MODA will offer a four-day training programme in December 2007:

MODA’s AGM and International Food Fair

MODA’s AGM was as usual a successful event. In addition to formal business that included approving annual report and accounts, election of management committee and reappointment of auditors, there were interesting presentations, speeches and poems as well as a specail seminar on “empowering participation of disadvantaged groups.
Then MODA members (over 50 people) celebrated International World Tolerance Day on the 16th November 2007 by inviting groups to bring and share dishes and cultural artistry from around the world.
Our wonderful feast of delicious foods included Bursalid and sambusa from Somalia, dolma and pilaw rice dishes from Kurdistan, chicken biryani and fish dishes from Bangladesh, pomegranate and lentil salad, tabouleh and rice dishes from Iraq, aubergine salad from Romania, West African jollof rice, banana rice cake and ginger beer from Sierra Leone, a Yugoslavian fish dish, Burmese salad, curry and naan breads from India and Pakistan and Kosovan pastries.
We were also very pleased to invite Iraqi artist Ghada Habib to display some of her paintings.
Special thanks to MODA volunteers Sanja Molloy, Mihaela Baduta, Farhana Chowdhury and Naba Kadhim for all their assistance with this event and organisation of AGM.
MODA would like to say a big thank you all groups who supported the event including Bengali Women and Children’s Association, Bow and Bethnal Green Somali Community, BRICKS, Harrow Somali Youth Forum, Iraqi Women’s League, KANGA, Kurdish Association, Migrant Resource Centre, Myanmar-Burma Relief and Welfare Association, Gargaar Somali Welfare Association, Somali Welfare Centre, Talented Artists International, Ukrainian Migrants’ Voice Initiative, West London Refugee Women’s Forum, Umubano Rwandan Community Group and Zhinan Kurdish Women’s Union

Thanks too to Jospehine Vandi from Talented Artists International for her acrostic poem written specially for MODA’s World Tolerance Day celebration.

T- hrough this initiative of Tolerance and Understanding
O-ur world can unite for peace and better living
L – et love be the Key in each deliberation
E- nhance this bond in this year’s Celebration
R-egardless of Race, Colour, or Creed
A –llow this Project to expel all hate and greed
N-obly with Tolerance, Skills and Abilities
C-almly “Make A Difference” in communities
E-xperience God’s blessings in all activities

Good news for MODA members and users. We now have our own training room at 1 Mark street with enough space for up to 20 trainees. From January 2008, we will run regular training programmes every month. We will publish the details of our programme in the next E-bulletin. Community groups needing room for meetings and training can hire the training room from £10 per hour.

Monday 10 – Tuesday 11 December 2007
The QEII Conference Centre, Westminster, London SW1P 3EE

The Guardian and Neil Stewart Associates present Diverse Britain 2007: Promoting Race Equality supported by the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. Diverse Britain 2007 is the UK’s landmark annual event on race equality and will be invaluable for professionals, managers and campaigners with a role in equality and social justice.

Themes raised by keynote speakers will be explored in interviews, discussions and workshops. There will be significant opportunity for formal and informal networking with other participants. The programme will look at the future for multiculturalism in the UK and explore how racial equality is progressing in government, education, the criminal justice system, health, culture and the arts and in business.

For further information click here or contact Natasha McDonough on 020 7324 4357 or by e-mail natasha.mcdonough@neilstewartassociates.co.uk
Cost for Delegates from voluntary organisations, schools and trade unions: Both Days: £295.00 + VAT (£346.63) ; One Day Only: £199 + VAT (£233.83)

6 December 2007, Westminster.

Speakers:
Liam Byrne MP – Minister of State for Immigration, Nationality and Citizenship (invited)
Neil Gerrard MP – Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees
Linden Rowley – Senior Associate, Institute of Community Cohesion; Joint Author of ‘Estimating the Scale and Impacts of Migration at Local Level’
Keith Best – Chief Executive, Immigration Advisory Service
Mark Carroll – Director for the Race, Cohesion and Faiths Directorate, Department for Communities and Local Government (invited)
Cheryl Coppell – Chief Executive, Slough Borough Council (invited)

This Westminster Briefing will give delegates the opportunity to discuss how best to provide effective public services, such as health, housing, education and law and order, within existing budget constraints for rapidly growing populations. This Briefing will also look at how to deal with the potential tensions communities can encounter through increased ethnic diversity.

For further information and a booking form click here.

11 December 2007, Venue: LVRSC

This ROTA conference will present evidence-based recommendations on:
- Barriers to accessing homelessness services and service needs of individuals from BAME groups in London
- Routes out of worklessness for BAME homeless individuals and
- Best practice in strengthening referral and information sharing links between BAME services and mainstream homelessness organisations

Delegate workshops will provide solutions to challenges faced by BAME homeless individuals, mainstream homelessness organisations and BAME services.

For further information and to book a place click here.

Wednesday, 9 January 2008
City Hall, The Queen's Walk, London SE1 2AA

This ground breaking conference will be the culmination of the Older Refugees Programme - a 2-year partnership initiative, funded by Lloyds TSB, between Age Concern England, the Refugee Council, Age Concern London and the Greater London Association of Older Women (AGLOW), focusing on the issues, challenges and service needs of older refugees and asylum-seekers.
The conference, hosted by the Greater London Authority, will present the findings and key messages from the programme. It is aimed at an audience of service providers and policy makers responsible for addressing the needs of older refugees and asylum-seekers. The day will be a unique opportunity to explore how existing and potential initiatives can help to reduce the isolation experienced by many older refugees and promote their integration into the local community and wider society.

To register your interest in attending this FREE conference please email: refugees@ace.org.uk or call 020 8765 7523.

Saturday 1 December 2007, 12:00-16:30
Transport House (TGWU headquarters), 128 Theobalds Road, Holborn, London, WC1X 8TN

Speakers:
Yvonne Marimo (Zimbabwe Women Network UK)
Kat Stark (NUS - Female Officer)
Hind Hassan ( NUS - Black Women Officer)
Carys Afoko (ACTSA Dignity Period Campaign)
Lois Davies ( WOZA Solidarity-UK)
Wizz Bishop ( Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum)


The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign that was started by the Center for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) in 1991. The 16 Days runs from November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women to December 10, International Human Rights Day to symbolically link violence against women and human rights and to emphasise that such violence is a violation of human rights.
This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including December 1, which is World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre in 1989, when 14 women students were massacred by a lone gun-man opposed to the affirmative action policies promoted by feminists at the University of Montreal.
Zimbabwe as being one of the African state which has experienced these negligence on the rights of Women and girl child it is time we rise up and organise Diaspora strategy by women's groups to call for the elimination of violence against women.

For further information contact: Free-Zim Youth, Yeukai Taruvinga 07765215536, Marceline Mutikori 07769850058, email: freezimcoordinator@yahoo.co.uk.

ENAR has recently launched the 3rd edition of its "Shadow Report on Racism in Europe". The report draws on 26 national shadow reports produced by ENAR members across the EU and highlights the trends and common patterns of discrimination affecting ethnic minorities across Europe.
To read the European Report click here. (National reports ara available here).

ECRI has published a new study on “Ethnic” statistics and data protection in the Council of Europe countries. Written by Patrick Simon, from the Paris-based Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques (INED), the study presents an overview of the existing legal and practical framework for ethnic data collection in Europe. It also seeks to answer the question of whether data protection laws really hinder the collection of the data needed to combat racial discrimination, or whether the unsatisfactory state of statistics on this type of discrimination is due to other factors. To download the report click here.

Asylum Aid is recruiting a part-time Casework Assistant (17.5 hours per week, 6 month contract). The deadline for receipt of applications is 10.00am on Monday 3rd December. For further information click here.

Asylum Aid is an independent agency providing free advice, representation and support to asylum-seekers in the UK. They are a small, vibrant organisation with committed and expert staff and volunteers. They are among the leading agencies working with refugees in the UK and campaigning for a just asylum system.

Application deadline, December 17th 2007

Bangladeshi Women's Society is looking for experienced Tutors for the following subjects to teach children on Saturdays, for 30 weeks beginning in January.

BANGLA – for 1 hour - Experience teaching Bengali to GCSE standard required
ENGLISH – for 2 hours
MATHS – for 2 hours
ARTS AND CRAFTS / YOUTH WORK – for 1 hour

For an application form please write to Bangladeshi Women’s Society, 160 High Road, Leyton, London, E15 2BX. Email: info@bws.org.uk

Closing date for applications is Monday 3rd December 2007.
Salary £24,690 ; Location: Brixton, London. Ref: L/0072

It is an exciting time to join the Refugee Council; with a new Chair of the Trustees and a new Chief Executive we are ready for the start of a new phase in our history.
At a time when asylum seekers and refugees remain among the most marginalised, misunderstood and vulnerable groups in our society, effective campaigning and successful integration are priorities. The Refugee Council is developing services to meet the needs of our clients through the provision of support, counselling and training. We are supporting people to navigate the complex asylum process and helping refugees to reach their potential and go on to lead happier and more fulfilling lives. An important part of this is the lobbying and campaigning work we do to uphold and proect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees, and our work with politicians and the media to try and influence the debate.

In your role as Institutional Giving Officer your aim will be to secure income from charitable trusts, corporate partners and statutory sources. You will be joining a team working to the second year of a new strategy, which will support us to maximise on our existing high value relationships with trusts and corporate supporters, increase income through establishing new funding partnerships and develop as a high performing team.

The Refugee Council is looking for an experience fundraiser with strong relationship building skills and the motivation and energy to implement a new strategy.

For further information and an application pack click here.