Tag: National Diversity Awards

The National Diversity Awards Announce 2015 Shortlist

Diversity Heroes shortlisted for UK’s Largest Diversity Awards

Charities and Role Models from across the UK will gather at the breathtaking Anglican Cathedral on September 18th 2015 for The National Diversity Awards.

The Best of British Diversity will flock to Liverpool to celebrate the outstanding achievements of those who have demonstrated their devotion to enhancing equality, diversity and inclusion in today’s society.

Over 20,000 nominations and votes were received this year, paying tribute to grass root communities nationwide.

The full list of shortlisted nominees are as follows:

Positive Role Models for Age

Adnan Davod	Bilal Awan	Elly Barnes	Jake Watts
Nadia Clarke	Louise Liddle-McGhee	Rebecca Parkin	Tunji Akintokun

Positive Role Models for Disability

Jonathan Andrews	Monique Craine	Oliver Hellowell	Suzie Jones
Simon Green	Sam Cleasby	Nicola Miles-Wildin	Christopher Malpas

Positive Role Models for Gender

Polly Harrar	Debra Searle MBE	Natasha Goldthorpe	Shane Ryan
Sonia Bate	Cindy Edwards	Placida Acheru	Funke Abimbola

Positive Role Models for LGBT

Kathy Caton	Megan Key	Phil Forder	Samantha Truelove
Jake Graf	Sanjay Sood-Smith	Gary Zetter	Jude Woods

Positive Role Models for Race, Religion & Faith

Mike Chappell	Fred Suadwa	Indy Hothi	Phillip Leong
Myira Khan	Nathaniel Peat	Vicky Beeching	Naheed Nazir

Entrepreneurs of Excellence

Byron Cole – The BLC Group	Lina Naima – FACE4MUSIC	Justin Edgar – 104 Films Limited	Amar Latif – Traveleyes
Luke Rodgers – Foster Focus	Stephanie Wright – Sefton & Liverpool Women in Business	Craig Grimes – Experience Community CIC	Mavis Amankwah – Rich Vision

Community Organisations for Age

ACE Aspiration Creation Elevation	Active Impact	Include Me Too	Diversity Role Models
Crosshill School	Young Identity	North City Play	Tylers Trust

Community Organisations for Disability

Focus Liverpool	St Andrews Healthcare	CASPA	ChAPS
Disability Rocks	FND Hope	Anna Kennedy Online	Havering Dementia Action Alliance

Community Organisations for Gender

Asian Women Mean Business	Nyasa Daughters of Nottingham	Cervical Cancer Support Group	Saheli
Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer	Aurora New Dawn Asian Women Mean Business	JAN Trust	Muslim Womens Network UK

Community Organisations for LGBT

Broken Rainbow	Foyle Pride	Trans Men Support & Advice UK	No Going Back
Planet London	Mermaids	Manchester Lesbian & Gay Chorus	Out & Proud Diamond Group

Community Organisations for Race, Religion & Faith

Ujima Radio	3FF Three Faiths Forum	Polish Expats	Merseyside Network for Change
Nubian Jak	Hikmat Devon	ArtsEkta	UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group

Community Organisations for Multi-Strand

Leeds Beckett SU	Liverpool Homeless FC	BCfm	Darlington Independent Advice Group
Result CIC	Buddy Buddy Scheme	BollyGOOD	SELF

Diverse Companies

British Transport Police	Calico	Victim Support	West Midlands Police
Contracts IT	Royal Navy	Steve Biko Housing Association	Staffordshire & West Midlands CRC
Circle Housing	Office for National Statistics

Lifetime Achievers

Dr Neville Brown	Sally Carr	Jenny Sealey MBE	Marion Aslan
Carol Steele	Dr Nasser Siabi OBE	Caron Drucker	Liz Kelly

The prestigious black tie event is definitely one to mark down on your calendar and provides recognition for excellence regardless of race, faith, religion, gender, identity, sexual orientation, age, disability and culture.

Microsoft will be just one of the brands supporting a skyfall of diversity talent alongside Barclays, The Army, Financial Ombudsman Service, Liverpool City Council, Penna, Mouchel, MI5, PwC, ThoughtWorks, Transport for London and The Open University.

Barclays commented ‘We understand the commercial relevance of diversity and are therefore proud to sponsor the National Diversity Awards as the spirit of these awards aligns with the way we do business. We would like to congratulate all of the nominees and winners this year and wish them every success.’

TV personality Brian Dowling also expressed his delight in returning to host the ceremony, He said: ‘I am so excited to host The National Diversity Awards again! I have witnessed the awards go from strength to strength since its formation and I am always truly taken back by the humbling and uplifting stories of all the nominees and award winners. I can’t wait to get on stage for what is sure to be another extraordinary evening!’

Designed to highlight the country’s most inspirational and selfless people, the NDA’s are supported by the likes of Brian Blessed, Adam Hills and Ade Adepitan amongst many

Comedian and actor Stephen Fry said, ‘Four years on and The National Diversity Awards are continuing to have a positive impact across the whole of the UK. The awards have grown, and with it, so has the vast array of unsung diversity heroes being recognised nationwide.

It is crucial that we challenge discrimination head on, and the NDA’s unite those that dedicate their lives to the cause. Long may this continue’. He added.

Previous winners include Huddersfield based Disability Theatre Group Shabang!, Freedom Fighting Refugee Aderonke Apata, and domestic violence campaigner Karen Ingala Smith.

Winners will be announced at The National Diversity Awards 2015

TABLE BOOKINGS ARE NOW AVAILABLE HERE

July 17, 2015

Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association (AMYA) Charity Hike for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

Bavarian Alps 20th – 24th July 2015

TWENTY FIVE young people are reaching new heights in their fundraising efforts this month – by hiking across the Wetterstein Mountains in Bavarian Alps.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association’s Hiking Club is fundraising for The Royal British Legion by sending 20 hikers on the five-day expedition.

Working alongside The Legion, the young people are hiking across the Bavarian Alps from July 20 to 24 in aid of the Poppy Appeal.

National AMYA President, Mirza Waqas Ahmad, said:

“Loyalty to one’s country and serving humanity is part of Islam, so we have been happy to support Royal British Legion for several years. Our youth are always ready to sacrifice their time for charitable initiatives and raise money for much needed causes.”

Deborah Armantrading, North West London Community Fundraiser, said the AMYA has been a great supporter of The Legion’s Poppy Appeal.

“The association has been crucial in raising funds for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal for several years participating in mass collections all over the UK, providing us with a significant number of volunteer collectors and raising amazing totals.

“The Legion is extremely pleased with the enthusiasm and commitment from all of the volunteers. We enjoy working with AMYA as they are dedicated and passionate about their charity work, and the Poppy Appeal would not be the same without their help.”

The hikers will be camping in the mountains for three nights and will attempt three peaks in this time including the highest mountain in Germany: Zugspitze (2962m above sea level).

The hikers say they are keen to highlight the positive contribution being made by British Muslim Youth every single day in the UK and abroad.

This event falls under the Mercy4Mankind Charity Challenge which also includes 2 separate 10k run events and a Paris to London bikeathon.

July 14, 2015
When will they get it right?…..

There are thousands of dyslexic children crying themselves to sleep unesessariy in the UK every night. Innocent children whos heads should be full of ideas and high aspirations, instead they are full of dread! It makes my blood boil hearing from parents who are utterly frustrated and lost as to how to get their children the support that they need in schools. They desperately want their children to be happy but in practice feel powerless. The new SEN Code of Practice (2014) which came at the start of the Autumn term promised a greater emphasis on collaboration with multi agency organisations and also parental and child consultation but whether parents know about this is another story. I have lost count of the number of parent who have told me that they have approached the school with concerns and been ‘fobbed off’.

Dyslexic children need to learn how to learn in a different way and it is very sad that many schools brush this under the carpet as a result of limited finance and/or knowledge! I am not saying all schools do this as I have met some incredible teachers who are deeply passionate about their role and spent a lot of their own time teaching themselves about Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs) but not all! I worked in schools for five years providing intervention and support to children with a range of diverse needs and quite frankly I was appalled! I started out wanting to be a teacher (the one I should have had in school) but I felt suffocated and helpless! Never mind the times I sat inside school staff rooms and listened to certain members of staff say such awful things about children with SEND (often blaming laziness or bad parenting!). I wanted to scream! Several times I would have to leave the room before I burst into tears! My experience in education was horrific and it pains me to know in some instances very little has changed.

Some teachers feel frustrated at the lack of training to manage the diversity of needs found in classrooms today, especially with the rising demands and pressures on them to be ‘OUTSANDING TEACHERS’. How can you expect teachers to be outstanding when they are lacking the important tools to be so? Training………

I want to help on a much bigger scale and have dedicated my life to do exactly that. I hope that the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) succeed in their aim of making dyslexia a mandatory element of teacher training. I also want to see SEND education taught to all children in schools. The stigma that accompanies the term disability is socially imposed and needs to be ‘normalised’. Children need to be taught about neurodiversity and its positive aspects and strengths! Equally, so do teachers, parents and clearly politicians!

Dyslexic children become dyslexic adults and there brilliance should be embraced. I absolutely LOVE being dyslexic and spend much of my free time campaigning to challenge negative perceptions. It needs to stop now! Dyslexia is not a ‘disorder’ it is not a ‘condition’ or an ‘illness’. We don’t HAVE DYSLEXIA.. We ARE DYSLEXIC’. It is not a cold, we do not need fixing or a cure, we need to educate people! What is disabling about disability is the environment that was facilitated without the consideration of diversity! We are all just people!

Having studied SEND policy from 1944 until now it angers me that the government is still getting it so morally wrong! They need to stop trying to fix a system that is blatantly flawed and create one that works! All children have a right to achieve their full potential and no matter how many changes we get through different government incentives or political party influences it is still wrong!

The lucky children who’s parents struggle to fund one-to-one support with specialist dyslexia tutors are few and far between leaving many wonderfully bright children deflated and confused. Schools need to communicate with these organisations and learn how they can really engage dyslexic children and those with other SpLDs in learning. I have seen first hand the amazing work that places such as The Dyslexia Association (TDA) do to improve the outlook for dyslexic children, adults and their families and wish that there was more government funding available for them to get more involved in schools.

“They don’t like to label”

Dyslexic children have amazing brains and great potential. They need to know ‘who they are’. They need to know how their brains work, that they are just wired differently and that they have so much potential! I honestly would give anything to have been able to have been given ‘my label’ at school! To know that I was not stupid, lazy and that I could do anything I wanted to do and be anyone I wanted to be! To know that I was not the only one. They need to learn to understand and identify their strengths so that they can manage their challenges in a much more positive way.

The biggest issue for many dyslexic children growing up is not the difficulties they experience in learning and retaining information but the beating they take to their confidence and self-esteem as they naviagate a system dominated by league tables and linear assessments. Assessments which wrongly place some dyslexic children in lower ability sets where they are made to feel inadequate as their less able peers rise above them. Can you even imagine how it feels to be in this situation? Desperately wondering what on earth is wrong with your brain? Held back from reaching your potential through a lack of awareness? Dyslexic children need to learn how to learn independently. They have ability by the bucket load and just need to be shown how to unlock their potential.

That is why it is so important that parents encourage their dyslexic children to learn about their differences and to embrace them whilst exploring and developing their interests outside of school. They need to know they can succeed! Exams destroy people. Why not test a different way? I am a first class student with many of my assignments achieving well above 90% but if you asked me to sit an exam I would FAIL! Am I a failure Mr Cameron?

Not everyone will build an empire like Richard Branson but EVERY SINGLE DYSLEXIC CHILD should feel happy and secure in their own skin! EVERY SINGLE CHILD should know about all of the amazing innovative and creative technology and business solutions we have in this world because of dyslexic thinkers!

#STAMPOUTSTIGMA

Being dyslexic means nothing really but it does to children who are being failed in schools! It does to parents whose hearts are breaking every time they drop of their children at the gates knowing what lies in store for them inside. I hate how we are stigmatised by negative terminology in the media and everyday in all aspects of our lives.

I wish that the government would listen to the people who know, the people that matter the most, the people that live it every day! #Michael Gove! One of the most despised men in the UK (enough said). Why did the Coalition Government (2010) scrap ‘The Rose Review’? And please tell tell me WHY are people who clearly have no idea about ‘REAL’ SEND issues/impact/life allowed to shape such an important element of our being? Why are the most important voices of all ignored and not utilised?

This blog post may seem overly heavy but I am writing in defence of our dyslexic children who are being stripped of their hopes, dreams, confidence and self-esteem more and more each day and it needed to be said!

#education #knowledge #empower #inspire #motivation

February 16, 2015
NDA 2014 – Voices Where Heard

To be shortlisted for the 2014 National Diversity Awards is a spectacular honour. I really did not let myself think for one second that I would be shortlisted down to last 5 in Disability role model from 21k nominations, I recall finding out via social media and friends saying well done, but it was the first I knew about it. I obviously check my notifications more often than my emails as sure enough when I checked emails I had the one I thought would never arrive, that I had been shortlisted. I rang my mother and jumped around rather like a salamander on hot coals for about an hour.

Winning the award itself did not occur, and I am sure I speak on behalf of all the shortlisted nominees , taking home the NDA itself was a secondary thought, the actual gift and award we all felt that evening, and still now is that the awareness of the cause we have been working tirelessly to promote and the people who we are trying so utterly hard to give a voice to, was ,heard. That for me was the real award.

I still work to raise awareness of females on the Autistic spectrum and to enable them to be recognised , supported and safeguarded. I have a new film in post production to be finished early 2015 that follows my own, late,adult diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome.

Autism women Matter advocacy group were invited to the United Nations were I gave a speech about Autistic girls and women and we have also just returned from Marrakesh World human rights forum just a few weeks ago .

I am now one of the panel members on the advisory board of Cambridge universitys autism and motherhood research.

Id like to thank the NDAs for all they do for all change and diversity in the UK, so proud to have been a small part of it.

January 5, 2015
Dilys Price , Director -Touch Trust
It is exactly twelve weeks since I had the inspiring experience of being a winner at the 2014 National Diversity Awards in London.

I met so many beautiful and amazing people that night. It made me realize that those of us who care about celebrating diversity ,about helping those for whom the playing field of life is not equal –are not lone voices in the wilderness- however that can seem when we are at home fighting and daring to change things in this capitalist world we live in.

We have power and the power is to be able to resist becoming fearful , defeated, passive, sheep like conformists and to robustly search out truth and compassion and kindness .Coming together that evening I felt the strength of love and beauty of so many different groups ,all fighting for different aspects a shared vision. I felt invigorated and renewed .

Things change because of people .

Reading about Nelson Mandela ,I was reminded that the Apartheid Laws came into being as recently as 1948 until1994- Mandela changed all that; Wilberforce fought and won against the established fact of slavery ; the Wright brothers had the impossible task of making a lump of metal fly…..they all made “ the impossible” possible. Who would have thought that others would follow to make air transport ordinary or that America would have a black President?

Miracles are waiting to happen ,waiting for us to believe in the impossible and to commit ourselves in action and thought to our dream of a better world..

I believe that positive energy has a positive result ,some where, somehow ,some way .This is based on the geological Explosion ( Chaos) Theory and is a geological fact .It may not happen at the time you expect, the place you expect , the form you expect ,but we pioneers   have adopted this truth   into our lives. In our lives of commitment to ethical change ,it is something we need to remember – it will help to keep that sacred flame burning – and it will bring   about miracles! Although it may not be exactly when ,where or how we expected.; (incidentally this is a useful lesson for our egos,)it will always bring about positive results.

On another note ( though linked ,)we have just had two beautiful events –our Touch Trust Christmas Ball and our Touch Trust College of the Arts( post nineteen ,transitional) end of term Christmas party .Neither cost a lot to put on .For the Ball I wore my £5 charity shop gown and £1 pearls and was dressed ‘ to the nines’ ,as were all the other carers ,parents and friends. Nobody was drinking much as the alcohol was too expensive. The place buzzed with joy , happiness , fun and energy .The photographer ,Paul Fears ,parent of Greg ( see photos) gave his time free .The staff of St David’s Hotel in Cardiff Bay went out of their way for us and the singers of two choirs brought beautiful us beautiful music . .We raised £1000 .You could feel the happiness – you could cut it .This is good living   ,giving and receiving ,helping and being kind .

Compare that with the big super markets ,( a subtle,wicked twist here ), where wonderful music   is playing in their stores getting the happy endorphins rising ,adverts are shown in our homes appealing to our five basic “needs”, including the need to give ! And what they really want is for us to succumb to their central message that buying is the best way to the good life ; they see us as   ‘ consumer objects’, fodder for their profit.

So lovely people ,keep up the passion ,be happy ,look after yourself –you are needed for the fight –   be strong and love who you are so that you can love others.

My gifts for 2015;-
- Every day look in the mirror and say “I am a genius “
It will make you laugh( that’s a start ) –but you are- and gradually that knowledge will change your life .
- Spend five minutes a day thinking of something beautiful, listening to something beautiful ,looking at something beautiful. ( Goethe)
- “We are here to provide for all those who are weaker and hungrier, more battered and crippled than ourselves. That is our only good and certain purpose on earth.”
Michael Foot (Labour MP)
December 19, 2014
Where Is Justice And Equality For LGBT Asylum Seekers In The UK?

Seeking asylum is not a crime but a fundamental human right as enshrined in the United Nations Human Rights Convention 1951 Charter (UNHCR) that guarantees the rights of every individual everywhere.

Gradually, this basic human right to safety is becoming elusive to anyone fleeing persecution of any sort that qualifies them as a refugee under the UN Convention the world over. More worrying is the systematic approach of the United Kingdom in shirking her responsibility towards this human right Charter that she’s a signatory to!

In over 77 countries around the world which Africa is the most in number, being a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) is a criminal offence punishable by life imprisonment, whereas it carries death penalty in some, such as in some part of Nigeria.

It is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law, in these homophobic countries, LGBTs are not able to get state protections against persecutions that they suffer as a result of whom they love and subsequently flee their countries in search of sanctuary to countries such as the UK.

Abundantly and sadly so are the layers of discriminations and persecutions that LGBT asylum seekers face in the UK. There is a culture of disbelief by the Home Office interviewers; this is seen in the rate of LGBT asylum applications’ refusal of over 93%; this is higher than the overall refusal of all other asylum application claims. Over half of refused claims are granted in the appeal court afterwards.

Indiscriminate indefinite detention of asylum seekers is on the rise in the UK which means people are further subjected to torture. The routine use of the Detained Fast Track (DFT) which seeks to determine outcomes of cases within 2 weeks whilst people are kept in detention centres and expected to provide evidences in support of their claims is commonly applied in LGBT asylum applications. Most individuals claiming sanctuary due to their sexual orientation have at one time or the other been incarcerated in their country of origin by agents of state and or non state agents when outed. The DFT is a ploy to deport as many people as quickly as possible.

Missing the Mark, a report that was published by the UKLGIG in October 2013 analysed in details the quality of decision-making in LGBTI asylum claims including various challenges such as inappropriate and sometimes humiliating questions and many barriers in ‘proving’ their sexuality due to an artificially high standard of proof LGBT people continue to experience.

LGBT asylum seekers are further subjected to a barrage of psychological, mental, emotional, physical and institutional abuse. The UK Border Agency filled with underbelly Government’s tactics to meeting its immigration targets and caps was widely reported to have been asking LGBT asylum seekers intrusive and insidious questions about their sexual behaviours and not their sexual orientation.

An article published in the Observer newspaper on 9 February 2014 which quoted some very sexually explicit questions that had been asked in an asylum interview raised the dust. Followed by this incredible Channel 4 report. The commissioning of a review of The Home Office’s handling of sexual orientation asylum claims by The Home Secretary in March 2014 was announced. The Home Secretary stated the system was flawed.

An online petition was launched following this announcement which generated over 300,000 signatures Urging The Secretary of State to halt all deportations of LGBT asylum seekers pending the review. It is worth noting however, that since the petition signatures were delivered to the Government, no LGBT asylum seeker has been reported to have been deported; although there has been a case or two of threatened deportations but never resulted in eventual deportation.

The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, John Vine CBE QPM conducted the investigation and published its findings in October 2014. The Chief Inspector, amongst other things found that:

“Over a tenth of interviews did contain questions of an unsatisfactory nature“.

“I found some stereotyping of applicants in about a fifth of substantive interviews“.

The following, were some of the recommendations to the Home Office for improvement made by the Chief Inspector:

1. Improves training so that stereotyping and stereotypical expectations of LGB activity and

lifestyle do not appear in interview questions.

2. Ensures that caseworkers do not ask sexually explicit questions, and equips them with the

interviewing skills to cope professionally when sexually explicit responses are received.

3. Provides more detail about the DSSH model in its training for caseworkers so that it can contribute to the quality of interviewing.

The Difference, Stigma, Shame and Harm model put together to the United Nations by the 2014 Legal aid Barrister of the Year, S Chelvan. Details of the findings and recommendations can be found here.

I welcome the report of The Chief Inspector, however there are still questions to be answered around what happens to all of the previous LGBT asylum seekers’ applications that were decided during the flawed system?

The level of injustices faced by LGBT asylum seekers in the UK cannot be quantified. Peter Tatchell, the Director of The Peter Tatchell Foundation highlighted it all here when he was speaking on the UK government abuse of LGBTI refugees fleeing persecution at Leicester Secular Society on 26 October 2014.

Similarly Paul Dillane, the Executive Director of UKLGIG couldn’t have said enough when he recently warns at an interview, Going Underground: LGBTI discrimination that LGBTI people face discrimination at the hands of government and courts.

Of utmost and immediate concern is the undocumented and unreported Domestic Violence experiences and challenges that LGBTI asylum seekers and immigrants face in the hands of their partners. As a result of the pressure and burden of proof on them to ‘prove’ their sexuality to the Home Office in order to secure sanctuary in the UK, they are forced to endure all forms of domesticated abuse and violence that could be imagined. The undocumented are scared to come forward and report to police for fear of being picked up and deported back to their countries. Likewise those that are in the process of their asylum application; which could last as much as over one year to determine are stuck in such oppressive and abusive relationships for fear of not having a partner to ‘prove’ their sexuality. The work of Broken Rainbow UK, the LGBT Domestic Violence Charity to encompass LGBT asylum seekers and immigrants couldn’t be coming at a better time.

Aderonke Apata

December 11, 2014
A true recognition and celebration of diverse heroes and heroines in our community!

My profound gratitude to the National Diversity Awards Group for awarding me the winner of the Positive Role Model for LGBT National Diversity Awards 2014.

Even as an asylum seeker, the NDA recognised my hard work and relentless activism for equality and human rights especially around the plights of LGBT asylum seekers in the UK.

As a new representative enhancing the equality agenda, the words of the NDA Host Brian Dowling, about this year’s ceremony that:

‘What an incredible evening! Once again The National Diversity Awards amazed me; Bringing together people from all walks of life and standing out as the equality event of the year! The nominees and winners stories were inspiring, and I know many people and organisations will benefit greatly from being recognised in such a way.’ I relate to this and true in my situation!

On the night of the ceremony, I was appointed as one of the high profile Patrons of the Proud2Be Project that empowers all LGBT+ people to be proud of who they are in South Devon.

The incredible Broken Rainbow UK, an LGBT Domestic Violence Charity has recently appointed me as one of their Trustee Board members to identify and empower asylum seekers who are experiencing domestic violence to come forward and access their services.

The National Diversity Awards continues to open the doors of National recognitions of my advocacy, human rights campaigns and activism when I got nominated and included as #41 on the prestigious RainbowList2014 of 1- 101 most influential LGBT people in the UK.

It is by no means, since I won the National Diversity Awards, the prospects of leadership has been unprecedented. I am delighted to announce that I have just been elected BAME Officer of the National committee of LGBT Labour campaigning for LGBT rights.

To support Aderonke’s campaign, please click here

Aderonke Apata

December 8, 2014
Reclaiming our place in rural areas of the country

I grew up in a small rural village. From a very early age, I knew I was different. Being different left me feeling like I had no place in my hometown of Solihull, West Midlands and at 16 I moved 20 miles down the road, closer to the centre of Birmingham. Three years later, I came out as gay.

I spent the following 11 years moving from city to city, believing that I was a ‘city boy’ at heart. I had no intention of moving back to a rural environment as I felt I did not belong there. In 2010, I was at a crossroads in my life and with absolutely no money, my twin brother and I, moved back to the Midlands. It was there, that together we founded Proud2Be Project.

In 2011, we both relocated to a rural village in Devon and I realised how much our experience of growing up gay in our hometown, had inspired Proud2Be. For the first year living and working in Devon, I felt isolated and alone. There were several times when I was close to packing my bags and moving back to Brighton, where I had lived happily for several years. I didn’t feel like there was a place for me here.

I stuck with it and through Proud2Be, had the privilege of meeting many lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or trans+ (LGBT+) people, who like us, faced similar battles, living in a predominantly rural area.

Let me be clear, I do not wish to discount the experiences of LGBT+ people living in urban areas. Life in a city can be a lonely existence and prejudice and discrimination can be found and experienced in even the most ‘accepting’ of places.

Right now, in rural areas of the country, LGBT+ people face prejudice and discrimination, the effects of which are made worse by the lack of visibility, social opportunities and support networks.

It could be argued that these could be accessed by travelling into the city, but for some, this is made problematic by financial restraints, inaccessible venues, fear of crowds etc. Some simply do not wish to travel to the city.

In January 2010 Equality South West launched a survey to investigate the key issues facing LGBT+ people in the South West of England. It found that one effect of living in a sparsely populated area is that in general there are too few ‘out’ LGBT+ people within close enough proximity to each other to form viable local social and support networks, or to influence or challenge local policy-makers and service providers to address LGBT+ issues.

Inevitably all this can have a negative impact on whether or not we as LGBT+ people, choose to come out to our family, friends, neighbours and co-workers.

For this reason, many who were born in rural areas are left feeling like there is no option but to leave and move to a city. For some, the idea of moving into a rural town and being ‘out and proud’ doesn’t even feel like an option.

This year, we held the first pride procession in Totnes. Being a rural pride event, we were unsure how many people to expect, particularly walking through the town behind a 7ft willow butterfly! I was not only thrilled to be joined by so many other LGBT+ people but many from the wider community, who showed their support by waving flags from the pavement, volunteering as marshalls and walking with us in the procession.

As I made my way up the main high street, holding the Proud2Be banner, chanting with the crowd “WE ARE HERE”, I felt that after many years of running away, I had finally reclaimed my place in a rural town that I now call home.

Written by Mat Price

December 4, 2014
A Care Leaver Called Ben

My name is Ben. I was taken into care after my mother abandoned us as kids a couple of weeks before Christmas. Not surprisingly, this was the single most important thing to happen in my life up to that point. Although my brother and I were initially placed together, we were separated after just one week of being “looked after” and moved to emergency foster carers. What was misleadingly called ‘care’ was for me actually the opposite, and resulted in the starkest changes to my behaviour and mental health. These changes eventually led to me being arrested and charged with a public order offence, a breach of the peace.

My young life now entered a downward spiral – moving between care placements, dabbling with drugs and getting involved in crime. The cost to me was very heavy – homelessness, trauma and emotional damage. Over the next six years I was moved 51 times to 37 different placements. I saw and experienced them all – residential children’s homes, foster placements, ‘structured units’, secure children’s homes, Secure Training Centres, Young Offenders Institutions and mental health wards. I managed to accumulate 33 convictions by the time I was 17 years old. You may now begin to understand how unstable my life became when I was ‘taken into care’ and my perception of the lack of support, and the lack of any real opportunity to be in stable placements with consistent care.

Since leaving care and crime behind me, I have had mental health issues and spent time in a Psychiatric ward. This is tragically not unique or uncommon for many care leavers, but to each one individually it is a harrowing experience. It seems to be a path that many care leavers are destined to follow. Whether through good luck, resilience, strength of character or all of these factors, I am one of those who survived the journey. I may have been damaged, but I was not broken, and once I had dealt with the many issues stemming from my young life, I wanted to give something back and use my negative experience to help others experience a more positive one.

Firstly, in 2012 I wrote ‘Fifty-One Moves’ detailing my care experience. I hoped to offer others a better insight into the world of care and the juvenile criminal justice system from someone who had lived in and been through it. I have worked hard over the last few years and been invited as a keynote speaker to speak at many events, conferences and annual general meetings of key organisations including speaking at Westminster, Whitehall and similarly prestigious locations. I have worked with a number of charities and organisations including the British Association of Adoption and Fostering (BAAF) on a European project on alternatives to custody. I also organised and facilitated focus groups for BAAF and worked closely with the young people involved in the project.

In December 2013, I was at the University of London working on a project with some young people who were sitting on a panel with me following a presentation I had given to some European visitors on behalf of BAAF. It was the day after new legislation was announced that declared that ‘Staying Put’, the opportunity for young people to stay in their foster placement until they were 21. This was good news and initially I celebrated. However, it soon became apparent that this new opportunity excluded about 9% of all looked after children and young people who just happened to be placed in residential children’s homes.

All the young people with me on the panel that day, great young people who had impressed their specially invited and knowledgeable audience with their presentations, lived in children’s homes. They were visibly angry and upset that the new legislation doesn’t include them. This wasn’t diversity – this was simply discrimination.

How could I begin to explain to these children of the state that they were not to be afforded the same opportunity as their ‘peers’ in foster care? Certainly not with any words in my vocabulary. This was clearly blatant discrimination against young people in residential care, a discrimination based on no fault of their own other than their living situation. I said to the young people I would do what I could about this but if I am honest not knowing what I was going to do or could do for them. I just knew I would do my best for them.

Over the next forty eight hours myself and some other caring, committed and passionate people formed ‘Every Child Leaving Care Matters (ECLCM). Did we have a plan? Not exactly! Did we know each other? Virtually not at all! Are we a diverse group? Yes indeed! We included care leavers, social providers, writers, inspectors, of different ages and probably social backgrounds. The longer the campaign has gone on, the more people have joined us, and the more diverse we have become. What is ‘diversity’?

One definition I read said that “Diversity recognises that though people have things in common with each other, they are also different and unique in many ways. Diversity is about recognising and valuing those differences. By recognising and understanding our individual differences and embracing them, and moving beyond simple tolerance, we can create a productive environment in which everybody feels valued”

How can any right minded person regard the way this government is implementing the ‘Staying Put’ initiative as meeting this definition of diversity? How is the practice of treating looked after children leaving care differently based on where they happen to be living on their eighteenth birthday recognising each as a valued individual? Of course, it’s not. However you define discrimination that is a better word for it.

The ECLCM Campaign group were offended at the outset and have remained offended ever since. We find it hard to comprehend that ‘our’ government can so blatantly refuse equal rights and opportunities to looked after children. The ECLCM campaign now has many thousands of supporters and followers – but not yet enough it seems to help the government accept that on this matter they are simply wrong. Please help us to help them change their mind by supporting us.

Let us for a moment take away all the social work theory, government policy, legislation and child care tradition accumulated over generations and summarise what is ‘good enough’ care for vulnerable children and young people. It is actually quite easy. Would I allow my children to be treated in this way? If the answer is ‘no’, then don’t treat any other child like that. We would not subject our children to 51 moves. We would not allow our child to decline into the criminal justice system and endure emotional trauma as so many looked after children have done.

We would not allow one of our children to stay at home until they are 21 and support them closely whilst showing another the door at 16+. Would we? If the answer is ‘No’, then we have an ethical and moral duty to oppose the way this government is implementing ‘Staying Put’ and insist that this level of support is given to ALL care leavers – where ever they happen to be placed.

December 1, 2014
Contemporary Outsider Art: the Global Context, Melbourne University, Australia.

23 – 25^th October 2014

As Associate Artist with Project Ability, I recently joined forces with Elizabeth Gibson, Executive Artistic Director, Project Ability, Glasgow, to collaborate on a series of Conversations with contemporary outsider artists exploring a new critical language towards the definition of their practice.

We were very excited when we got the call to present this research at the Contemporary Outsider Art: the Global Context, Melbourne University, Australia. Trains plains automobiles and not forgetting the essential PA, booked and off we went to Australia!

The research involved having some of the most extraordinary enlightening and refreshing conversations with artists from Project Ability’s Re:Connect programme and Celf o Gwmpas about their own sense of self. Looking at defining a developing critical language with which to express their practice and give back ownership of their work in a contemporary outsider art landscape.

The artists all had a great sense of pride of their artistry and a strong sense of solidarity and belonging within a creative identity. It also seemed the role of the supported studio spaces at both Project Ability and Celf o Gwmpas also play a vital piece of the jigsaw for the artists to live as practicing artists. Providing them with peer support as well as professional artistic development, accessing exhibiting opportunities home and away whilst supporting them to apply for their own project funding and providing opportunities that they may not be able to access if it weren’t for the support of these artist studios. So I began to wonder how I should represent these conversations, these ideals at a conference that would be examining contemporary outsider art from a global context. A massive ask!

quotes from the research………..

Quote: Outsider art – I don’t think we should be on the outside should we? You are either an

artist or you’re not, it shouldn’t matter about your disabilities

Quote: I don’t like labels, I’m a person in my own right, but it is giving me access to exhibitions

Quote: “Is it outside of what? What’s Insider Art then? The term ‘Outsider Art’, in terms of the sound of it… I kind of like it. I like the idea of Outsider Art. To me it’s outside of the mainstream. It’s people doing things outside of the mainstream.”

Quote: “I would advise caution as well because there is a danger in personally

investing in that Outsider label and saying, ‘This is it; this is the ticket for me, this

could take me quite far’ then maybe three years down the line suddenly it’s a wilderness; there’s nothing there. So my instinct is to be cautious, but also optimism as well. It could go quite well, you know?”

Quote: “I consider myself kind of an outsider. … I think it is a whole lot of

mythologizing about people’s lives as well, you know, and I

want to do that bit myself. I want to mythologize myself!”

The conference

The conference began!

I was full of excitement and anticipation about being at the conference in Australia and presenting myself, my work as an artist and the collaborative research I’d done with Elisabeth Gibson, Director of Project Ability, Glasgow. At the conference I spent lots of time chatting, networking and listening to others in conversation whilst I captured unscreened moments of passion, will and testament of individuals and panel discussions on my drawings on my iPad.

There were three major themes to the conference and these included The Practices of Outsider artists, Collections of Outsider Art and Curated Exhibitions plus Outsider Art History and Theory.

It was a heady mix of, diehard academic presentations and key note speakers and global contexts exploring arts practices in supported art studios in China, Cambodia USA Israel/UK and Australia. Which was absolutely fascinating. I was especially interested in the supported studios that were coming from totally different cultures. It seemed to me that there could still be a common theme within all of the studios presented that connected them globally. That is enthusiasm for the artistry and the artist and a commonality of supporting the artist to make the work as they do naturally. There could even be commonalities in the aesthetic of some of the work as often learning and developmental disabilities are similar globally too.

There were also talks, panels discussions, comedic anecdotes and film screenings from artist studios and artists themselves. I really enjoyed hearing Carly Findlay talk about how she had used her experiences as a disabled woman with a facial disfigurement to create a blog and social network that supports others in a disabling world. The artists from The Dax Centre, artists with mental health identifying themselves as outsider artists, was comedic, ethereal and dam right down to earth. Brilliant! Some people found their continuous use of the word ‘mad’ un-PC! I myself saw this as a positive sign of ownership of their identity as people with a living experience of mental health and a sense of self within a disability art politic.

I did find the opening keynote lecture by Lynne Cooke, senior curator, special Projects in modern Art National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, both mesmerising and fascinating. I was definitely intrigued by her physicality and delivery of her lecture. Whist drawing I listened to Lynne tell us about the declassification of labels in order to create an even playing field on which all artists and participants within mainstream galleries could engage equally. It was reminiscent and aspirational. As a disabled artist and self taught artist our work as outside of the mainstream could and should be seen with a focus on difference and otherness. How hard a concept can this still be for the critics, theorists, curators and artists of contemporary art to engage with? Yet we still battle to get our work seen with a recognised discourse and on equal terms by the mainstream. A subtext running throughout was the question “Is this beginning to happen”?

The discourse of the Outsider Artist continued to be debated with vigour throughout the conference in the corridors, queuing for tea, over lunch and well into the night.

We were presenting in Stream 1, PRACTICES OF OUTSIDER ARTISTS. Our session was a panel lead discussion on the topic of Outsider Art or Social Inclusion? Facilitating art, positioning the studio.

Presentations from myself as well as, Art Enables USA, Project Ability, Glasgow, NIAD Arts Centre USA were enlightening, passionate and informative. Plus I was still seeing that common denominator that seems to be connecting us all. Enthusiasm for the artistry and the artist and a commonality of supporting the artist to make the work as they do naturally. It was interesting that some of the studios embraced the notion of Outsider Art and actively used the term as a form of artistry identity and others did not. But for me as an individual presenting myself, my art and my mentoring work with disabled artists, plus the collaboration with Project ability – I began to question what and where I was coming from. Why did I doubt myself, I’m not sure! Jet lag I think! Anyway I put my thoughts in order and told it as it is. After all I am a straight talking Yorkshire lass with a disability art politic!

And it worked! Our panel discussion went from disability art politics within work produce by artists in supported studios, to exploring the notions of ownership, arts practice and the rights of the artists, artworks within the supported art studios and its representation in the mainstream.

Panel Question – ‘Tanya Are u an Outsider artist’.……was one of the questions.

My answer was “NO! ……….My work is embedded in a disability art politic and centres around my sense of self and that of a disability identity! Therefore I see myself as an artist /disabled artist. Both identities are as important as the other.”

Highlights of the conference

There were many. I enjoyed capturing many of these moments in time on my iPad whilst listening intently to the Panel discussions by Dax artists, talks from Cambodia and China Outside the frame work of western art, keynote speeches by Lynne Cooke, Prof. Colin Rhodes, James Brett of Museum of Everything, an enigma and lover of the art made by artists outside of the mainstream, “the self taught, the stuffers, the makers, the scribblers……..”

One of the biggest highlights for me was our visit to Arts Project Ability. I completely felt at home entering into a studio with other artists creating, chatting and totally zoned in on the making of their art. Again seeing so many artistic processes and themed work that culturally connected us as artists and as disabled artists really good excited me. Wether we were outsiders or insiders it didn’t matter. It was again that commonality of just being artists that naturally connected us in that time and space! I saw artists making work about Frieda Kahlo, Elvis and work that had colonial historical content. For me I kept this visit in my mind throughout the conference constantly drawing from it. As if it wasn’t for the existence of the artists, these natural creators the whole debate wouldn’t exist!

So what’s next u might ask, post the conference!

For me New partnerships are about to emerge! I’m very excited about joining forces with Anna Arstein-Kerslake, Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne to develop a project on human rights of disabled people’s right to access culture. Plus I’m delving into a research and development into the commonalities and differences of supported artists practices and supported studio practices in USA, including visits to, Amy Taub from Creativity Explored and Deb Dyer from the NIAD art centre both in San Francisco and Mary Liniger from Washington.

Our sincere thanks to Arts Project Australia and the University of Melbourne for hosting this event and to Creative Scotland for supporting our attendance.

Drawings by Artist Tanya Raabe-Webber

November 27, 2014