Thursday 20 October 2005

Councillor censured for refusing to discuss Queens Market

On Tuesday, Green Street Community Forum's steering group passed an unopposed motion of censure of Cllr June Leitch, who refused to answer questions relating to the proposed redevelopment of Queens Market at the Forum's public meeting on 20 September (see earlier report)

Cllr Harvinder Virdee, the Forum's chair, has been asked to write to Mayor Sir Robin Wales communicating the steering group's feelings, although on previous form, it is extremely unlikely that the Mayor will even respond. This is the most obvious weakness of the ten Community Forums in the borough - in theory they are central to the council's cnsultation with local people, but in practice they are ignored.

The
Green Street Community Forum has also agreed to organise a public meeting specifically on Queens Market. This has been provisionally scheduled for 15th November, but given the level of local interest, the Forum plans to try and hold the meeting at West Ham Football Club, so the date may change.

Tuesday 11 October 2005

NMP Launches 'Back in Da Dayz' Young Writers Awards

The NMP Anti-Racist Trust is celebrating the 25th anniversary of Newham Monitoring Project with the launch of the Back in Da Dayz Young Writers Award, an oral history project aimed at encouraging young people to collect and record the experiences of immigrant communities in overcoming racism in Newham.

The project, funded by the Department of Education's Local Network Fund, has developed guidance for young people in conducting interviews and is seeking written interviews, prose, short stories, newspaper articles or a scene from a play, based on conversations with someone who has settled in the borough as an immigrant or refugee.


If you work in a school or with a youth group in Newham and want to get involved, contact NMP at
director@nmp.org.uk for publicity materials and copies of the guidance brochure.

Friday 7 October 2005

Newham Opposition to War and Racism Launches Statement Against Arms Fair

Newham Opposition to War and Racism, in conjunction with East London Against the Arms Fair and Campaign Against Arms Trade, is launching a statement calling for the widest public support from residents and organisations in Newham to ensure that this year's DSEi arms fair will be the last.

The NOWAR network organised a public meeting against the DSEi arms fair in September, which brought together a spectrum of groups with very different tactics for opposing the presence of the arms trade in Newham. The statement adopts a similar approach, aiming to be inclusive enough for all those who reject both the hosting of an arms fair in the borough and the
impact of the arms industry in increasing the likelihood of armed conflict and prolonging conflicts once they begin.

To show our support, Radical Activist Newham is hosting a version of the statement allowing people to sign up online.

To add your name or that of your organisation, check the NOWAR website at www.nowar.org.uk

Random Blowe | Original articles licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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