The organisers of UK Black Pride are thrilled to announce that the seventh UK Black Pride festival will now take place on Saturday 18th August 2012 at the world famous Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street, London, SE1 6DP from 12noon – 8:30pm.

Top DJs and artists will perform alongside cabaret, comedy, poetry, films, education and welfare workshops, community information stalls in the Ministry’s 4 distinct spaces that include an aerial walk way and outdoor area. There will be 4 licensed bars, lovely food and a luxury VIP area with cocktail bar, ensuring that the festival offers something for everyone.

UK Black Pride takes place on Saturday 18 August at Ministry of Sound. Tickets are available here

Chris Powell, the manager of Charlton Athletic Football Club, received an honorary degree, Doctor of Science (HonDSc), from the University of Greenwich yesterday.

As one of only two black managers currently working in the English professional game, Chris is a key role model, and as a former player at the university’s local club, he is a key figure in the area.

Chris was chosen as League One’s manager of the year and was recently named as one of the most inspirational figures in the country by the Independent on Sunday. The newspaper selected Chris as one of the top ten “celebrities who inspire” in its annual Happy List, marking him as having the potential to be the first black England manager

He led Charlton to the League One championship last season, his first full season in charge. The club broke its points record for a single season, ending the campaign on 101 points, and were top of the league for almost the entire season.

Chris says: “This is a superb honour, not just for myself, but for my family and our wonderful football club. This is something I will really cherish. The university and the football club are both important parts of the local area and we try to help and contribute to the community. Charlton is very big on that and there have always been people doing great work at the club to stress the players’ responsibilities to the community.  

Chris enjoyed a long career as a left back, playing 270 games over eight seasons in three spells at The Valley. He earned five England caps after making his debut at the comparatively late age of 31.

He served as chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association, the players’ union, for five years until retiring in 2010. In October 2009 Chris was named as one of 50 ambassadors for England’s 2018 World Cup bid.

Honorary degrees are awarded to individuals of distinction who have made a major contribution to the work of the university, or who have earned prominence for activities associated more widely with education, business, culture, creative work and public service.

The month of Ramadan started at sunset, marking a period of fasting for observing Muslims. The holiday celebrates the time when the verses of the Qur’an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammed (peace be upon him) and is one of the five pillars of Islam.

This could present a challenge for Muslim athletes competing in the Olympics, as fasting involves the absence of food and water during the daytime, which can last up to 17 hours in Britain.

This year, more than 3,000 Muslim athletes will compete in the Olympics, but many will not fast, a decision that has been sanctioned by religious authorities. Some Muslims are taking a measured approach, with some saying they would also postpone their fasts until they were finished competing.

Read more here: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/07/20/227375.html

A FREE event for disabled pupils who are prospective University students, their parents and other allies organised by the Disability Services of various colleges of the University of London.   This event is suitable for any pupil over 11 years of age, but is likely to be of particular interest to those in Years 9-11 and at FE College.

Target Audience: 

1. 1.      All disabled pupils who are considering attending any University are welcome, including those with mobility, dexterity and sensory impairments, as well as specific learning differences (e.g. dyslexia), Autism Spectrum conditions and chronic physical or mental health issues, much of the information will be relevant to all.   
2. 2.     The parents and other allies (e.g.  teachers, Further Education lecturers, Special Needs Co-ordinators, Careers Advisors, Social Workers ) of disabled pupils.

Prospective students over the age of 15 years are welcome to come alone to this event if they so wish, but we anticipate that parents, teachers, Special Needs Co-ordinators, Careers Advisors, Social Workers and other allies may be interested in attending too.

This event will focus primarily on prospective students who are likely to have high disability-related support needs in both the academic and social/residential spheres (e.g. accessible residential accommodation & personal care) though the information provided is also likely to be useful to those with lower support needs. 

When:   Saturday 29th September 2012 between 11.30am and 4.15pm

Where:   in the Brunei Suite on the ground floor of the Brunei Gallery building at 

SOAS (the School of Oriental & African Studies), University of London, 

Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London,   WC1H 0XG.

Attendance is free, but we would appreciate it (for catering purposes) if you could book a place by contacting diversity@soas.ac.uk.

Ann Cutcliffe OBE, a key figure in the paraequestrian world, is to receive an honorary degree, Doctor of Science (HonDSc) from the University of Greenwich, on Tuesday, 17 July.

Ann has been vice-chair and a board member of the British Paralympic Association (BPA) since 2001. As manager of the Great Britain team at the Sydney 2000 Games, she won a SportcoachUK award in recognition of her work. Ann was also chief selector for the paraequestrian team at the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games.

Other appointments include serving as a board member of the charity, Riding for the Disabled, being a member of the International Paralympic paraequestrian committee and a member of the British Dressage paraequestrian committee.

Anne is involved with London 2012’s cultural and international inspiration programmes and was part of the 2012 cultural committee during the bid process for the London Games. She is also a trustee for International Inspiration, an organisation which uses sport to enrich the lives of young people throughout the world. These achievements led to Anne being awarded the OBE for services to paraequestrian sport in the 2011 New Year’s Honours List.

The award of an Honorary Doctorate recognises the contribution Anne has made to paraequestrian sport and is especially appropriate during this Olympic year when the equestrian events are to be staged in Royal Greenwich Park. The university is an official host venue for the Games, providing management facilities to support equestrian, running and shooting events in the park.

Honorary degrees are awarded to individuals of distinction who have made a major contribution to the work of the university, or who have earned prominence for activities associated more widely with education, business, culture, creative work and public service.

Story by Public Relations

The University of Greenwich has staged its first workshop for members of the business community who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The two-day event dealt with subjects including effective social media, networking, public relations, marketing, sales and building customer relationships.

The workshop attracted 15 business leaders from the London region and used British Sign Language interpreters throughout the talks and discussion groups. The event was held in partnership with Positive Signs, a London-based interpreting and communication support agency.

Jerry Allen, Business Development Manager for the university’s Business School, says: “This was a new and original event to support deaf or hard of hearing entrepreneurs. It proved a great success and was very well received. We realised that this was an area of the business community that didn’t have the support, or awareness, that it merited.

“Many of those attending reported that their business needs had not really been addressed before in this way.”

Speakers included Paul Simpson, a Lecturer in Public Relations in the university’s Department of Marketing, Events & Tourism, and Rob Robson, Principal Lecturer in the university’s Department of Systems Management & Strategy.

The free workshop was part of the FLASH innovation programme, run by Greenwich Research & Enterprise (GRE) and the university’s Business School. The aim of FLASH is to allow businesses of all kinds to benefit from the university’s resources, research and expertise, and includes follow-up consultancy for those taking part.

The FLASH programme also seeks to establish long-term working partnerships between the university and small and medium-sized businesses, self-employed people and sole traders across London. Other recent workshop topics have included include presentation skills, networking and making innovative use of LinkedIn and Twitter.

A range of new FLASH workshops are now available at the university in September and October: http://enterprise.gre.ac.uk/employer-services/flash/workshops

Workshops are staged at Hamilton House, 15 Park Vista, Greenwich SE10 9LZ: http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/travel/hamilton-house

For information about studying at the University of Greenwich’s Business School:
http://www2.gre.ac.uk/about/schools/business

FLASH is open to all businesses in the London region which employ fewer than 250 people and have an annual turnover below €50m, or balance sheet below €43m. Part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Institute for Sustainability’s FLASH programme, workshops are free for London-based businesses.

Story by Public Relations

Young disabled job seekers are to be given extra support to help them make their way in the world of work as part of a new government initiative.

Through the Access to Work scheme, those on work experience placements will be provided with specially adapted equipment to help them carry out their daily tasks, as well as support workers and interpreters.

Presently the initiative only applies to disabled people in paid employment, but this extension means that those in unpaid posts will also benefit.

There are around 100,000 work experience places offered by the government every year, helping young people gain the skills they need to climb the career ladder.

This extra support means disabled youngsters will be able to take full advantage of these places. It will also help to promote better workplace inclusion. Around 5,000 young people are expected to benefit over the next three years.

“We know work experience can make all the difference for young people out there looking for work and it is just the same for a young disabled person,” said Maria Miller, minister for disabled people.

“For the first time we are giving young disabled jobseekers the support they need to gain vital experience that will help them forge successful careers for themselves in the jobs they want.”

The move has been welcomed by Disability Rights UK, which called for “strong and rapid implementation” of the plans.

It has also been announced that an extra £15 million will be invested in the Access to Work scheme to help a further 8,000 disabled people in paid employment. At the moment it is supporting more than 35,000.

Research has shown that 45 per cent of those who benefit from Access to Work funding would be out of employment if they were not taking part in the scheme.

For information on Access to Work Scheme visit: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/DisabledPeople/Employmentsupport/WorkSchemesAndProgrammes/DG_4000347