Month: July 2015

Stonewall symposium a big success

On By In LGBT, Uncategorised

Equality, diversity and inclusion issues at Greenwich were the subjects of a major event at the university. Over 70 people attended The Stonewall Workplace Equality Index (WEI) Symposium, where guests from Greenwich and other institutions enjoyed presentations and talks, including an analysis of results from the recent Staff Engagement Survey.

Cinthya Quijano, from Human Resources, says: “The whole day was a real success. We are doing good work at Greenwich but cannot be complacent, as shown by results from the recent Engagement Survey.

“Questions on equality, diversity and inclusion showed that generally lesbian and bisexual staff responded more negatively. Also, 18 per cent of staff preferred not to say what their sexual orientation is. We want to create an inclusive and engaging place to work. The ability to be yourself at work is important.”

Anne Poulson, Chief Operating Officer of the university, gave the opening speech which looked at the importance of diversity and the university’s work on issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the university.

Stonewall’s Peter Mercer praised the university’s work in diversity issues, especially since its involvement in Stonewall. Greenwich is the first university to become an accredited training partner with Stonewall, the LGBT equality rights charity. This means that the university is now recognised as a centre of excellence for training schools about issues relating, in particular, to homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying.

The event was followed by a drinks reception, opened by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor David Maguire.

Inspirational Diversity Champion – July 2015

On By In Disability, Diversity, Inspirational Diversity Champion of the Month

Nic Hamilton
On 12 July it is Disability Awareness Day and with this in mind we have chosen Nic Hamilton as our Inspirational Diversity Champion of the month.

Nic is a prime example of ‘you can do anything if you put your mind to it’. Born with Cerebral Palsy, he continuously strives to overcome the pain, strains and struggles that are a result of his disability. He is very determined and believes that his disability will not prevent him from achieving his lifelong dream of becoming a successful racing driver.

With motorsport in the family and therefore in his blood, but both time and physical strength against him, Nic never had the confidence to try motorsport. After years of hard work and dedication in overcoming his condition from wheelchair bound to walking unaided by the age of 17, his parents decided to agree to his request to be allowed to race. He was given the opportunity to race in the highly competitive Renault Clio Cup series. This naturally was a baptism of fire given that this would be his first attempt at motorsport, but he handled the challenges presented to him with the same dedication and determination that his disability presents to him on a daily basis.
Nic had a fantastic first year finishing midfield in the season. The second year proved a little tougher both but he remains determined to achieve his dream. After proving himself to the world of motorsport in just 2 short years, his ambitions are set high with the desire of one day racing in the Deutschen Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), or similar racing series as a motivation to others that disabled life is for living.

In 2013 Nic took part in the European Touring Car Cup driving a SEAT León Supercopa for Baporo Motorsport and in March this year he became the first disabled competitor to participate in the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship.