PHILOSOPHY PANEL AT ST PAUL'S CATHOLIC SCHOOL

To St Paul's Catholic School, Spencefield Lane, Evington, this morning, where the Council of Faiths has been asked to facilitate a "Philosophy Panel" for Year 9 pupils. I took a call a fortnight or so ago from Seamus O'Looskan, who is Chaplain there. He asked us initially to provide two people who could represent Islam and Hinduism respectively on a panel to be quizzed by pupils from this year group on some of the big questions of life. A few days later, he sent me another message asking if we could provide a few more participants to help make a balance between people who would speak from a faith background and others who would not. I failed to get a Muslim speaker to come along; nor was I able to obtain the services of a Buddhist (well, I did make the approaches at rather short notice). In the event, an interesting and varied line up of speakers attend:

• Leon Charikar (Chair of Neve Shalom, Leicester’s Progressive Jewish Congregation)
• Ramesh Majithia (Hindu community)
• Kishor Gohel (who took over from Ramesh as the Hindu representative for the second session)
• Fr Peter Hunter O.P. (Holy Cross Priory)
• Harry Perry ( Leicester Secular Society)
• Clare Carr (Global Education LeicesterShire, also a member of the Secular Society)
• Jan MacDonald (Secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Leicester and member of Leicester Council of Faiths)

I should say that the school invited Peter and Harry on their own; the others I drummed up. We're taken into a fairly large hall just after 0900. The pupils are spaced around the hall in six groups, about a dozen of them per group. There's a seat for each of the representatives, facing the group. Each speaker spends ten minutes or so answering the group's questions, then a bell is rung and they move on to the next group. This whole process is done twice, with the first session ending about 1000, then restarting with a new hall full of pupils a few minutes later. This means that all the pupils get to spend more time listening to each speaker than if we were to follow the conventional "Question Time" format of running a panel. Better for the pupils, but more tiring for the speakers, who are "on" virtually all the time, rather than taking it in turns to contribute, then sit back and listen to their colleagues. This activity is being offered to the pupils as something additional to the curriculum, which gives them greater freedom to ask what they want, rather than just stick to topics on which they'll be examined.

I'm in attendance just in case any of the speakers want to bow out at any time, so I can step in and take their place, but that doesn't happen. I take the opportunity then to speak to several teachers, raising the possibility of other opportunities when they could join in appropriate activities arranged by the Council of Faiths - such as during the "Leicester Speaks" week-long event later this month or during National Inter Faith Week next month. Both sessions with the panel conclude with the recitiation of the school prayer, is taken from Micah, 6:

This is what the Lord asks of you: to act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God.

Those of us who stay on for tea and a chat are taken on a tour of the school by Seamus and Krysia Foster. We're introduced to some of the staff and pupils as we go round. It's all very impressive and we're made to feel very welcome. Props to Mr Gillespie, Head of Design, for having the cover artwork for Weasels Ripped My Flesh by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention on his classroom wall. "Rzzzzz!"

Here's what Clare had to say about her involvement:

I  have to admit that I was surprised, as a person with no religious belief, to have the opportunity to enter into a genuine dialogue with the young people at St Paul's School.  Their questions were well prepared and they showed great respect for a person with a different viewpoint by listening carefully and building on my responses with new and relevant questions.  The morning provided a fantastic learning opportunity for all the people involved and it was heartening to see everyone make the most of that opportunity.  I shall look forward to meeting with the RE staff to evaluate this new philosophy module, drawing on my experience as a Philosophy for Children/Communities (P4C) practitioner.

The morning finished with a tour of St Paul's School.  The building is in need of refurbishment and updating and, thankfully, the planned remodelling under the Building Schools for the Future initiative will be going ahead next summer.  Walking around the school, it was clear that this is a very happy School Community where young people make the most of the very good education on offer.  Personally I do not support the idea of faith schools, but I recognise a good school when I see one.  I don't believe that St Paul's is a good school because it is a faith school.  It is simply a good school, and I wish more schools around the country were as good.

Harry offered the following comments about the experience:

My impressions of the event at St Paul’s were also positive. The Year 9 pupils (13 year-olds) were much better behaved than the 16 year-olds that, thirty years ago, made me realise that teaching wasn’t my vocation! Having said that I also have to say that the presence of crucifixes everywhere did unsettle me a bit!

I was surprised at the make-up of the school, having expected to find a largely white populace of Irish and Polish descent, but in fact finding in addition to these around 40% (roughly speaking) of non-white origin from the Far East, Asia, Middle East and Africa. In a quick briefing beforehand Seamus reported a relatively large number of kids of Filipino extraction.

I was unaware that Clare was going to be there but I had been told there’d be a "Humanist" so I concentrated on the basic atheist position and the pupils’ questions also focused on this area, eg: existence of gods, origin of the Universe and Earth, evolution by natural selection, what happens after death and why I don’t believe in miracles, visions, prayers, etc. Although advised to prepare beforehand for questions on "moral’" issues I wasn’t faced with any and if invited to a similar event in future I think I’ll have to try to bring in the implications of non-belief on those fronts. The sessions were fast-paced and there was no time for detailed argument but that was an inevitable consequence of the format. Perhaps in future the school might consider an alternative format where individual speakers have more time to explain their views in more detail and respond to questions with more depth.

But full marks for the RE staff at St Paul’s – they had no obligation to put on this session and they made it clear their objective was to encourage independent thought, not simply engage in indoctrination.

Here's Jan's reflection on having taken part in the panel:

It was an enjoyable morning meeting with the teachers and students. I think that it was beneficial for us who were there to answer questions because it gave us the opportunity of coming in contact with the students and understanding the kind of information that they want to know. It certainly showed the changes that are taking place and that we are moving into a tolerant society where there are people who are ready to listen to other people’s views. I was very impressed with the school.

Peter's thoughts about the Philosophy Panel were as follows:

I very much enjoyed the morning at St Paul's. Obviously, we couldn't talk at any great length with any one group, but the format had the great advantage of meaning that the students heard from a wide range of voices in a manageable time-frame. The questions were well-prepared and intelligent, and some were very testing! The students were polite, friendly and really engaged, which made the whole experience very much worthwhile. Well done to St Paul's for organising this, and hopefully other schools will follow suit.

Leon offered the following:

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting the young people at St Paul’s School to discuss issues of faith and religion. They asked some probing and intelligent questions on issues such as personal experience of God, life after death and why God would allow suffering. I was impressed with the care they had put into their questions and their willingness to listen and engage in dialogue with people from a variety of faith perspectives. I’d welcome the opportunity to contribute to similar discussions with young people and congratulate the school on this initiative.

Together

A bit of a mad dash from the city centre after leaving our young visitors from Blackpool at the Jain Centre. With our generic banner in tow, clutching a bunch of our leaflets on the eight communities represented on the Council of Faiths, I'm off to Beauchamp College, Oadby, this afternoon, to take part in its annual inter-faith event for students, parents, staff and members of the wider local community. This year it's all going on under the title, "Together". The college has an enviable record in promoting a broad, inclusive and welcoming outlook among its students and staff. It's probably the leading educational institution in the county in terms of inculcating a global perspective in all aspects of its life. I first learned about their good work in this field through our mutual involvement with the East Midlands Network on Global Perspectives in Schools (EMNGPS) and Global Education LeicesterShire (GELS). There are active, vibrant cultural and faith societies among the student body and I spend time talking with some of their members here. I also take the opportunity today to make positive contact with Oadby & Wigston Hindu Community and Oadby & Wigston Muslim Association, both of which are exhibiting here today. I can see no reason why members of these groups shouldn't be invited to join in the public activities of Leicester Council of Faiths, such as our Leicester Speaks dialogue events or the exhibition in Highcross during National Inter Faith Week. After all, several members of the Council of Faiths itself live in this part of the county, rather than in the city, and many members of these groups live or study in the city - giving them all a stake in the promotion of good relations among the faith communities in both places.

This event has been organised by Chris Swann, who played the major part in having Oadby recognised as a Fairtrade town. She has created a website for Oadby, which you can access here:
http://www.oadbyweb.org.uk/

Find out more about Beauchamp College:
http://www.beauchamp.leics.sch.uk/

SO, FAREWELL THEN EMNGPS

At the Kayal South Indian restaurant, Granby Street, for a farewell dinner in honour of Rohini Corfield and Annette Jarvis, who have been running the East Midlands Network for Global Perspectives in Schools (EMNGPS). Involvement with EMNGPS loomed large in the first year or so of my post and helped shape what I do to this day. I first met Rohini when we were both new in post, at a seminar run by the Runnymede Trust on the role of faith schools in promoting community cohesion. When I saw the name of the organisation she was representing there, I fastened myself to her and after that, took every opportunity to be involved in anything I could that EMNGPS was running or helping out with. This led to more regular involvement with Global Education LeicesterShire (which started life as EMNGPS's "locality group" for the city and county. My ongoing association with GELS and its members is well documented, in this blog and elsewhere.

The support I got from EMNGPS as an organisation, and from its staff as colleagues and friends, contributed a lot to the sustainability of my post. I made sure that the EMNGPS logo went on the leaflets and posters produced by Leicester Council of Faiths during this time, in acknowledgment of this positive association with EMNGPS. My involvement with them opened many doors for me that I could not have opened by myself.

Halfway through what was supposed to be a guaranteed ten-year long supported programme, the Department of International Development (DfID) earlier this year pulled funding from its national network of Development Education Centres and the regional organisations that supported them. In virtually one and the same breath it congratulated EMNGPS for being arguably the most successful of these regional bodies and withdrew its financial lifeline, effective from the end of August 2010. Efforts were made to save EMNGPS, of course, but they have been to no avail. Another useful and distinctive educational service for the teachers, pupils and students at schools in Leicester and Leicestershire has been lost. Now we can only hope that the kind of work that EMNGPS has been doing can be carried on by other people through other means. EMNGPS leaves a considerable, powerful and positive legacy and there are lots of us who won't let that just dwindle away to nothing.

Good luck Rohini and Annette - we'll miss you!

Global Education LeicesterShire Summer Showcase

Southfields Library (commonly known as "Pork Pie Library") is the venue for an event celebrating the work of Global Education LeicesterShire (GELS) and of the city and county schools it has supported. The aims of today's event are:

to celebrate the achievements of pupils, staff and partners involved in developing and delivering projects under the GELS banner;

to share content and learning from GELS funded projects with other members of the network; 

to highlight the quality and breadth of work undertaken by the network to key personnel within the two local authorities (Leicester and Leicestershire).

The event was officially opened by the Lord Mayor of Leicester. I arrive about 1300, hotfoot from the REDP delivery group meeting, just in time to see the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress leave - but also just in time to catch the children from various schools taking part in the Salsa Workshop run by Maggie Munoz. The library has a great little (and little-used) theatre which makes a superb venue for this sort of event. It's fondly remembered locally as a place where dances and concerts were held during WWII for local people and US and British servicemen from the nearby barracks. I'm not convinced it's been put to much use since then - but today it certainly is!

There's a really good turnout of teachers, pupils, students, supporters and fans of GELS. We enjoy presentations on the Food for Thought Project (by Whitehall Primary School, Leicester), on their Community Cohesion Project (by Castle Rock High School and Newbridge High School, Coalville), on an Archaeological Evidence and Identity Project (by Rushey Mead Secondary School) and on a South African Fair Trade Enterprise Project (by Brocks Hill Primary School, Oadby). There's also a chance to explore the GELS Resource Centre.

Leicester Council of Faiths has always actively supported Global Education LeicesterShire, which in turn has given us an appropriate platform for our work with teachers, pupils and teachers. I'm wholeheartedly committed to their cause and today, our current Chair, Councillor Manjula Sood, and our immediate past Chair, Minou Cortazzi, are here.

The future of GELS is uncertain, to put it mildly. Its current source of funding, from the Department for International Development (DfID) runs out at the end of August and nothing has been found to replace it - yet. Leicester Council of Faiths has been actively involved in the work of GELS since I came into my post. I would feel very disappointed if it were forced to wrap up its services. Global Education LeicesterShire is run by its Joint Co-Ordinators, Clare Carr and Claire Plumb (photo above). They are two dedicated, imaginative, resourceful people who have been of great assistance, support - of inspiration even - to me, personally and professionally. Thre's no one in or around the city better suited to doing this work. I'd like to think that they'll still be actively involved in the months and years to come (if that's alright with them, of course).

You can read the Lord Mayor of Leicester's blog entry for this event:
http://councillor.leicester.gov.uk/home/colin-hall/my-blog/

There's a fullsome report of this event on the website of Citizens' Eye Community News Agency - which contains a link back to this blog entry. Don't click on that link unless you want to risk triggering a recursive occlusion!
http://www.citizenseye.org/2010/06/30/global-education-leicester-shire-event/

our exhibition @ Southfields Library

The Council of Faiths nine banners are up at Southfields Library. I've put them there in support of the Global Education LeicesterShire Summer Showcase, which is on there tomorrow (Tue 29) but hopefully, they can stay up a little longer than that. The space they're occupying seems tailor-made: eight doors, a banner standing in front of each one and the general banner near the front entrance of the library.

GET (EVEN MORE) INSPIRED!

At the community centre opposite Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal (photo above), Narborough Road, this evening, for a meeting with the Get Inspired 2010 team. Get Inspired 2010 will be a public celebration of Hindu life, promoting the diversity of Hindu culture, values and philosophy to people of all ages and from all faiths and beliefs, as well as showcasing Hinduism as a sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle for the 21st century and beyond. The organising team are hoping to attract 10,000 visitors to the event itself at Leicester Racecourse and Conference Centre (Saturday 14, Sunday 15 Aug) and are intent on reaching a global audience by creating a lively online presence.

A group of community-minded individuals drawn from virtually all Hindu groups in Leicester is behind Get Inspired 2010. They've come together in recent months locally to promote the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies - an academic institution of international standing. I attended the meeting in this same venue that started the countdown to Get Inspired 2010 (see blog entry, Tue 30 Mar). I was struck immediately by the potential of the event and have been trying to help in any way possible since then. That has consisted, mostly, of introducing some of the organisers to other people in the city whom I believe would be interested in promoting the event by a variety of means, e.g. Amplified Leicester (and relevant legacy projects), Citizens' Eye Community News Agency, CreativeCoffee Club, Global Education Leicester-Shire. I'm glad to say that everyone I've helped come into contact with this project - and with the people organising it - seem only too keen to help.

There are 16 people here this evening, for a meeting that lasts about two-and-a-half hours. We're in a smaller upstairs room this time, as the bigger ground floor space we had for the launch meeting is being used by a yoga class. Attendees speak about the event in general, as well as the particular areas they are assigned to look after:

• Temple Zone - featuring large models of six iconic Hindu temples in India
• Kids' Zone - fun and educational activities, built around the core values of Hinduism
• Grandstand area - focusing on the Bhumi ("Mother Earth") project
• Stage - featuring performances from a range of artists
• Food zone - on-site catering (which will be entirely vegetarian, with vegan options too)

A variety of charity stalls and commercial exhibitors are also being courted to take part in the event.

The main contribution that Leicester Council of Faiths can make is in assuring the success of the Conference Zone. On the Saturday, the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) are jointly sponsoring a public conference; then on the Sunday there will be an invitation-only event. I've been asked to obtain support from the Council of Faiths for both of these. I am also involved in promoting Get Inspired 2010 through social networking and getting information out to schools.

guess who's coming to dinner

To Scalford Hall, Melton Mowbray, this evening for dinner and networking at a residential conference for the East Midlands Network for Global Perspectives in Schools (EMNGPS). Delegates are attending from a variety of organisations across the East Midlands (and some from further afield) working to promote global citizenship in various forms with schools, teachers and pupils. Organisations represented at this event include:

• Brocks Hill Primary School
• CfBT Education Trust
• Coaching for Hope
• Derbyshire County Council
• East Midlands Network for Global Perspectives in Schools
• Education for Sustainable Development Schools Working Group
• Global Education Derby
• Global Education LeicesterShire
• The Discovery Centre
• Leicester Botanical Gardens
• Leicester Masaya Link Group
• Leicestershire County Council
• Lifeworlds Learning
• MUNDI
• NASUWT
• Northamptonshire County Council
• Nottingham City
• Skillshare International
• Studentforce for Sustainability
• University of Leicester

Despite the fact that EMNGPS has performed very well (indeed, the East Midlands has arguably been the most successful of all English regions in promoting the global dimension in schools), the Department for International Development has pulled funding from its national network halfway through a ten-year funding stream. Another tranche of funding has become available, but it's not in a form that could allow the work to continue in its present form. Many of the people and groups here at this event have banded together to put in a collective bid for new funding - we eagerly await the outcome of that bid.

Many of the people here are leading figures in fields of primary, secondary, further and higher education across the East Midlands - and they are the type of people who are minded to favour issues of equality, diversity and human rights. So this is a fruitful environment for me to promote the work of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP), especially as it relates to young people - an area for which I currently have special responsibility. Although EMNGPS itself is living on borrowed time, these individuals and (most of) the institutions they represent won't disappear and could be drawn on in a variety of ways to support REDP's mission.

Dinner was very nice; almost everyone took their desserts into the TV lounge to watch the third and final election debate. I was having none of that though and didn't get up from the table. But I couldn't resist peeping at Twitter every so often to see some of the wry, amusing or despairing postings about the debate there.

Find out more about the East Midlands Network for Global Perspectives in Schools:
http://www.emngps.org.uk/

Find out more about Scalford Hall Management Training Centre and Hotel:
http://www.scalfordhall.co.uk/

2009'S TOP 10: 2

Public meeting regarding an application

to build a new mosque and community centre,

9 Bath Street, Leicester,

Tuesday 20 January 2009

Well, if anything sounds prosaic, surely this one does. Having said that, I should point out that when I drew up the long list for my top ten of the year, this one sneaked in at the bottom, but the more I thought of it, they higher it has climbed. In the end, it was one of two occasions which led me to think, "That's Leicester for you!" (The other such occasion, on a larger scale and to greater effect, is at number one in this top ten countdown for 2009.)

I’d seen an article in the Leicester Mercury the day before about this proposed new mosque that was going to be so environmentally friendly it would be virtually carbon-neutral, using solar power and rainwater amongst other things. This caught my eye particularly because of my being involved in planning the Climate Change Conference. I was attending a meeting of Global Education LeicesterShire at Rushey Mead School that afternoon and I thought that, since I was at that end of town, it might be useful to pop along to the planning meeting on the off-chance that someone there might be interested in attending the climate change conference and making a contribution to the programme.

The meeting was held in a factory building in Bath Street, off Loughborough Road. This building, which was pretty derelict, was owned by the Dawoodi Bohra group, who had commissioned the design for the new mosque and who were applying for planning permission to get it built.

The first speaker was John Tiernan, Senior Partner, Pick Everard Architects, who had drawn up the plans for the proposed new building. He explained how their design was “faithful to religious requirements of the building as specified by the client – for instance that it should have no minarets, but have small domes – but which also has elements which are familiar to us, with common elements that have come through the three great religions of the Middle East, showing some continuity of religious architecture that has come to us down through through European history – e.g. windows with Gothic arches.”

Jaffer Kapasi spoke on behalf of the Dawoodi Bohra Welfare Society, the Muslim community interested in this development. He said that the community in the city and county amounted to little more than 35 families which would be regular users of the mosque. They had been seeking an appropriate site for this community’s place of worship for over ten years; three other sites have been considered, but none of them have worked out. For the time being, they were meeting for worship in a converted office space in Wellington Street. When he stood, he gave the traditional greeting, “Salaam alaikum” (“Peace be upon you”). Much to my surprise, the almost entirely white, middle-aged and female local residents replied, in unison, “Alaikum salaam” (“And upon you be peace”). I was really taken aback by this - delightfully surprised - and, if I’m honest, this was the single most striking “inter faith” moment of 2009 for me.

None of the residents in attendance raised objections for religious or cultural reasons, but did so on practical grounds (e.g. obstruction of light for neighbouring houses, increased traffic, noise, lack of parking spaces, access for emergency vehicles being blocked. Everyone acknowledged that the proposed building was not in keeping with the look of the local area; but the residents praised the design, calling it “wonderful” and “fantastic”. They appeared genuinely pleased that they were going to get this beautiful white marble building in their rather drab street! However, they were also concerned that the unique character of this building (as highlighted the day before in the Leicester Mercury article) would attract many visitors from outside the area, increasing the pressure of traffic on Bath Street and adjacent roads.

Rev Peter Hobson was there on behalf of the Bishop of Leicester, prepared to disperse any whiff of religious intolerance that might arise, but, to but his services were not needed. The locals expressed real ease with their Muslim neighbours, some of them thought it was a bit rich to have a troubleshooter from the church among them when there was no such trouble there - and they wished that the church would show as much enthusiasm in cleaning up the nearest church, in Claremont Street.

During the course of the evening, no reference was made to the environmental features, which were the original reasons I went to this meeting. I did speak with Mr Tiernan about the planned conference and he did say that Pick Everard would be happy to display the plans at it, and that he himself would come along and speak to attendees. In the end, however, the conference itself was radically changed, and reduced in duration from three days to one. There was not the space after all to involve Pick Everard, unfortunately.

Little bit of a cheat here: the photo of Jaffer Kapasi OBE (above) was taken at Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 Jan 2011, in New Walk Museum. I'd been talking to him then about this event back in 2009 and mentioned that I'd nothing to illustrate this blog entry. I was glad to hear from him that plans for the Mosque in Bath Street are still proceeding.