Greetings,
The murder of George Floyd and the subsequent global, national, and local demonstrations of support have prompted a conversation between JUST Lincolnshire and Voluntary Centre Services about how we can address inequalities connected with ethnicity and the criminal justice system. We feel this is the right time to widen conversation across the county … it is also the right thing to do.
We held our first Courageous Conversation on 27th August, and it was extremely insightful and impactful with plenty for attendees to take away with them. Our second Courageous conversation on 8th of September was about the Criminal justice system which was insightful and left many with calls to action to implement and continue the conversation.
As a result, we invite you to contribute to the second in a series of online conversations on 14/10/20, 10.30am -11.45am. This conversation will be exploring the impact of recent events on Education.
We feel that it is vital to provide this space to allow individuals, organisations, and communities a period of reflection on the issues and challenges that have been compounded by the impact of current pandemic.
These events will be in the form of a facilitated conversation with four panel members chosen based on their lived experience of the topic being discussed; as part of their role within their organisation; or expertise in the subject. JUST Lincolnshire will ensure that this discussion place is one of respect and space to listen and be heard.
We hope this will provide an opportunity for us all to join JUST Lincolnshire in their aims to:
- Change the divisive nature of some of the conversation. We seek to provide a safe space and facilitate respectful discussion.
- Challenge, through education, systems, processes, and personal behaviours that discriminate against others and place barriers in the way of personal progress.
- Champion the work of allies, both locally and nationally, that seek to empower and enable the voice of BAME communities to be heard.
- Collaborate with all those who seek to bring real change in the challenging and removal of racism and discrimination.
- Celebrate the diverse population of Lincolnshire and the contribution of BAME communities to the life of the county.
The panel members are:
Our Panel:
RHon Stuart Lawrence Stuart Lawrence, Younger brother of Stephen Lawrence. A motivational and public speaker with over 20 yrs experience as a youth engagement specialist. DIVERSITY, INCLUSION, GRIEF, YOUTH ENGAGEMENT SPECIALIST Family History, Adversity, Motivation, Inspiration. Stuart now spends the majority of his recent time with the Stephen Lawrence Foundation to help promote the Stephen Lawrence Day (22nd April) and also as a keynote/motivational speaker. His Mother, Doreen Lawrence was elevated to the peerage as Baroness on 6th September 2013 and is formally styled Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, in the Commonwealth Realm of Jamaica. The honour is rare for being designated after a location in a Commonwealth realm outside the United Kingdom, and due to her not being married the rights that would be bestowed on her husband pass on to her son, Stuart. Thus his full title is now ‘ The Right Honourable Stuart Andrew Lawrence’. Alongside and in honour of this he has now dedicated himself full time to fighting the cause, named ‘ This is not My Son’s Fight’ to ensure that the young people of today have an idea about the consequences of their actions against others and importance of inclusion through preaching tolerance and celebrating difference.
Amanda Ward has been teaching within the primary sector for 23 years. During this time, Amanda has had a variety of roles both in schools and beyond, working in Initial Teacher Training and as part of the county English team in the early part of her career. She is currently employed as a Teaching and Learning Leader at Boston West Academy, a post she has held for 3 years. Amanda has been involved with Just Lincolnshire since 2016 when we took part in the Freedom trail and has been inspired to work alongside the team there since then, helping the children she teaches to understand the importance of equality and respect. Both of these are part of our school core values of CARE (collaboration, attitude, ) respect and equality.
Chelsea Way
SLCT’s Head of Operations, Chelsea Way. She will be invaluable in facilitating new relationships, strengthening existing ones and leading on evaluations. Chelsea’s experience is in supporting organisations in the public, voluntary and community sectors through Inclusion and Diversity initiatives. She has worked at a national level with organisations such as Arts Council England and is committed to equality, diversity and improving access to the services for people in sectors with clear under-representation. Within her role as Head of Operations for the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, she oversees the delivery and strategic direction of the Trust’s operations, all to support the agenda of Social Mobility.
Gary Headland Gary Headland was appointed as the CEO of the Lincoln College Group on 4 August 2014. He is responsible for three further education and higher education colleges in the UK which are located in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Newark. Gary is also responsible for colleges in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a range of other UK commercial and international education programmes. Gary is a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Lincolnshire. He also holds voluntary offices as the Chairman of the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce, Regional Chairman of the Institute of Directors in the East Midlands, Non-Executive Director of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership, a Midlands Engine Export Champion for the Department of International Trade and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee of Lincoln Cathedral.
JUST Lincolnshire would like those attending these events to be able to ask questions and make a meaningful contribution but as this conversation will be held virtually it will be more difficult to have a flowing questions and answer session. Therefore, we ask that questions you may wish to see addressed are submitted via this anonymous form https://tinyurl.com/y6oxjy7n
Register your interest in the event here: https://tinyurl.com/yy7wv72x