REDP meets with One East Midlands

This morning some of us from REDP meet with Rachel Quinn and Leann Leverton from One East Midlands. It's not anything formal, no set agenda; but we've been trying to find the time to get together and mull over a few things where our interests intersect.

We meet in Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living (LCIL): Round the table are Iris Lightfoote from The Race Equality Centre (TREC) and Chair of REDP; Dee Martin of LCIL; Laura Horton, REDP Project Manager - and me.

We talk about the new Transforming Local Infrastructure programme from The Big Lottery; the Localism Bill currently going through Parliament; the White Papers on Open Public Services and on Giving. These all have major implications for equalities.

REDP had been intending to hold a regional event on the Localism Bill in October. Public consultation on the Bill ends in September and it's going to be published in November, which makes October too late to be a consultation event and too early for an information event. We're planning three other regional events at two-month intervals, so we've decided to swap Localism's place in the schedule for one of the others. We'll make arrangements for a special meeting of REDP's Core Reference Group in time to get their views on the Bill so we can compile them into a collective response.

This is of special interest to me, since I'm leading on the Localism regional event.

Civil Contingencies Act 2004

This is a link to an article of clear interest to all those concerned with issues related to equality and human rights in the current climate. This comes from "liberty central", the Guardian's Comment is free civil liberties and human rights site

A-Z of legislation: Civil Contingencies Act 2004 | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

TOWARDS AN ADAPTABLE NEIGHBOURHOOD IN FROG ISLAND

This afternoon I attend a meeting convened by Ash Sakula Architects, presenting their Adaptable Futures project for Frog Island. The meeting is being held at the Marmara café, Northgate Street. Despite having the full address and postcode of the venue, having looked it up on streetmap.co.uk and (or perhaps despite) having it on Google Maps on my iPhone, it takes me ages to find it. I walk up and down Northgate Street twice - on both sides of the road - before I finally see where it is. Marmara is on the forecourt of a former petrol station, which is now being used as the site of a car-cleaning and valet service. The building which is now the café is converted form the forecourt shop - as you'll see from the photo above.


I met three members of staff from Ash Sakula at the last CreativeCoffee Club and expressed interest in this project then. I'm glad to have been invited along to this meeting, among what is rather distinguished company. Chief among today's guests are Sir Peter Soulsby, Mayor of Leicester and Ted Cassidy, Assistant Mayor and Cabinet portfolio for Economic Development, Culture and Tourism. Sir Peter spoke briefly and positively about the importance of this part of Leicester since the beginning of the city's recorded history and offered some ideas about its potential future.


Frog Island is one of the most neglected areas of Leicester and is clearly in need of renewal. Until recently, the expectation was that large parts of Frog Island would be razed and subject to comprehensive development from the ground up. This isn't going to happen now, given the current climate, and the much-needed regeneration will have to come from within what is already there. Although this sounds like it's going to be hard work and everyone's wondering where the money will come from, still it's a relief to many. Frog Island has some of the best industrial architecture in Leicester and is testament to some of the city's most prominent former glories. It would have been a shame to see those sites vanish. I used to stay not far from here and the area is a great one for walking. Its proximity to some of the most heavily featured new developments in Highcross. Indeed, it's Highcross Street that joins the upmarket shopping precincts with the run-down downbeat Frog Island.


This project, under the aegis of Ash Sakula and Loughborough University, will complement De Montfort University's Square Mile project, which is also at work in this area of the city.


The following organisations, each with its own stake in this project, are represented here today:

• Blueprint
• Business Base
• De Montfort University
• Dominoes
• East Midlands Economic Network
• Groundwork Leicester and Leicestershire
• Homes and Communities Agency
• Igloo Regeneration
• Inland Waterways Association
• Jubilee Worship Centre
• Ken Mafham Associates
• LCB Depot
• Leicester City Council
• Leicester & Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership
• Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce
• Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust
• Loughborough University
• Transition Leicester
• University of Leicester

From a particular Council of Faiths perspective, Frog Island has a notable absence of the diversity of places of worship and faith-based community centres that typify other parts of Leicester. Leicester Christian Fellowship, which meets at the All Nations Centre is arguably the most prominent faith community presence in  Frog Island. Here today, I'm pleased to meet Bernard and Washington from the Jubilee Worship Centre in Soar Lane. We manage to have a brief word  and make tentative arrangements to get together again in the near future.

Leicester Waterside has a Facebook page, which includes a number of photos taken at this event today.

HUMAN RIGHTS "POLICE" MUST GO

This article appears on the front page of today's Daily Express:

Human Rights "police" must go

Sense at last as money-wasting equality watchdog faces the axe

The watchdog set up to combat discrimination in the UK constantly talks Britain down and should be scrapped, a damning new report reveals today.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission peddles flawed philosophies and costs too much, the independent think-tank Civitas says.

And if it were disbanded, not only would taxpayers be saved millions but proper ways could be found to tackle unfairness.

The scathing report by academic Jon Gower Davies says the Commission looks at issues the wrong way. It blames British unfairness for differences in people’s lives that are beyond the Government’s control and too narrowly focuses on “rights” while ignoring responsibilities.

He also criticises pay and perks at the controversial organisation, which has been publicly rebuked by the official spending watchdog over its accounts.

The TaxPayers’ Alliance called on Home Secretary and Equalities Minister Theresa May last October to disband the body.

Last night its director, Matthew Sinclair, said: “The EHRC has mismanaged millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money too many times. It has shown that it can’t be trusted to use its budget properly and should be wound up.

“There are much better uses for the millions of pounds it spends every year than this politicised and wasteful quango.”

Conservative MP Dominic Raab said: “The EHRC is costly and counter-productive. Its fixation on positive discrimination and quotas is socially divisive, anti-meritocratic and out of touch with the aspirations of modern young Britons.”

Fellow Tory MP Priti Patel said: “I am not surprised by this report as I went through the EHRC annual reports and the waste is unbelievable. They add no value.”

The watchdog has continually been in the news for its controversial judgments. In March it was criticised after saying children should be asked from age 11 if they were gay, with records kept of any who were “questioning” their sexuality in case they fell victim to discrimination.

Football fans were furious when the quango backed Bath City club in offering Polish supporters an 80 per cent discount on match tickets.

It also warned full-body security scanners at British airports could be illegal and would be impossible to monitor if there were discrimination in the way passengers were selected for the checks.

The Coalition has already reduced funding for the EHRC, from £70 million in 2007 to £55 million in 2010-11 and plans further cuts to £26 million in 2014-15.

A spokesman for the Government Equalities Office said it would respond shortly to a consultation it launched in March on its plans to reform the body, which could lead to it being closed down. Dr Davies is a former head of Newcastle University’s Religious Studies department and a former Labour councillor in the city. He sets out detailed criticisms in his critique, Small Corroding Words: The Slighting of GreatBritain [by the EHRC].

The EHRC started work in 2007, merging the functions of the previous Equal Opportunities, Disability Rights and Racial Equality Commissions. Launching the report, a Civitas spokesman said: “The EHRC contributes very little to meaningful equality in Britain today and should be abolished.

“Ultimately, abolishing the EHRC itself would not just be a cost-saving exercise. It may well present an opportunity to channel resources into addressing the most pertinent issues holding back equality and fairness.’’

Dr Davies says the Commission’s goal of equality is impractical and it wrongly seeks to divorce outcomes such as health limitations and lifestyles. Focusing on the EHRC’s How Fair IsBritain? review he said: “It makes little attempt to establish what, if anything is responsible for these differences. Instead, when the differences appear to disadvantage some groups, it is assumed to be the result of Britain’s unfairness.”

Dr Davies told the Daily Express that the EHRC never puts the positive side of life in Britain: “Its review is a series of snivels and complaints. When you come from Pakistan or Bangladesh you are moving from not very good places to a much better one. Why not say that loud and clear?”

An EHRC spokeswoman insisted the review was only intended as a “snapshot” of Britain and had not set out to be an exhaustive comparison with other countries. Chief executive Mark Hammond said: “It’s our job to start a debate where we could see better outcomes for people suffering unfair disadvantages.”

In June the National Audit Office refused to sign off the body’s 2009-10 accounts in full after controversies that included spending millions without authorisation.

Europe needs a grassroots movement to tackle the threat of Islamophobia

This is the Face to Faith column from today's Guardian (published online on the Comment is Free: Belief website). It is written by Donald Reeves, founder of the Soul of Europe and author of The Memoirs of a Very Dangerous Man.

Europe needs a grassroots movement to tackle the threat of Islamophobia

We must expose the racist ideology drawn from nazism, in which Muslims have become the new Jews of Europe

Following the events of 22 July in Norway - when Anders Behring Brevik, driven by hatred of Islam, killed 77 people - there have been ample expressions of outrage, analysis and commentary, but little  indication as to what must be done to prevent Islamophobia spreading.

Before 22 July, the Soul of Europe, together with the Soest Forum of Religions and Cultures (a German Muslim archive institute), had begun planning how to interrupt, undermine and dismantle Islamophobia. Beginning in France, Germany, UK and Scandinavia, we are establishing a coalition across Europe of institutions and organisations which are already engaged with Muslim communities. Our aim is to deepen, broaden and strengthen the foundations of those bridges between Muslim and non-Muslims, particularly among the younger generations – above all in practical ways.

One way is to develop patterns of solidarity. For instance: when a religious building is vandalised, whether a mosque or a church or a synagogue, communities will come together to condemn these actions. For condemnation to be effective, more than words are needed. Much depends on the slow, patient building of relationships.

Another way is for local communities to speak up on behalf of others, not least when Muslim communities complain of intimidation and harassment by police. These interventions emerge from relationships that have been established over time. Local politicians and religious leaders – vicars, imams and rabbis – will have to watch their backs. These actions will be seen as divisive among their own constituencies and congregations.

As Marwan Muhammad, director of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France, told the Soul of Europe: "We are scapegoats and are blamed for all of Europe's problems." Muslim communities need to be invited in from the cold. There should be no "them" and "us". We are all "us". Umar Mirza set up the Dutch website We're Here to Stay as "an attempt to create an alternative space … a way of providing a stage upon which the voices of young Muslims can be heard". Dutch Muslims are not going anywhere. The Netherlands is their country, their home.

From among the many different European Muslim communities there are those who are saying: "Enough. We have had enough of discrimination, of being crudely stereotyped, of being scapegoats – of being victims." These men and women are not "extremists". In a debate on Britishness set up by the London-based Young Muslim Voices, a definition was agreed: a cosmopolitan country where people are respectful of different faiths and backgrounds.

Expressions of outrage are no longer enough. There needs to be a grassroots movement across Europe to stand up to those who peddle bogus religious justifications, resurrecting memories of the Crusades; to expose the racist ideology drawn from nazism, in which Muslims have now become the new Jews of Europe; and to tackle the myth of "Islamification" and those who claim to be defending western civilisation, Christian and secular, from conquest by Muslim immigration and the spread of sharia law.

Interreligious dialogue is just one of the links between different religions and religious communities. At a conference I recently attended, a speaker described interreligious dialogue as taking place on the top floor of a high-rise building while on the ground floor a fire was raging out of control. So it is time for those of us who cherish dialogue of every sort to join those who are trying to put the fire out.

This week's visitors

Regular update on the number of visits from different parts of the world in the week just ending.

1. United Kingdom 387
2. United States 181
3. Germany 76
4. Russia 59
5. Latvia 45
6. France 29
7. Romania 29
8. Denmark 20
9. Ukraine 17
10. India 15

This week's total: 858 (last week's: 836). These are aggregates of figures from the top ten countries only. Blogger's stats software doesn't show me numbers of pageviews below the tenth-ranking country.

The world map at the top of this post is the graphic that I see on the stats page. The darker the green, the more pageviews from that country. I can see different versions of this map for "now" (whenever that is), today, this week, this month and "all time" (which seems to mean the last 12 months). They're updated each time I look at that them.

NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY WILL ADVISE IN RELIGIOUS VS GAY RIGHTS CASES

This has been posted today on the website of Pink News, Europe's largest gay news service.

National Secular Society will advise in religious vs gay rights cases

The National Secular Society has been granted permission to intervene in four religious rights cases due to come before the European Court of Human Rights. 

The body will submit legal arguments in four cases where plaintiffs are appealing against UK court decisions – two of which involve Christian employees who refused to provide services to gay people. 

The other two concern workers who were barred from wearing religious symbols. 

Keith Porteous Wood, the executive director of the NSS, said his organisation would focus on legal arguments, rather than expressing opinions on the cases. 

In the past, the NSS has praised judgements in the case of one of the plaintiffs, Islington registrar Lillian Ladele, who said her Christian faith meant she could not carry our civil partnerships.

Mr Porteous Wood said: “These four cases have a major bearing on the extent to which employees’ manifestation of their religion can impinge on others. We want to make sure that the European court considers all aspects of the relevant law. 

“The NSS submission will deal with the implications for equal treatment that would be raised by the granting of greater protection to actions motivated by religious belief than is granted to actions motivated by fundamental beliefs that happen to be non-religious in nature. 

“The NSS will further focus on the degree of protection which it is necessary under the convention to afford third parties who may be subjected to a detriment which is motivated by, or a manifestation of, a religious belief. 

We will also deal with the significance of a religiously neutral public space for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. 

“Finally, we will address the nature of the limitations prescribed by law and necessary in a democratic society in the interests of the protection of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.” 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has also applied to intervene in the four cases, which are likely to be heard together. 

The commission stated last month that it believes ‘reasonable adjustments’ could be made for such employees in the same way that disabled people are accommodated in the workplace. This could mean allowing anti-gay Christian workers to swap shifts to avoid gay people. 

After strong criticism from Stonewall, Peter Tatchell, trade unions and some MPs, the body appears to have decided not to argue for ‘reasonable adjustments’. 

Former Stonewall chief executive Angela Mason, who is the body’s only LGBT commissioner, said this week that the EHRC had come to a “preliminary view” on the matter. 

In response to emails from concerned PinkNews.co.uk readers, she wrote: “The commission has already decided not to put forward ‘reasonable adjustment’ arguments if we do continue with our intervention.”

STARS ON 45

Wikio has updated its blog rankings today: we've shot up another 41 places to number 45 in the world for blogs on the topic of Religion and Belief.

Submission for ranking is voluntary of course. I like to think that the most serious, committed bloggers do (or the most self-conscious, insecure and egotistical!) Wikio provides a widget for your blog, which updates your position automatically when the rankings are recalculated monthly. 

"Equality & Diversity Officer" debuted at number 136 in the rankings for May 2011. I didn't know what to expect, to be honest, and thought that position respectable enough. The June rankings showed us slip one place, from 136 to 137. A little disappointing, but I was able to live with that. However, in the rankings for July, we jumped from number 137 to number 86: a massive leap of 51 places! I was well chuffed with that. Today it's shot up even higher, from 86 to 45.

How are these rankings compiled?

The position of a blog in the Wikio ranking depends on the number and weight of the incoming links from other blogs. These links are dynamic, which means that they are backlinks or links found within articles.

Only links found in the RSS feed are included. Blogrolls are not taken into account, and the weight of any given link increases according to how recently it was published. We thus hope to provide a classification that is more representative of the current influence levels of the blogs therein.

Only links found in RSS feeds are counted. Blogrolls are not taken into account.

In December 2010, retweets were added as an additional factor to the ranking algorithm. For each twitter account, only one backlink per blog is taken into account each month.

Our rankings are updated on a monthly basis and also include Top Blogs for several categories: Technology, Politics, etc. New categories will be added on a regular basis.

That bit above was for the technically minded among you. Good luck with that.

Once a blog gets into the top 100 in its subject category, it gets good exposure in Wikio's online online list - which should boost our position next month.

WE CONDEMN THIS VIOLENCE

This letter appears in today's Leicester Mercury:

We condemn this violence

As leaders of Leicester's long-standing Christian-Muslim Dialogue Group we wish to extend our deepest sympathies to all those impacted by the terrible murders in Oslo and Utoeya, in Norway.

Anders Behring Breivik has admitted responsibility, stating that he was motivated by a desire to fight to preserve a "Christian Europe", especially against the influence and growth of Islam.

Of course, all right-thinking people will condemn Breivik's violent response but we are concerned that his underlying ideology of suspicion and hatred may be shared more widely.

We condemn this act and all similar actions of violence which purport to be in the name of our respective faiths. Christianity and Islam have contributed greatly to advancing human rights and social justice, not only in the UK but throughout the world. We must never let those who espouse violence act in our name.

By way of contrast, our experience in Leicestershire tells us that this viewpoint presents a fundamentally false understanding of both of our major world religions, which speak not of hatred and intolerance, but of compassion and respect.

An example is our annual joint Christian-Muslim charity dinner which raises thousands of pounds for the poor and disadvantaged in the UK and abroad.

We have found that we are well able to co-exist in mutual trust and understanding, and to work together for the good of wider society.

We encourage Christians and Muslims everywhere to live up to this vision of adhering to the best that their faiths offer.

Canon Dr John Hall, Director, St Philip's Centre, Suleman Nagdi, MBE, DL, Federation of Muslim Organisations, Daud Sameja, co-chair, Christian Muslim Dialogue Group, Rev Peter Hobson, co-chair, Christian Muslim Dialogue Group.

Of the four signatories to this letter, two (John Hall and Suleman Nagdi) are actively involved in Leicester Council of Faiths.

As well as being published in the paper's Mercury Mailbox, this statement also appears on the St Philip's Centre website. That site includes a response to a message of sympathy sent from John Hall to the Fjell Congregation, Drammen in the Church of Norway with whom the Centre has links.

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.