NVSC - Newham Voluntary Sector Consortium
June 13, 2008
Council tries to take over voluntary sector!
Newham Council have decided that the way to deal with the voluntary sector is to take it over!
What began as consultation proposals in January of this year, on how the Council should fund organisations which support the Third Sector (i.e. Voluntary, Community and Faith Sectors) have now become a naked attempt to exert Town Hall control over what the sector says and does.
Of course, that isn't how it should be. During the consultation period, NVSC organised two key meetings:
1. ChangeUp Partnership joint meeting with the LAA Steering Group.
2. A sector-wide meeting to which all of our members were invited.
At the meetings organised by NVSC there was lively debate and very clear messages were conveyed to the council about our view of a thriving third sector. Since these meeting took place, there have been no formal feedback to the sectors and no timescales for moving the specification forward.
Independence
At our AGM in April we learnt that a paper was to be presented to the Newham Partnership Board on the future arrangements for elected representation on the Newham Partnership Board - the sectors have had no elected representation since July 2007. This report was not made available before the meeting, which is a clear breach of the Newham Compact.
The report plumbed new depths in an already strained relationship between the Council and the Third Sector. The overriding message that comes across in the report is that the Third Sector is not actually a partner on the Newham Partnership Board
A Local Strategic Partnership is required to include the Third Sector and had done in Newham until the review last year. The very fact that the Council think that they should be organising and chairing a Voluntary Sector Forum, seems to sum up how far away Newham Council are from the Governments Agenda. Not only will this duplicate the forums and networks already established over the past six years, but sends a very clear message that threatens the independence of third sector representation.
There are some positives in the report - the sectors have always argued for greater dialogue, more partnership working and a greater understanding of the services that are delivered, but one thing needs to be understood: the Third Sector in Newham is independent - and that means that it is for the sectors to decide where, when and how they will be involved in working with the Council. The sector will guard it's independence with the same energy and creativity which has ensured that we bring added value and new opportunities to the people of Newham whom we serve.
The report implies that NVSC is no longer providing support to the Third Sector - NVSC will continue to provide the services that it has done so for the past 6 years, not only through Change Up but also through facilitating sector meetings, maintaining services that have been shaped by the sectors and in response to what they think is important.
Vital Services
NVSC will continue to put the case that there should be elected representatives on the NPB and will continue to facilitate sector involvement and, at times, be the voice of the sector at both a local and strategic level.
It has taken 11 months for the Newham Partnership Board to realise that there are no elected reps from the Sectors on that Board - it is now going to take them a further 6 months for the Council to commission another review as to how the Council will decide on who the sector elects to represent them. But even though they know that there aren't any elected reps, they have arranged for an officer from the Council to support the reps to enable them to have meaningful input into meetings!
Partnership
Council officers continue to expect the Third Sector to respond to a myriad of demands - and in most cases we do so, but to even suggest that the Council should provide support to the Third Sector or for that matter to dictate who should represent us is fundamentally wrong.
To read the full Council report click here.
Funding News
Health & Belief
This new pilot grants programme is funded jointly by Church Urban Fund and London Catalyst, supporting faith-based community projects tackling poverty related health inequalities in London.
If your social action group or small voluntary organisation is based in London and has an annual income of less than £150,000, then you could apply for a grant for up to £10,000. Download the flyer below for more information (please note that you will need to download Adobe Reader to read this document). Download Health and Belief flyer at www.tinyurl.com/68xkf7 (PDF 40 KB).
Vcashpoint
vcashpoint offers grants of up to £2500 for young people aged 16 to 25 in England to set up their own volunteering projects in their local community. It is NOW OPEN for applications from young people (not youth workers or organisations). 16-25 year olds can apply online on www.vinspired.com.
vcashpoint will fund NEW projects or ideas which aim to expand or develop previously completed projects - these are projects which have been carried out once in the past and where the applicant wants to develop the idea further and do something different for a short, defined period of time, involving new young volunteers. All projects must create NEW volunteering opportunities for 16-25 year olds, be youth-led, take place in England and benefit a chosen community.
If the young person applying for funding is a youth worker, the project must have no link to their area of work and must be carried out outside of their working hours. vcashpoint must be the only source of funding for the project.
Tesco Charity Trust Community Awards (UK)
Community and voluntary groups whose core work is supporting children's welfare or education, elderly people and people with disabilities have the opportunity to apply for grants of between £1,000 and £5,000.
Organisations supporting elderly people and people with disabilities need to apply by the 30 June 2008. Organisations supporting children's welfare and children's educational projects, including special needs schools need to apply by 31st January each year.
For Awards criteria and application forms visit: www.tescocorporate.com/charitablegiving.htm
Will the 2012 Olympics be “Fools Gold”?
Previous Olympic Games have brought no real benefits to local communities and there is every likelihood that London 2012 will go the same way - that's the worrying premise of a recent report from the New Economics Foundation and Community Links.
The report catalogues a series of failures at all the recent Olympics. At the Games in Athens and Barcelona job creation was temporary and left no overall increase in employment. As for homes, each of the four previous host cities saw house prices rise by more than the national average in the run up to the Games. Fine for current home owners but for those who rent accommodation the results can be disastrous.
At Barcelona new house prices rose by 250% - with the result that those in rented accommodation were forced out. At Sydney in 2000 rents soared and landlords evicted tenants. Newham has one of the highest levels of rent housing in London - so there is a real fear that the same problem will recur between now and 2012.
The Government's rose-tinted view that the Olympics will bring benefits to local communities is based on the discredited "trickle down theory" that massive investment in physical structures is bound to bring substantial spin offs to local people. But top-down regeneration rarely delivers on its promises to local residents.
Just look at Newham Docklands and the Excel Centre. Lavish claims were made that these developments would bring jobs, better homes and a range of other benefits but little of this happened.
Trickle down doesn't work
Despite the rhetoric surrounding the Games specific agreements on community benefits are scarce - and what commitments exist are not being developed in partnership with the community. Unless voluntary and community sector organisations intervene then Newham's communities will continue to be marginalised and despite politician's promises there will be no real community benefits from the 2012 Games.
NEF have a produced a 10 point plan aimed at producing a beneficial local legacy. Not all their proposals will be welcomed (some of the examples they give of potential partners stretch the definition of third sector to breaking point. They include some commercial organisations that do not have a good track record of working with, let alone, for local communities) but they have kicked off a debate which must now be broadened to all of the voluntary and community sector in Newham and East London.
Even before the London Mayoral election, the Olympic Delivery Authority retracted its pledge that 50% of homes on the Olympic Park would be affordable.
Unless we all do something about it this will just be one of a string of broken promises. It's time we started campaigning for a real say in what the Games will mean for East London and for firm pledges around jobs, homes and community benefits. This valuable report has produced some good ideas but now it needs to be backed up with action.
Fools Gold - How the 2012 Olympics is selling East London short and a 10 point plan for a more positive local legacy - contact: info@neweconomics.org for more details.
Goodbye & Good Luck
After 6 years as NVSC's "main man", Saifur Valli is leaving us to take up a new challenge as Administrator for a National organisation. We are delighted that Saifur will be continuing to use his skills for the benefit of the Voluntary Sector.
Saifur has been responsible for keeping you all up to date with information, the person who has answered hundreds of queries, has kept the database up to date, helped groups with their IT queries, accommodated your photocopying needs - the list is endless. He is the person who most people will have spoken to on the phone, but probably never met!
The staff and Board of Trustees of NVSC would like to thank Saifur for his huge contribution to the development and success of NVSC and wish him all the best in his new job
Sector Meetings
Three important sector meetings are taking place next month. These meetigns will have important issues to discuss - including whether the sectors should continue to be represented by independent organisations like NVSC , who are accountable to the sectors, or whether we should allow the Council to take control of who speaks for our sectors and also handpick sector "representatives" who will do what the Council says.
The details of the meetings are:
Voluntary sector: 17th July, 10am - 12noon
Faith sector: 23rd July, 2pm - 4pm
Community sector: 29th July, 4pm - 6pm
All meetings will be held at Bryant Street Methodist Centre, Bryant Street,
Stratford, E15 4RU
And the winner is…IROKO Theatre Company.
NVSC would like to thank all those that participated in evaluating our services and to help us plan for future services.
On Wednesday 28th May 2008, Alex Oma-Pius of IROKO Theatre Company was the lucky winner of a state of the art CD/Radio portable Hi-Fi. The prize draw involved all the organisations who completed our evaluation form.
Alex said - "On behalf of the Management Committee of IROKO, I would like to say thank you so much for the presentation of the CD player to IROKO. The dinky handset will be very useful for the company. IROKO will be working a lot in Newham during the next few months, holding workshops and Family Fun Days and I have no doubt that the CD player will come in useful then".
Sarah said “I am delighted that IROKO will be able to make good use of the radio and CD player - they are one of the many community organisations that we have had a long relationship with and have seen the organisation grow and develop.”
Newham Refugees & Migrants Forum
The Newham Refugees and Migrants Forum will be organising this year's refugee week festival on saturday 21st june at Little Ilford School, Church Road, Manor Park E12 from 10am to 6pm. The theme for this years festival is 'different pasts, shared future'.
This year's festival is organised jointly with the Albanian Summer Day. There will be lot's of fun activities for children and young people, cultural performances, workshops, community stalls etc. This is an opportunity to meet refugees, celebrate their contributions to society and learn more about their issues.
This year's festival is organised on a small scale due to funding constraints. The organisers will value any support to make the event more successful.
This is a free community event.
For more information about the festival, please contact sarjoh aziz kamara on 020 8552 2050 / 07949262682 or email: newremiforum@yahoo.co.uk
Rosetta Art Centre ……a new era
Formally known as Rosetta Studio Workshops, it was first established by ex University Lecturer, Yvonne Humble, in 1993 and based in a single classroom at Rosetta Primary School, Canning Town. In 1995, the studio moved to its present location at Hamilton Road Centre, Hamilton Road, Stratford, E15.
Yvonne Humble has now moved on to pursue other interests and Rosetta is now Headed by Sanaz Amidi, Trisha McCauley, Systems Administrator and Steve Marriott
Our mission at RAC is to support and develop individuals in creative and artistic fields. Our aims and objectives are to:
Promote and make the arts present and accessible to all within Newham
To instil a positive attitude towards learning that shows it to be a life long process.
To stimulate curiosity through learning projects tackling unfamiliar problems.
To recognise individual talents and develop their creative capacity.
To recognise the demands of employers, colleges, Universities etc..
To provide its services without discrimination on the basis of race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, political and religious beliefs, social class, disability and age.
To enable students to acquire the necessary education to earn a living or to enter skilled occupations/professions or to enter Higher Education.
To maintain Centre as a caring community with relationships based on tolerance and goodwill.
To foster habits of responsibility - self discipline - taking initiative- endeavour-individual judgement.
We provide a wide range of vocational and non-vocational art education courses including City & Guilds and AS/ A Levels in:
Ceramics
Textiles
Costume Design
Fashion
Photography
Drawing
Watercolour
Oil Painting
We also support the Professional Development Group (PDG)
The PDG are a group of resident artists who have spent many years developing their artistic skills and are now embarking on a professional career within the Creative Industries. They are currently working on Free Works of Art for Local Businesses and recently exhibited at Like What I See, Holborn. An event in collaboration with Ernst and Young to help raise funds for the Princes Trust Charity.
The project is designed to give PDG members experience of working with a commercial client to present and discuss their portfolio of work and be commissioned a piece of artwork based on the client’s wants and needs. The agreement is that the work is exhibited for at least one month at business premises in order to promote the artists work.
Useless Art?
RAC is also working in partnership with University of East London, New Deal for Communities and Rial Café. With representatives from each organisation forming The Useless Art Group (UAG) created this year to encourage the arts to flourish by developing facilities, premises, resources and ongoing arts programmes mainly within Newham. With a view to involve and empower the whole community, reflect and celebrate cultural diversity, improve the quality of life and contribute to social inclusion strategies.
UAG has so far been successfully running a series of exhibitions at The Hub in Star Lane, Canning Town. Which currently features an exhibition on Post Colonialism: In Progress with work by Raymond Daley, Gary Tennant (RAC student) and Helen Weekes.
Further details about Rosetta Art Centre can be found on our website:
www.RosettaArts.org email info@rosettaarts.org. Or contact Sanaz Amidi or Trisha McCauley on 0207 511 1117,
Rosetta Art Centre (RAC) is a non-profit organisation, supported by its Members and Newham Community Education and Youth Services.
Tajweed Taster Course with Qari Hasan Bukhari
How well do you recite the Qur’an? Did you know that it is obligatory to recite the Qur’an correctly?
This 2 day course is designed to give students a taster in Qira'ah and Tajweed.
The course is designed to develop the taste for reciting the Qur'an correctly and melodiously like Qaris do so well.
If you are interested in improving your recitation and would like to gain the spiritual benefits of reciting the Qur'an beautifully and inspiring others with beautiful recitation, this course is for you. The course will also act as an excellent primer for a sustained study of Tajweed on one of EC’s regular Tajweed courses.
Learn and train with the renowned Qari, Sheikh Syed Hasan Bukhari, (student of Sheikh Hudaifi, Imam of masjid-nabawi Madinah)
Teacher: Qari Syed Hassan Bokhari
Dates: 21st and 22nd June 10am-5pm (Weekend intensive)
Fees: £50
Discounts: £40 for students and unemployed
£10 off if you register and pay by 16th June
To register or to find out more about what’s on this summer at Ebrahim College, call 020 7377 6677, email courses@ebrahimcollege.org.uk or visit our website at www.ebrahimcollege.org.uk
East Ham Health & Fitness Event
East Ham Community Forum are holding a healthy living event at The Flanders Community Centre on Saturday 5th July 2008 from 11am to 2pm. There will be fun sports activities, healthy cooking demonstration and an information and advice zone where people can find out about health services, nutrition tips and ways in which to get fit locally.
If you would like more information about the event, or would like to discuss the possibility of having a stall, please email: sabeena.subba@newham.gov.uk
Office accommodation available to rent for new and small charities.
The following office space is available at Race Equality in Newham:
First Floor – 2 offices.
(1) Accommodates at least 8 workers.
Furniture provided together with internet access, and shared use of the large conference room on the ground floor.
Rent - £7,500k per annum. Negotiable. Payable quarterly in advance.
(2) Accommodates at least 4 workers.
Furniture provided together with internet access, and shared use of the large conference room on the ground floor.
Rent - £5,500k per annum. Negotiable. Payable quarterly in advance.
For further details including viewing please call Valerie Brown or Marie Casey on: 020 7473 5349 email info@rein.uk.com
Would you like to gain experience working as a Freelance designer
Eastside Community Heritage is a community history/oral history organisation working across East and South East London recording, documenting and preserving people's history.
Over the past fifteen years Eastside has worked with over 10000 individuals, 600 organisations, produced 80 exhibitions, published 16 books and undertaken a total of 45 community based projects. Much of the organisation's work relies on intergenerational and intercultural practice.
The organisation is looking to recruit a pool of freelance designers to work on a variety of design and multimedia projects. You must have experience and knowledge of some of the following: Photoshop, Deamweaver, Final cut pro, Soundforge, QuarkxPress.
Please send your CV and covering letter to Judith Garfield, Eastside Community Heritage, Unit 8, 44 Gillender Street, London E14 6RP or email: office@ech.org.uk
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