LEICESTER SPEAKS 2011: THE BIG LAUNCH!

Today we kick off the second annual celebration of Local Democracy Week or, as it's been dubbed here, "Leicester Speaks".

Today's display is quite a step-up from the one-hour event with which we launched the first Leicester Speaks a year ago. In October 2010 we had a stage in Humberstone Gate for 60 minutes onto which John Coster and I (as Co-Chairs) sought to usher unsuspecting folk to take the microphone so that they could have 60 seconds in which to speak about something important to them. Just about everyone involved thought the event successful, so it makes sense to have it bigger and longer this year.

We also had a Pre-Launch Event in Gallowtree Gate at the beginning of August, which did a lot to raise awareness of Leicester Speaks and encourage more organisations to get involved this time. 

There are a couple of dozen displays from different organisations in a street market layout, along both sides of Humberstone Gate. The photo above shows (from left to right) Harry Perry of Leicester Secular Society (our neighbours under canvass here today), that guy who's always hanging around with his big camera and whose name no one seems to know; Fari Wyman (the first Mrs Ballentyne) and our son, Alastair.

There are a number of fixed slots throughout the day when we encourage people to get up and speak, but this proves a lot harder than it was last year. On reflection, I think that when people see this much bigger, more professional staging, they expect to be entertained rather than get up on stage and do something themselves.

It was good to have Fari on hand this afternoon, as a chap from Leicester's small and rarely noticed Zoroastrian community came to the stall and they two of them were able to converse in Farsi.

The day proves exhausting, particularly trying to to marshall reluctant speakers onto the stage. By the end of it all, John Coster and I agree that, after two years of co-chairing Leicester Speaks, someone else should have that privilege next year.

DMU STUDENTS UNION COMMUNITY FAIR

Rahat Ahmad (left) and Minou Cortazzi at the Counil of Faiths stall

Today we're participating in the Community Fair at De Montfort University Students Union - a marketplace event for Freshers Week. We're up on the second floor, where it's light, bright and airy - a welcome contrast to the darker, sweatier environement in the O2 Academy at the University of Leicester, where we were yesterday.

One of the first people I see here today is Zubair Sidat (Vice President, Welfare), whom I first met during Discover Islam Week at DMU back in February. I interviewed him then and posted the video on YouTube. He's obviously been a busy man and we don't have much time to talk, but Zubair does mention that he'd like to have at least one activity in DMU during Inter Faith Week. I'm not sure whether he means the Students Union per se or the student Islamic Society - but we can get together and work that out another time.

Going around the displays, I spend some time chatting with the good people promoting Islamic Relief and have the welcome opportunity to reacquaint myself with Salim Yusuf Lorgat, their East Midlands Area Manager.

I also do the rounds with flyers for Leicester Speaks, drumming up interest and support for the launch event on Wednesday 12 October as well as for the week-long programme.

I have to say that I'm not in favour of packing up early at these events. If we're booked to be here till a certain time, I would rather be here till that certain time. I feel sorry for those visitors who turn up in good time to go round an event like this, only to find out that half the exhibitors have gone.

Oh, and that Nightline bear is here too - someone different inside (male this time, apparently yesterday at the O2 Academy in the University of Leicester it was a woman).

LEICESTER SPEAKS 2011 STEERING GROUP

A meeting of the steering group for Leicester Speaks 2011 this morning at Leicester Adult Education College, Wellington Street. As well as Leicester Council of Faiths, there are participants here today from:

• Citizens' Eye Community News Agency
• Leicester Adult Skills and Learning Service
• Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce
• Novas Scarman Group
• TouchRainbow Productions

PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT GROUP

Meeting with my Personnel Management Group this morning in the Welcome Centre. Leicester Council of Faiths has a lot on its plate just now - and mine is stacked especially high! We have a very focused couple of hours, concentrating on some of the activities, events and opportunities coming our way over the next few months, e.g.

• Our Leicester Day (Sun 11 Sep)
• Leicester University International Students Fair (Wed 28 Sep)
• De Montfort University Student Community Fair (Thu 29 Sep)
• Everybody’s Reading Week (Sat 1 – Sun 9 Oct)
• Leicester University Faiths Trail launch (Fri 7 Oct)
• Leicester Speaks: AKA Local Democracy Week (Wed 12 – Wed 19 Oct)
• International Hate Crime Day (Fri 28 Oct)
• Community Media Week (Wed 2 – Tue 8 Nov)
• National Inter Faith Week (Sat 20 – Sun 26 Nov)

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

This morning we have the monthly meeting of REDP's Core Partners. Apart from Leicester Council of Faiths, the Core Partners are:

• Leicester Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• The Race Equality Centre

Our normal meeting place is Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living, the "accountable body" for this project.

The regular Core Partners meeting is normally a fixed point in my monthly calendar. I’ve only missed a couple since REDP began - and then only under abnormal circumstances. I did miss the last of these meetings though (Tuesday 2 August) because I was helping run the Council of Faiths stall at the pre-launch event for Leicester Speaks 2011 in Gallowtree Gate. I had the kids with me that day and it was a good setting for them to dash about on their scooters - as you'll see them do, faithful reader, if you visit the video interview with me on YouTube.

That was such a lovely day. Warm and sunny, it seemed the very height of summer. Hard to imagine it was only one month ago. It's blowing a gale today.

The Core Partners meeting goes until till 1330. Soon after that, we're joined by members of REDP's working group, which is charged with getting its sleeves rolled up and doing most of the actual work between meetings of the Core Partners. I'm the only member of the Core Partners who is also on the working group.

We're still discussing some important aspects of our ongoing work when I have to leave LCIL at 1430, to head on up to the Quaker Meeting House on Queens Road. I have my next meeting of the day there in half an hour.

Platform for groups to speak out

Here's  coverage of the Leicester Speaks pre-launch event, held in Gallowtree Gate earlier this week,  in today's Leicester Mercury. It's on the Citizens' Eye page of the paper; the copy is identical to that published on the Citizen's Eye website, that I copied and pasted into the blog yesterday.

Community Groups Speak with Public

Here's how the Leicester Speaks pre-launch event was covered online by Citizens' Eye Community News Agency:

Community Groups Speak with Public

By James Black

Community groups across Leicester had the chance to spread the word about their organisations at the Leicester Speaks pre-launch event on Gallowtree Gate. The event which took place on Wednesday [sic] was also an opportunity to raise the profile of Leicester Speaks, an initiative to get members of the public to voice their opinions about the issues that matter to them.

Stall holders included the NHS, mental health group LAMP, The Curve theatre, Voluntary Action Leicestershire, The Leicester Council of Faiths and asylum and refugee support service City of Sanctuary.

Simon Parker from Leicester Libraries said “we were involved with Leicester Speaks when it started last year in 2010. The library service offers our locations for groups to host their Leicester Speaks events. I recall last year we hosted an event by The LeicestHERday Trust. Leicester Speaks also allows us to engage with the community and other organisations.”

Mike Burden, Chair of the Leicester Secular Society said “We took part in Leicester Speaks last year by organising five lectures during the week and we will be doing that again this year. Leicester Speaks is a wonderful opportunity for all of the different communities in Leicester to come together and share ideas, exchange thoughts, debate and discuss. The most important thing in a secular state is that we share a common space and respect each other.”

The project co-ordinator of Leicester Speaks Parmjit Basra said “This event is all about building the momentum for this year’s Leicester Speaks. We have the platform in place, what we need is content. Without the participation of the citizens of Leicester the event won’t be successful. If you don’t get involved, then your voice will not be heard. In the meantime we are asking people to get involved by going to the Leicester Speaks website to create an event or to voice their opinion.” This year Leicester Speaks takes place from October 12th – 19th.

In the photo above (from left): Leicester Speaks Project Co-ordinator Parmjit Basra, Leicester Adult Education College Head of Service Chris Minter, Leicester Council of Faiths Equality and Diversity Officer George Ballentyne and Adrian Wills Head of Leicester Libraries. Photo by touchRainbow

Leicester Speaks again!

Leicester Adult Education College is the venue for the first planning meeting for Leicester Speaks 2011. I'm only able to get there for the second hour of a two-hour meeting and arrive just as John Coster (from Citizens' Eye) is leaving. John and I were co-chairs for the first Leicester Speaks event last year and Leicester Adult Skills and Learning Service, which sponsors the it, has asked us both to do the same again this year.

We're not sure of national dates for Local Democracy Week yet, but we're planning on running it in Leicester over two weeks: a pre-launch week (beginning Mon 10 Oct) concentrating on schools and colleges, then the week proper (beginning Mon 17 Oct). That second week is Half Term, which will hopefully allow us greater participation from young people.

We've all got our thinking caps on. What can we do for 2011 that will be new and innovative, that can build on what we achieved last year?

We'll probably extend the public launch event throughout the day, rather than run it for an hour or so, as we did last year. We might have (say) three sessions: morning, lunchtime and late afternoon, perhaps with themed groups taking part in certain slots.

We're also commissioning our own mobile Speakers' Corner, to replace the one we borrowed from Speakers' Corner Trust last year.

There's also the possibility of linking up with Birmingham and Nottingham, to give the week some stronger coverage across the Midlands. Leicester Council of Faiths might be able to do something in association with inter faith organisations in those cities.

A promotional event, introducing Leicester Speaks to potential new stakeholders, is being planned for next month. A six-page brochure (with DVD) will be published then, showcasing what was done last year and promoting what can be done later this year.

With withdrawal of funding for our role as Host Organiation from 31 March, this is one of the activities we may not be able to continue after that date. I've made that known to the group.

Find out what happened in Leicester Speaks 2010:
http://leicesterspeaks.wordpress.com/2010/11/04/thus-spake-leicester/