality and Diversity Champions, one for each of the following Protected Characteristics:
- Age
- Disability
- Marriage / Civil Partnership
- Pregnancy / Maternity
- Race
- Religion, Belief & Non-Belief [sic]
- Sexual orientation
- Transgender / Gender Identity / Sex
I speak with Norma about REDP and the possibility of the college’s involvement in our activities. We agree that I should come back out to discuss this specifically, early in the New Year.
After the official opening of the Faith and Reflection Room, we're all ushered into the Arts Centre for a performance by learners of their Christmas show, "The Thief of Christmas". This is tremendous fun to watch (and to perform, by the looks of it). Parts of it are presented as a pre-recorded video, which can be seen on the college's YouTube channel (and I bought a copy of it on DVD as well).
From a personal perspective, I’m interested in visiting the college and learning something about its work. I have several issues related to my sight: diabetes (though thankfully, no sign of retinopathy from my regular scans) narrow-angle glaucoma (treated with a combination of drops each morning and evening – though I had unsuccessful laser surgery to try and correct it a few years ago); I also had a cataract removed and replace earlier this year. So although I’ve had no personal contact or involvement with the RNIB College before this event, I find it reassuring that it’s there and doing what it does for those who need it most.
The College mentions the Faith and Reflection Room on its website.
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