WHY WOULD THEY WANT TO VISIT US?

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Why would they want to visit us?

All right, so Leicester has been shortlisted in the final four to be the City of Culture 2017, but what does it mean for us the people of Leicester?

Firstly, it means our leader, Sir Peter Soulsby, can throw more good money (that we have not got) at a project (that we may not get).

Why, and for what purpose?

In my opinion, Leicester is not fit for the purpose.

Why would anybody want to come to Leicester, when we have the following:

Bus service not fit for purpose.

A city centre you cannot drive into.

At least three entertainment venues that rely on the council for support.

Untidy streets.

High Street and shopping centres with empty shops.

With exception of the Leicester Tigers, no sporting achievements.

Every week at least one or two fast food outlets closed due to environmental or health concerns.

This list is not exhaustive and no doubt other readers could add their own thoughts.

I for one would not go out of my way to visit Leicester if it was selected as City of Culture 2017.

Ian G Lambert, Leicester

DAY OF ACTIVITIES HIGHLIGHTS CHOICES FOR DISABLED PEOPLE

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Day of activities highlights choices for disabled people

Paralysed former rugby player Matt Hampson and disability minister Esther McVey joined more than 2,000 visitors at an event for disabled people.

They helped officially open the Choice Unlimited event at Leicester Tigers' Welford Road stadium on Wednesday to show what equipment and services are available.

It included displays of electric wheelchairs and vehicles, a Formula One racing car simulator and demonstrations for young people by the Leicester Cobras wheelchair basketball club.

Exhibitors representing employment, education, health and social care showed visitors the sort of services they could provide and a theatre area was set up for a speed networking session, workshops and a young person's question and answer time.

The event was organised by the Leicester Centre for Integrated Living and topics discussed included the Olympics and Paralympics.

In the photo above, left to right: Matt Hampson, Esther McVey, Steve Cooper (CEO of Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living) 

INTER FAITH WEEK 2012, DAY 4: HIGHCROSS EXHIBITION

Third day of our week-long exhibition in Highcross for Inter Faith Week.

What with commitments at Leicester Tigers Welford Road Stadium for Choice Unlimited and at Brooksby Melton College for their Interfaith Events Day, I get to Highcross an hour or so before closing time. Rosemarie Fitton (Senior Lecturer in Interior Design at De Montfort University - and member of Leicester Council of Faiths) and Rashmi Vyas (of Leicestershire Brahma Samaj) are doing this final stint of the day. I bring back the two generic banners that have been used today in those other events and return them to their places in the exhibition here.

Here are some of the things that visitors and volunteers have written on the labels and hung on our little white tree today:

Love creates or builds what had been destroyed by hate for a long time!

I am in a state of flux - challenging my current way of deepening my spiritual life

I wish for all my inner desires to be satisfied

Abandon all varieties of Religion, and just surrender unto me. I will protect you from all sinful reactions, do not fear (Bhagavad Gita 18:66)

In this world of toil and trouble / Two things stand alone / Kindness and another's trouble / And courage in one's own

One God, one religion, one humanity

May your spirit be touched by the spirit of another - everyday! R

CHOICE UNLIMITED II

Early this morning, I bring down from the Welcome Centre some of our display material for our (half) table-top display at the second Choice Unlimited event in Leicester Tigers Welford Road Stadium. By 0800 I’ve set up and am on my way to Brooksby Melton College to help run their Inter Faith Events Day. 

A couple of hours later, when Choice Unlimited gets underway, Amanda Fitton and Dan Fisher are here to run the show. That's Amanda in the photo above, alongside Ian and Dennis from Leicester's LGBT Centre, with whom we share a table. Like the event today at Brooksby Meton College, we're "dual-badging" this for Leicester Council of Faiths and Faith Awareness (the inter-faith programme of Christians Aware).

After returning from Melton (a little delayed by having to deal with a partially collapsed ceiling in the kitchen at the Welcome Centre) I’m on the stall here for the last couple of hours of the day, up till 1800.

When the date for this event was announced, I assumed at first that the Council of Faiths wouldn't be able to take part, being right in the middle of Inter Faith Week. I'm glad I thought it through and saw how to make it all work out - with a little help from my friends.

Speaking of friends: in the picture above, Ian Robson, Director of the LGBT Centre is chatting with Harsha Kotecha (sitting in my chair), who was at Choice Unlimited to promote the charities, Cancer Does Not Discriminate and BME Cancer Voice.

Leicester Council of Faiths gets a nice promotional spot in the brochure too.

INTER FAITH WEEK 2012, DAY 4: INTERFAITH EVENTS DAY AT BROOKSBY MELTON COLLEGE

Today is a complex logistical task - probably the trickiest working day so afar in post, at least in terms of where I have to be and when. Effectively, I have to be in three places at once. Today. I have to make sure the Highcross exhibition is ticking over, set up and front (for part of the day) our shared table at the second Choice Unlimited event in the Tigers stadium and help run the Interfaith Events Day at Brooksby Melton College.

Despite the early start and the complex arrangements, I couldn't resist staying up late last night, as Gold was showing that episode of I'm Alan Partridge where Alan pierces his foot on a spike climbing over the security fence into Choristers Country Club. It's quintessential Partridge: "The Colour of Alan".

I'm not harping on about how complex today is in a misguided attempt for your sympathy, faithful reader. I certainly wouldn't want you to get that impression. Far from it; not at all. I love these missions. I thrive on this sort of thing. Nothing excited me more when I was younger than dashing hither and yon to achieve some mad objective that others wouldn't touch with a bargepole or would tell me is impossible. I've worked hard to earn my reputation as the Can Do guy for these situations. So here's how the early part of this morning pans out:

• Stage 1: Leave home 0645, get to the Welcome Centre for 0730, pick up materials for our display in Choice Unlimited at Tigers stadium
• Stage 2: to the Tigers to set up our table-top display and banner before 0800
• Stage 3: from the Tigers back to the Welcome Centre for 0830 to grab the materials needed for Brooksby Melton College
• Stage 4: to Leicester Station to catch the 0918 for Melton - just one stop, only a quarter of an hour away. But the train sits there … and sits there ... for 40 minutes. After having kept to time so well so far, I have to say it's a bit frustrating.

I get to the college about 1015 and we're all set up ten minutes later. As far as my participation today is concerned, this event is “dual-badged” for Leicester Council of Faiths and Faith Awareness (the inter faith programme of Christians Aware). We have one of the Council of Faiths “generic” pop-up banners borrowed from the Highcross exhibition, as well as a range of the giveaway literature that's also available there. We have a variety of books published by Christians Aware: Food, Festivals and Faith; Meeting Buddhists; Meeting Hindus; Meeting Jews; Meeting Muslims; Meeting Sikhs; Religion – Life Itself. I've also brought a laptop, on which I run a slideshow of 50 or so images associated with various faith communities in Leicester. The Council of Faiths has the more visible presence today, but it's with Faith Awareness that I hope to be able to establish long-term relations with college and community.

I've asked Rita Green, the sole Bahá'í in Melton, to help me here today. Rita has made efforts in recent years to get inter faith work off the ground in Melton, with events, exhibitions, presentations and talks in venues such as the public library. I've known Rita for nigh on 30 years and hope that she'll be able to help me establish an active inter faith group here in the near future. Rita is on the left in the photo above.

The college has put on a nice display here today with lots to see and do, signposted and trailed throughout the campus.

Nicola's colleague, Humera Aziz, has loaned some costumes and outfits from her personal wardrobe for students to try on. There's a well-stocked Fair Trade display. There are tables for the local Anglican churches and Melton Mowbray Baptist Church. Chris Corps, multicultural storyteller and interfaith minister, performs a number of tales and plays ethnic wind instruments. Nicola is offering henna tattoos and I get my first ever one! Can you tell what it is yet? No, nor can I ...

The event climaxes with a dance display in the college theatre, which gets strong support from students and staff alike.

Stuart Wright, Head of Learning, has the last word, describing how the college is obliged to provide students with an education not just for living now in Melton, but for the wider world and later life. Students have to be more aware of different cultures, ethnicities and faiths.

It's all over by 1415. A quarter of an hour later, I'm on the train back to Leicester, heading for Choice Unlimited at the Tigers.

HUNDREDS DUE AT DISABLED EVENT

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Hundreds due at disabled event

An event aimed at providing information about services for young disabled people is hoping to attract more than 2,500 people today.

The Choice Unlimited event is being held at the Tigers Stadium, in Welford Road, Leicester.

It has been organised by the Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL) and will feature more than 200 exhibitors showcasing innovations, services and products available for disabled people and carers. Doors open at 10am. LCIL patron Matt Hampson and a number of Paralympians will also attend as special guests.

REDP CORE PARTNERS MEETING

At Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living this morning, for a meeting of the four Core Partners of the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership. The Core Partners, all Leicester-based Voluntary and Community Sector organisations, are: 

• Leicester Council of Faiths
• Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living
• Leicester LGBT Centre
• The Race Equality Centre

We used to meet on the first Tuesday morning of the month, but haven't done so since the funding for this project ended, in June this year.

It soon becomes apparent that there's life in the old dog yet, though. We spend the first half-hour or so catching up on what our particular organisations have been doing since last we met, where we are now, and what our futures might hold.

Our attention is focused on the forthcoming Choice Unlimited event, to be held at Leicester Tigers Stadium, Wednesday 21 November (1000-1800). The first Choice Unlimited, held in April this year, presented information, ideas, innovation, services, products for disabled people. It was an unexpectedly successful occasion, exceeding all our expectations in terms of interest and support. The November event will focus on the same sort of things, but for young people in what's called the "transition period" (14-25 years of age).

Since Choice Unlimited is taking place in the middle of Inter Faith Week (18-26 November) I'd assumed that the Council of Faiths (and, more specifically, I) wouldn't be able to take part in it, but I'm glad to say that we've come up with a plan for having a celebration of Inter Faith Week inside Choice Unlimited itself. Since I have to make sure that our exhibition in Highcross is kept going all that day, I'm not quite sure how we'll go about this, but where there's a will ...

I'll play as active a role as I can in promoting the next Choice Unlimited, through our various outlets - beginning with taking a clutch of fliers and posters to the AGM of Network for Change at the Guildhall this evening.

FREE SCHOOL PLAN BY SIKHS IS ANOTHER STEP NEARER REALITY

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Free school plan by Sikhs is another step nearer reality

Proposals by Sikh leaders to set up a free school have moved a step closer.

The Department for Education has given them approval to progress to the next and final stage following the submission of their business case.

They join another successful bid in the city from a group which is hoping to set up a post-16 school for sporting excellence with support from Leicester Tigers.

Free schools are part of the Government's flagship policy which allows parents, charities and faith groups, among others, to set them up.

They are funded directly by the Government and do not have to follow the national curriculum, but must provide a broad and balanced education.

Indy Panesar, the president of Ramgarhia Sikh Temple, in Meynell Road, off Uppingham Road, Leicester, is one of the nine temple leaders behind the bid.

He said: "This is very positive news and we're cautiously confident."However, we still have a big hurdle to cross."

Sikh leaders now have to attend an interview with free school experts from the Government to discuss their plans.

This is scheduled for May 17, but a final decision is not expected until the summer.

A number of locations are being considered as a potential site for the school, which would take pupils from four to 11 years and be known as Leicester Sikh School.

Among them is Ellesmere College in Braunstone, which is relocating to the former Riverside Community College site in Rowley Fields. Mr Panesar said: "We are still considering sites and no firm decisions have been taken if we are given the go-ahead.

The school's ethos would be based on the Sikh faith, but must offer half of the places to non-Sikh children.

It would serve only vegetarian food and take a reception and year one class with 30 children in each, during its first year, with numbers growing thereafter.

If plans are allowed to progress it should be open in time for September 2013.

Initial set-up costs for the school are paid for by the Government.

Councillor Vi Dempster, the city council spokeswoman for children, young people and schools, said: "I met with Sikh community leaders and I'm pleased to hear they have got through to the next stage.

"They have given their commitment to work with the local authority as part of its family of schools if they're successful.

"Given the rise in the primary school population, this won't affect the stability of any schools in the city."

Free schools were created by the Government to give parents more choice.

COVERAGE OF EVENT WAS DISAPPOINTING

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury (though not on its website).

Coverage of event was disappointing

Catching up with back issues of the Mercury after the Easter break, I was looking forward to reading some good coverage of the recent Choice Unlimited event at Leicester Tigers on Thursday 5 April.

Imagine my disappointment, then, to see the short article, “Ex-tigers hero roars approval for fair” (Mercury, April 7). There are several aspects of the piece that are disappointing: it was unclear what it was all about, but mostly credit was not given where it’s due.

It was reported that Choice Unlimited had the support of Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council and Voluntary Action LeicesterShire.

That’s true and they all contributed to preparations and to the success on the day itself, helping showcase products, services, information and guidance available to disabled people and their carers. But Choice Unlimited didn’t spring fully-formed out of thin air.

Someone had to come up with the idea, get it off the ground, enlist support, gather momentum and bring it all to a successful conclusion. And that “someone” was the Regional Equality and Diversity Partnership (REDP).

REDP is a collective of Voluntary and Community Sector organisations working together to promote equality and celebrate diversity.

At its core are four Leicester organisations with a track record of collaborating across different equalities for as long as ten years now. Our influence and engagement has extended in the past few years to embrace the whole East Midlands . The four city-based founder members of REDP are Leicester Council of Faiths; Leicester and Leicestershire Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre; The Race Equality Centre and Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (which took the lead role in Choice Unlimited).

The coverage failed to mention the ground-breaking nature of Choice Unlimited (it was the first of its kind anywhere in the East Midlands) nor was there any indication of the tremendous success of the event. More than 160 exhibitors participated and an estimated 2,500-3,000 service users came through the door – every one of them a potential customer in this new era of personal budgets for care services and products.

REDP is already in advanced discussions to present Choice Unlimited in other parts of the East Midlands. We’d still like it to be known that Leicester was the birthplace of this trail-blazing first presentation.

You might wonder why this matters, two weeks after the event and ten days after the Mercury’s coverage. Choice Unlimited signalled the birth of a new way of doing things for disabled people in the city, county and Rutland – kicking off a new era of choice and control. And at REDP our phone lines and inboxes are still red hot with those keen for information and asking when we’ll be doing it again. And they show no sign of cooling down!

George M Ballentyne

Stoneygate

EX-TIGERS HERO ROARS HIS APPROVAL FOR FAIR

This article appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

Ex-Tigers hero roars his approval for fair

Ex-Tigers player Matt Hampson supported a fair showcasing services for disabled people.

National changes in the provision of care means disabled people are now given personalised budgets to spend instead of councils paying for services.

Choice Unlimited took place at the Leicester Tigers Stadium on Wednesday, to show people what services and products are available.

Former Tigers and England prop Matt Hampson, who is confined to a wheelchair after his neck was broken in a training session, made a special appearance.

He said: "Events like this give disabled people a voice and enable them to steer their lives in the direction they wish it to go."

Choice Unlimited provided information about accommodation, domestic support and education services to help the disabled make informed decisions about their spending.

The event was supported by Leicester City Council, Leicestershire County Council, and Voluntary Action LeicesterShire.

David Barsby, development officer at Voluntary Action LeicesterShire, said: "This was a great opportunity for local providers to meet potential customers."

That's Matt in the photo above, with Steve Cooper, Chief Exec of Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living. Regrettably, the article makes no mention of REDP as the event organiser and conveys nothing of the spirit or success of the event - and it gets the day wrong.

SHOULD YOUNG SIKHS WEAR THE KIRPAN IN LEICESTER SCHOOLS?

Meeting at the Tigers, early evening, to discuss the Sikh text in the series currently under development, "Engaging with Leicester's Faith Communities". Representatives of all Leicester's gurdwaras have been invited, Head Teachers (or Deputy Heads) of the six primary schools and four secondary schools with the biggest numbers of Sikh pupils in the city and a small number of others identified as stakeholders.

More specifically, the major topic for discussion is the wearing of the kirpan (one type of which is illustrated in the photo above) in Leicester schools and colleges. The steering group (of which I am a member) have gathered advice and information from other local authorities (e.g. Bedford, Birmingham, Redbridge) who have gone through a similar process. We want our text to contain intelligent and definitive guidelines that can be followed in the city. There's an hour-and-a-half of mature, trusting and friendly consultation among around 25 of us and I believe everyone went away happy. One good result was that more people wanted to have a read of the whole text before it is approved for publication. More work for those of us involved in writing and editing it, but it definitely brings a better sense of engagement all round - and that, in itself, is one of the intended results of creating this series of texts.

I'm not going to try and present the content of our discussion here. That would not do justice to the topic or to the quality of contributions that were made round the table. I count myself privileged to be involved in this kind of work with such people.

SACRE AT ABBEY COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL

At Abbey Community Primary School, Belgrave, this afternoon for a meeting of Leicester SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education).

Peter Greaves, deputy head of Dovelands Primary School addresses us on how to improve the experience of school parties visiting places of worship (or "centres", so that we can include other venues, such as Secular Hall). Such visits are taking on increasing significance in the context of pupils and students learning outside the classroom and of schools' responsibility to promote community cohesion. He offered a few principles that could be observed by the school and the place of worship before, during and after arranged visits.

BEFORE THE VISIT

For the place of worship

Good communication - contact details

A "clued-up" person who can make knowledgeable arrangements - time, facilities, available adults etc

Should say what they can offer, not ask the school to say what they want

For the school

A clear age-appropriate focus for the visit - why is the school group visiting?

Clear timings

A pre-visit by a member of staff (identified as the single most important thing on this list)

For both

Confirm all arrangements in writing, with a telephone call the day before

DURING THE VISIT

For the place of worship

Sticking to arrangements and focus

Being ready

Somewhere to put stuff (coats, lunchboxes etc)

Well-stocked toilets!

Enough leaders

Keep communicating any concern to teachers/leaders

For the school

Keep communicating any concern to staff in the place of worship

AFTER THE VISIT

For the school

Notes of thanks and examples of work and photos

For both

Any feedback that would help to make future visits better

We also consider three significant difficulties on this topic. Firstly, the environment within a place of worship is normally set up for adult users and visitors. This may mean that some material (e.g. images of historical conflict between faiths and cultures) may be difficult for children to see or for adults to explain to them.

Secondly, we hear anecdotal evidence that some (unspecified) places of worship don't allow wheelchair users access to certain parts of their sites, because of concern about dirt on their wheels. This will have to be addressed (by SACRE?) to ensure that places of worship abide by legislation.

Thirdly, we discuss the common difficulties of persuading or reassuring parents (of all religions and denominations) to allow their children to visit places of worship of faiths other than their own. Schools need to make it clear that the classes will visit a place of worship for all faith communities as part of a cycle of education that is as inclusive as possible and doesn't favour any particular religion(s) over any other(s).

Jill Carr, Secretary of SACRE, gives a brief report on progress with the new series of information booklets, entitled "Engaging with Faith Communities in Leicester". The Muslim text is just about finished. The Sikh text is in advanced draft form. The Hindu text is just getting to the draft stage. The Christian text hasn't been started yet. A meeting with the Presidents of Leicester's seven gurdwaras has been called at Leicester Tigers next month (see blog, Wednesday 19 May) to discuss issues raised in the Sikh text, particularly the wearing of the Kirpan (dagger) by Sikh pupils, students and staff in schools.

Under Any Other Business, our Chair brings to our attention Celebrating RE - a month-long celebration of religious education in England and Wales in March 2011. It strikes me that this is something Leicester Council of Faiths might be able to accommodate in its 25th anniversary year.