Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
Just another University of Greenwich blog
BBC’s The Last Night of The Proms is to be led by a female conductor for the first time in its 118 year history.
American Marin Alsop said she was “thrilled” to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra and violinist Nigel Kennedy.
The festival, which begins on 12 July, includes 92 concerts at the Royal Albert Hall and four across the UK.
More … http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22188201
New Zealand’s parliament has legalised same-sex marriage, the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so.
Lawmakers approved the bill, amending the 1955 marriage act, despite opposition from Christian lobby groups.
The bill was passed with a wide majority, with 77 votes in favour and 44 against.
Hundreds of jubilant gay-rights advocates celebrated outside parliament after the bill was passed, calling it a milestone for equality.
Matt Gilbert is a professional rugby player. What makes him different is that he is deaf. He is the only british deaf professional rugby player and he currently plays for Bath.
Find out more about Matt and deaf rugby here:
http://www.englanddeafrugby.com/home/
Williams development driver Susie Wolff is targeting a spot in the next young driver test as she continues her bid to secure a Formula 1 race seat.
The Scot drove an F1 car for the first time last October and was the first person to test this year’s Williams.
“I’m on a fantastic path but I don’t look too far ahead,” Wolff, 30, told BBC Sport. “I look at each small step.
“Now it’s about doing the young drivers days and proving I’m quick enough – and then getting a super licence.”
More … http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22080278
A short survey was opened to gauge interest in setting up a staff network group aimed towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans staff, and those interested in promoting LGBT equality at Greenwich.
We were delighted that 87% of respondents said they would like to see an LGBT Staff Network at Greenwich. We are now in the process of meeting up with respondents to discuss setting up the network; how they foresee it working and what sort of involvement they would like.
If you are interested in getting involved in the Network, please contact Karen Weaver, Equality and Diversity Champion k.weaver@gre.ac.uk, with any questions you may have. The survey is still open, so do go online and share your views.
Greenwich Association of Disabled People are looking to recruit local disabled people for their trustee board.
This could be a good opportunity for volunteers with professional experience, such as business planning, marketing or finance, to maintain their experience, or for students to gain experience relevant to their degree. There may be others who can contribute their perspective as disabled people, helping the organisation ensure its services remain true to its core principles.
GAD has a long history in the local area since 1975, with a reputation that extends nationally. GAD is highly committed to remaining an organisation run by and for disabled people. As well as providing advice, information and advocacy services, GAD runs a Personal Assistants agency, providing close support for 60 local people, and supports users to become involved in the organisation at different levels, including representing the organisation externally. See www.gad.org.uk for further information.
GAD is based in Greenwich, near the University’s maritime campus, based at The Forum@Greenwich on Trafalgar Road.
If you are interested, please contact the Volunteer Co-ordinator:
Telephone: 020 8305 2221
Email: volunteers@gad.org.uk
ECU is currently running two surveys exploring how institutions can support staff and students experiencing mental health difficulties.
Respondents need to have experienced mental health issues personally, and be a member of staff or a student within higher education. The links to the two surveys can be found here:
Today is World Autism Awareness Day. It was set up by the United Nations in 1989 to raise awareness of the condition.
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects how they make sense of the world around them.
It is a spectrum condition, which means that, while all people with autism share certain difficulties, their condition will affect them in different ways. Some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support. People with autism may also experience over- or under-sensitivity to sounds, touch, tastes, smells, light or colours.
Asperger syndrome is a form of autism. People with Asperger syndrome are often of average or above average intelligence. They have fewer problems with speech but may still have difficulties with understanding and processing language. More information can be found on the National Autistic Society website here: http://www.autism.org.uk/
There are over 500,000 people with autism in the UK – that’s 1 in 100. Together with their families, that’s over two million people whose lives are touched by autism every single day.
Find out more about World Autism Day and the signs and symptoms of the condition here: http://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/world-autism-awareness-day
Mathematician Alan Turing’s theoretical basis for all modern computers known as the ‘universal machine’ has been voted the greatest British innovation of the past century in a new poll.
The famous computer scientist came up with the theory, on which all modern computing is based, in a paper ‘on computable numbers’ in 1936. He described a device that would read symbols on a tape and proposed that the tape could be used to program the machine.
However it was not until later that Turing’s ideas were realised as practical machines.
The ‘universal machine’ came top of a poll to find the greatest British innovation of the past 100 years.
Find out more http://www.topbritishinnovations.org/
A BBC programme about the rise of the lady in Victorian and Edwardian England will highlight the role of the University of Greenwich in the pioneering of women’s Physical Education.
The Executive Editor of The Lady, Rachel Johnson, interviewed Dr Jackie Farr from the university’s School of Education, for the Timeshift programme, to be shown on Tuesday 26 March at 9pm on BBC4.
Jackie, a Senior Lecturer in Physical Education & Sport, discussed her research on the work of Martina Bergman Österberg, founder of Dartford College of Physical Education which later became part of the University of Greenwich.
The invention of the gym slip and netball at the college, together with how Madame Österberg created the new profession of teaching for middle class women, were among the topics looked at during the programme.
Jackie says: “After seeing a period photo of students exercising on a piece of gym equipment, Rachel Johnson asked what I thought Madame Österberg would make of pole dancing today. I replied that she was a stickler for appropriate dress and behaviour so would have probably been less than amused. She told her students that they were only well-dressed if they could walk down the street unnoticed.”
The BBC production team used the extensive archive of the Bergman Österberg Union with its huge range of original material dating from the late 1880s, supported by the archivist, Rosemary Moon.
The university has enabled the digitisation and preservation of much of the material used in the making of the programme. The university has acknowledged the impact of Madame Österberg’s work by dedicating a campus sports hall to her memory – her portrait can be seen in the David Fussey building on the university’s Avery Hill campus.
Jackie trained as a teacher of Physical Education at Dartford College in the 1970s, and specialises in the history of women in physical education. She has been invited to speak in April at the 90th anniversary celebrations of the Japan Women’s Physical Education College in Tokyo, founded by students who originally trained under Madame Österberg at Dartford.
