This is the Edinburgh 2010 Inter-Faith Occasion for World Peace at 28 Great King Street and it offers the challenging title “World Faiths – Creating Peace Now”. Like other inter-faith events the programme covers a great deal of ground – from peace-making in the middle east to women’s peace work in Korea – but it is interesting to see that Thursday’s line-up reflects  what women bring to huge global challenges. Not least because many of the speakers are women.

It is great to see Nahid’s name on the list of speakers, covering a topic that has special relevance at a time when immigration is under a harsh spotlight.  The title of her talk is Peace in the City – Working for Integration.

The event, which starts at 7.30 pm on Thursday 1 July, is organised by Churches and Inter-Faith Peace Work of Uniting for Peace in association with Edinburgh faith communities.  For more information contact Rev Brian Cooper at Uniting for Peace on 0131 446 9545.

By the way, 38 Great King Street is the Edinburgh meeting place of the Theosophical Society – a probably little-known organisation which blends philosophy, science and comparative religions. According to Wikipedia the foremost aim is to form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or colour. That alone  makes the venue worth exploring!

Ola Kasprzak with Malcolm Chisholm

Politicians, preoccupied with political rivalry, can forget the most important thing –  the needs of people they represent

Read Ola Kasprzak’s fascinating and forthright report of her experience  of shadowing two politicians in the Scottish Parliament and City of Edinburgh Council – she says they changed her negative opinion of politicians but her conclusions should be read by anyone standing for election this year. Or any other year.

WHY I WANTED TO TAKE PART?

I saw the Opening Doors shadowing programme as a great opportunity to increase my knowledge about political institutions and decision making processes so that I could make people in my community more aware of their rights and civil responsibilities and empower them to express their needs and concerns.

I think many people do not fully understand politics and realize how it affects the quality of their lives. They often perceive it as very abstract and unconnected to their everyday problems. This in turn can make politics even more distant from the ordinary member of society.

I come from a country where, for at least the last two decades, people have felt disengaged from politics. Frequent changes on the political scene and many scandals created a feeling of confusion, powerlessness and discouragement among Polish society. The situation illustrates how politicians, preoccupied with political rivalry, can forget the most important thing –  the needs of people they represent.

Ola at Swietlica, the Polish drop-in club in Leith

Perhaps these bad experiences help to explain the lack of civil engagement among the Polish community living in Scotland. Financial circumstances and the struggle to satisfy more basic needs may be another element.  Added to that,  the current economic and political climate (scapegoating migrant workers for the rise in unemployment), reinforces tensions and discrimination.  As a result members of ethnic minorities feel more excluded and withdraw further from social and political life.

WHAT I DID?

Shadowing Malcolm Chisholm in the Scottish Parliament and Lesley Hinds in the City of Edinburgh Council gave me a chance to see the work of politicians on two levels. Both of them ensured that I could observe the wide variety of their work.

With Malcolm I could see the work of different committees (Equal Opportunities, Subordinate Legislation and Public Petitions) and find out who they consist of and how they make decisions. I liked the fact that committees ensure public participation  and take into consideration opinions of different witnesses, specialists and members of organisations related to the issue.

The discovery for me was Public Petitions Committee, where every voter can lodge a petition. I think it could really benefit  society if this opportunity was better known.

Being in the Debating Chamber, where the competition between parties was visible in the way they present their views, was also an interesting experience.

Another part of the shadowing scheme I really enjoyed was spending time with Malcolm in the constituency, which included his surgery, visiting local community organizations (Mental Health Project and West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre in particular) and knocking on people’s doors and asking about their concerns. These were actions I did not expect from a politician and they definitely added a human face to the job.

Thanks to Lesley Hinds I was able to see the work of a city councilor, observing the Fire Board Committee and Labour Group discussing different topics and issues before the Council meeting. I discovered that the role of councilor requires a comprehensive knowledge from so many different areas. I also went with Lesley to her surgery, where people come with different concerns but all of them – even those which seem trivial – are treated seriously.

Lesley also gave me the opportunity to shadow her work in other organizations she is involved in, like community council and North Edinburgh Arts Board. It gave me an insight into how people from other communities work together and what they do to improve their lives.

CONCLUSIONS – ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

The shadowing scheme definitely helped to change my negative perception of politicians and increased my trust in them.

Thanks to Malcolm and Lesley I saw a human side of politics. I have learned that politicians are not just distant, patronizing figures, who are focused mainly on their careers but make an effort to be closer to people and hold  dialogue with them on an equal level.  I was  surprised there are so many ways of accessing politicians and politics for an ordinary person  – with public petitions committee as an additional advantage in Scotland. Above all, I have realized that the politician’s role requires a lot of time commitment, organizational skills and extensive knowledge.

However, I think that communication and cooperation between politicians and communities still needs to be improved.

1. Politicians should make an effort to speak to the public but, on the other hand, people have to understand that this is also up to them to improve their lives.
2. More actions should be taken to increase peoples’ awareness of ways of influencing politicians and politics (like, apart from voting in elections, public petitions committee, cross-party groups, politicians’ surgeries and other forms of contacting them).
3. People need to learn more about other forms of civil activity. The importance of their involvement in non-governmental organizations (the third sector) should be emphasized. It is undoubtedly easier to impact politics working together with others. Association gives a group of people an identity and additional strength. Also cooperation and networking between different organizations can result in more creative ideas and give people more voice in political institutions.

I think this would ensure greater understanding of issues different communities and individuals face and help to change their reality for the better.

Ola is now working with local voluntary organisations after studying ‘Working with Communities’ at Jewel and Esk College. She is actively involved in Swietlica, the Polish community group in Edinburgh.

We’ll be glad to have anyone join us who wants to sing. Most of the words and music and recordings of the parts are available on the website: click here  Protest in Harmony songs and you can also download a copy of the songsheet to print out:

It would be great if people could come to this so as many of us as possible start off together. We will walk together to the start point and have stewards who will liaise with the marshals before we set off.

We’ll assemble at Bruntsfield links between 12-12.30 for a 1pm start. The singers are processing in the Present section which is in the middle of the procession- look out for the white /gold assembly point if you’re planning to join the group for the beginning of the Procession. The Protest in Harmony banner will be there so you can look out for that too.

Although we’ll be in “the present”, if you want to dress up, please do. Some of us in Protest in Harmony will be getting our suffragette – type outfits on.  Others are making sashes or wearing suffragette colours (Violet , White and Green)

More information on the Gude Cause website:

Hope to see you there!

Best wishes,

Chris Booth
(for Protest in Harmony)

Thanks to the Gude Cause for letting us use an image from their website.

Some things change. A hundred years ago women were marching up Princes Street demanding the vote.  Tomorrow perhaps more than 4000 women, men and children will be celebrating the occasion and this time they will include women who have been voted into parliament and local government.

They represent all political parties, as the Gude Cause press release points out; there’s Fiona Hyslop,  Scottish Government education secretary, speaking at the Calton hill rally, and marchers including  Sarah Boyack MSP, Marlyn Glen MSP, Johann Lamont MSP, Cathy Peattie MSP, Shirley Ann Somerville MSP and Catherine Stihler MEP (Patrick Harvie will be with them to carry the banner for the Green Party)

All of them dressed in the green, white and purple (Give Women Votes) colours of the suffragettes as they join a parade which is split into three sections representing past, present and future.

“We are wearing purple because we are in the ‘past’ section of the march,” says Angela Blacklock, Labour councillor for Leith,  “Wearing purple will be a challenge for many as it is a colour which as women we tend not to have a lot of!” [maybe that depends on your age! Ed]

While a carnival spirit celebrates achievements  (look for Pipe Major Louise Marshall Millington and policewomen on horses joining choirs, samba and jazz bands  sporting sashes and banners  in purple white and green) there is a reminder of present realities. And a future section of the march acknowledges there is still a lot to be done.

In Westminster only 20 per cent of MPs are women. The Scottish Parliament is doing better with 35 per cent. That’s not bad, as Cathy Peattie (Labour) said in Holyrood earlier this year but she urged parliament to do more to advance the social, political and economic equality of women.

“That [35 per cent] is up on the figure in 2007, thanks to the two new Scottish National Party women, but is still down on the figures of 39 per cent in 2003 and 37 per cent in 1999. In spite of the high number of women who are active in communities, we still remain under-represented in local government and central Government.”

Maybe this is a good opportunity to plug the Opening Doors shadow scheme which is well supported by women from many different communities and is always open to new applicants. See you on the march!

Marching in violet, white and green

A pageant of creative conviction …

Agnes Holmes answers the phone with a needle and thread in one hand.  “I’m sitting here writing emails, answering the phone and stitching at the same time,” she says with her usual good humour.  As always there’s lots going on at the Africa Centre and only three days to finish the banner they will unfurl for the Gude Cause march on Saturday.

Like other women and women’s groups all over Edinburgh, Agnes is putting the final touches to plans for the event celebrating 100 years since hundreds of suffragettes marched along Princes Street demanding the vote for all women.

Agnes, who chairs Africa Centre Scotland is also a member of the Gude Cause organising committee. For the Africa Centre preparations began early in 2009 with two workshops at the National Library exploring the lives of inspirational women who succeeded against all odds.

“Somehow these women did it, many years ago. That gave us the inspiration to make our own collage of all the women, mothers, sisters, aunts who have inspired us.”  The result is a banner of purple, green and white (the colours of the Suffragette movement), bearing rosettes stitched with pictures, letters or emblems of individual inspiring women. Agnes has chosen her mother.

“She died very young but she was strong and determined. There are so many women we can remember, women who are making ripples in political life and breaking down barriers. We also want to include the words for women and empowering women in different African languages.”

And the singing?  Well, that’s a different story. Click here to find it.

According to the Gude Cause over 3000 people have now registered to take part in the march on Saturday. And of course they are not all women.  Men and children are coming out in force too.

There’s still time to join but if your group has not registered with Gude Cause it would be a good idea to do it soon by downloading a registration form from the website www.gudecause.org.uk and emailing it back to gudecause@peaceandjustice.org.uk.

I’ts a gude cause

Marching in violet, white and green

A pageant of creative conviction

For the women old and young

For the women yet unborn

For us all to rise and take our rightful place

An extract from the song by Jane Lewis

Here’s what the Equalities Office has to say:

DON’T MISS OUT: WOMEN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMMUNITY!

Did you know that there are nearly 20,000 local councillors in England and Wales but sadly, only around 30.8 % of these are women?  Interestingly, women from minority ethnic backgrounds make up less than 1% of all councillors, despite being over 5% of the overall population.  We want to encourage more women, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds to get involved and change this.

Here is how you can help. Join Baroness Uddin, Chair of the Women Councillors Taskforce and  other inspirational speakers like Taskforce member Neelam Bakshi at a free event and hear about the steps they took in order to participate fully in public life. You will be given the opportunity to participate in two interactive workshops with experienced facilitators.

Time: 10.00am – 1.00pm (followed by free Networking lunch)
Friday 13 February 2009
Glasgow City Chambers, 80 George Square , Glasgow G2 1DU