Weekend of free events at festival The Writeidea Festival, the council’s flagship reading event, is now in its sixth year and attracts a crop of distinguished writers. It runs from November 14-16 at Idea Store Whitechapel. Festival speakers Among those taking part in the Writeidea Festival are Tariq Ali, Owen Jones, Shazia Mirza and Nick Cohen. www.writeideafestival.org News ‘Exceptional’ talents BY SHALINA HUSSAIN A SHORT story competition organised by the council has been inundated with entries. More than 300 manuscripts submitted for the Writeidea Prize have been whittled down to a shortlist of seven, with three writers from the borough. The winner of the competition will be announced at the council’s flagship literary festival, Writeidea 2014, over the weekend of November 14- 16 at Idea Store Whitechapel. Rowena Macdonald, C G Menon and Farrah Yusuf all hail from Tower Hamlets and the remaining four finalists are Andrew Blackman from Kent, C G Menon Rowena Macdonald Farrah Yusuf Tracy Fells from West Sussex, Umi Sinha from East Sussex and Melanie Whipman from Surrey. Mayor Lutfur Rahman said: “The panel was extremely impressed with the quality and range of the short stories. This made drawing up the shortlist a difficult task as the entries were exceptional. ” Cllr Shafiqul Haque, cabinet member for culture, added: “I would like to congratulate all of the writers who entered and look forward to finding out who will walk away with the coveted Writeidea Prize.” The judging panel is led by author and Writeidea festival patron Alex Wheatle, who was 3-9 November 2014 Join the council’s youth workers and community organisations in celebrating the achievements of young people across the borough next week. A series of events, workshops and activities have been planned to empower young people with skills for life. Council scoops apprentice award THE council has won an award for helping to create apprenticeships. Commitments have been secured for more than 550 new apprenticeships through negotiations with council suppliers, primarily via Tower Hamlets Homes and the IT contractor Agilisys. A total of 101 apprentices have already been trained by council contractors and the council has secured apprenticeships with employers across a range of sectors including housing, waste, arts, business and ICT. Collectively, the work has supported the borough to achieve its highest ever recorded employment rate. The award for best work with supply chains and/or local businesses to create new apprenticeships was provided by London Councils, which represents all local authorities in London. Deputy Mayor and cabinet member for jobs, skills & enterprise, Cllr Oliur Rahman, said: “Apprenticeships provide an excellent learning and working platform for young people. “We are committed to ensuring that our young people have the best training and employment opportunities possible.” For information contact Skillsmatch on 7364 3727. awarded an MBE for services to literature in 2008. The winner will be announced on Sunday, November 16 at an awards ceremony at 2.30pm. To read the stories visit www.writeideafestival.org/ writeidea-prize – some stories deal with adult themes and some contain strong language. To get involved or find out what’s on near you visit www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/youth CELEBRATING YOUTH WORK WEEK 27 OCTOBER – 2 NOVEMBER 2014 N E W S F R O M T O W E R H A M LETS COUNCIL AND YOUR COMMUNITY 11
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