Contact the mayor To contact the mayor, call his office on 7364 4993 or email him at mayor@towerhamlets.gov.uk73 www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/mayor News School’s new era IT is the dawn of a bright new era for Bow School now its £30 million buildings have officially opened. This state-of-the-art school means the council has achieved the milestone of having refurbished or rebuilt all 18 secondary schools in the borough. The capacity of Bow School has been more than doubled and the extra space has allowed the former boys’ school to educate girls for the first time. It has also opened a sixth form and is able to offer new courses, including a full range of A Levels and more GCSEs. Tower Hamlets pupils have helped put us on the national educational map for achievement. Now they have excellent facilities to help them reach even greater success in future. It was great news to hear this week that Victoria Park has been voted the UK’s favourite park, winning the Green Flag People’s Choice Award 2014. I am delighted this treasure has regained the prestigious accolade it held in 2012. Tower Hamlets has a proud tradition of building community cohesion. I was pleased we organised events during national Hate Crime Awareness Week to publicise good work done locally by council, police and voluntary organisations to stamp out this crime. R3cycler, the borough’s new recycling robot made from recycled materials, is a creative and fun way to interest children and families in protecting the environment. The robot attended assembly at St Mary and St Michael Catholic Primary School and will be making many more appearances at schools and events in the coming months. As usual there will be plenty of thrills and chills for young people during Halloween, thanks to a series of free family events organised by the council. Highlights include fun days at King Edward Memorial Park and Bartlett Park, the Teeny Halloweeny event at Mile End Play Park and many more. I hope you and your children will find something to enjoy. Mayor Lutfur Rahman Festival uses its imagination The theme of this year’s Somali Week Festival is Imagination, and features poets, artists, playwrights, writers, musicians and scholars performing and talking about their work. www.kayd.org Let’s hear it for the girls Youngsters’ message on mistreatment around the world BY JAMES MARTIN YOUNG campaigners in Bow played their part in a worldwide movement against the abuse and mistreatment of girls. A graffiti workshop formed the centrepiece of a day held to mark International Day of the Girl on Saturday, October 11. The event, at Fern Street Settlement near Devons Road, was part of Eden Youth Project’s work scheme ‘Be’ which is funded by the Bromley by Bow community ward forum. Girls and young women got to try out street art and create campaign slogans while discussing female rights. Coralie, 12, said: “As well as looking at some of the more comical things we didn’t like about being girls, such as having to shave or sort out our hair, we explored more serious issues such as child brides, sexual assault and the high mortality rate amongst women giving birth in developing countries.” She added: “We got to meet new girls from the area from different cultures.” From left: Lucy, Olivia and Rohisha at the graffiti workshop child poverty development organisation. “In some parts of the world, growing up as a girl can mean being denied the right to go to school, being subjected to violence or being married off as a child,” said Tanya Barron, chief executive of Plan UK. “But if we all stand together, we can send a clear message that no girl should be denied those rights because of her gender.” Eden Bow works with girls each Monday in its group called Gem, aimed at those in school years 6-8. For those in years 8- 11, it is running more ‘Be’ holiday activities. The next session, Be Safe, is being held between Thursday, October 30 and Saturday, November 1 at 2-5pm at Fern Street Settlement. To find out more, contact bow@eden-network.org FGM conference Rebecca, who also took part in the activities, said: “Being a girl means that we get treated differently and people think we aren’t good enough for certain things.” During the workshop, Graffiti Life artists Iona and Rosie were on hand to teach art skills and helped participants create a piece for display at the Settlement. They also watched a video created by Plan International, a OCEAN Somali Community Association is holding a conference on female genital mutilation (FGM), as part of this year’s Somali Week Festival. The conference, at Oxford House in Derbyshire Street, Bethnal Green, aims to discuss ways to strengthen the campaign to end FGM. The meeting will also look at ways of working with other Somali and non-Somali campaigns and addressing loopholes in current UK law. Taking place on Tuesday, October 21 from 1-5pm, the conference will include a screening of the film by Justice For FGM Victims that highlights the way countries such as Kenya and France have tackled FGM in contrast to the UK. On Monday, October 20, from 4-6pm, there will also be a session at Oxford House entitled Educate a Girl: Empower a Woman. The event will showcase successful British Somali women from different fields who will share their experiences. Speakers will include Bow East councillor Amina Ali, film maker Leyla Bile and journalist and youth activist Hanan Bihi. Both events are free. CITY REALTOR The Landlords Choice TURN KEY SERVICE Leave the keys with us and we will take care of the rest PRICE PROMISE We will beat your current deal ARMCHAIR INVESTMENT Sit back and watch your investment grow £500 CASH ON SIGNING No commission, no voids, no stress Free refurbishment + maintenance Dedicated management + maintenance team Professional vetted tenants only Bespoke packages to suit your needs TREAT YOURSELF 3 MONTHS RENT IN ADVANCE GUARANTEED RENT 020 7790 7702 to www.cityrealtor.co.uk | admin@cityrealtor.co.uk 52 Cannon Street Road, London E1 0BH in 6 NEWS FROM TOWER HAMLETS COUNCIL AND YOUR COMMUNITY 20 – 26 OCTOBER 2014
East_End_Life_20Oct2014
To see the actual publication please follow the link above