Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Author: susan

  • Gravesham Party on the Prom attracts Thousands

    Gravesham Party on the Prom attracts Thousands

    PBN and Gurvinder Sandher
    PBN and Gurvinder Sandher

    The annual Gravesham Music Festival Party on the Prom which is organised by Gravesham Borough Council in partnership with Kent Equality Cohesion Council and Cohesion Plus proved to be another great success with over 10,000 people in attendance with a particular highlight being the dynamic performances put on stage by Team PBN (Punjabi by Nature), Only One Direction and Cold Player.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “There was another great turn out for the Party on the Prom. I was particularly pleased with the positive response that Team PBN received, for us it is about bringing communities together through music and exposing audiences to new music and artists to new audiences. We were delighted to work together again with Gravesham Borough Council and are pleased that the support provided by Arts Council England allowed us to do some innovative programming for the festival.”

    Party on the Prom People Doing BhangraAccording to PBN who is a producer, singer and song writer is regarded as one of the leading bhangra artists of his generation “This was the first time that we have performed in Gravesham and I was blown away by the positive response. We had such an amazing response from the crowd and I was delighted that I was able to showcase my music to a new audience. Festivals like this are a great way for artists like us to reach out and promote Punjabi culture to wider audiences. Many congratulations to Gravesham Borough Council and Gurvinder Sandher on a great event.”

  • Dartford Schools Carnival Project

    Dartford Schools Carnival Project

    DFOL 18Building upon the success of the Dartford Saint George’s Day celebrations and the Dartford Festival of Light KECC and Cohesion Plus has been working in partnership with Temple Hill Community Primary School and Oakfield Community Primary School on a Carnival Project which will climax on July 20 with carnivals taking place in the respective schools. The theme of the Carnivals is recycling and sustainability and all their materials that the children will be using to make costumes and visual arts pieces are being made from recycled materials.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “I am pleased that we continue to increase the number of community events that we deliver in Dartford. This event is a welcome addition to the Saint George’s Day Celebrations, Temple Hill Community Fete and the Dartford Festival of Light and we hope in future years to open it out to more schools. Months of hard work have gone into planning these events and the feedback that the schools are receiving from pupils and parents have been really positive.”

    Lucky Moyo
    Lucky Moyo

    The Carnivals themselves in the respective schools will involve the children performing music, song and dance along with culturally diverse artists including Lucky Moyo, Bloco Fogo Samba, Steel Ambition, Wishart and the Junk Orchestra. Arts Company Samesky will also be working in the schools in the build-up to the big day.

    Garry Ratcliffe the Executive Headteacher for both Oakfield and Temple Hill Primary Schools commented “The pupils are really looking forward to next Friday. This has been an excellent way for the pupils to learn new skills and learn more about the environment, music and creative arts all at the same time.”

  • Tunbridge Wells Mela Proves a Great Success

    Tunbridge Wells Mela Proves a Great Success

    Danny and Dan
    Danny and Dan

    Sun, music and food were the order of the day at the 8th Tunbridge Wells Mela Festival in Calverley Gardens on Sunday which was organised in partnership by Cohesion Plus, Sue Latham Events and the Kent Equality Cohesion Council. The Mela which never nearly happened this year due to the withdrawal of all funding for it from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council proved to be a great success with thousands in attendance.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “We have been overwhelmed from the support that we have received this year from the local community. The turn-out we have had plus the numerous messages of support via social media and in person on the day underlines that there is an appetite for the Mela in Tunbridge Wells. I was very disappointed when the local authority refused to support the Mela this year but feel vindicated that there is demand and interest and we hope to work with the local community again next year to make it even bigger and better.”

    Phase 5
    Phase 5

    The Mela Festival stage programme showcased new and emerging acts the majority of whom were from Kent. Highlights included the Charlie Monroe Band who got the Mela Festival off to an upbeat start; they were followed by emerging comedy duo Danny and Dan who had the thousands in attendance laughing at their antics on stage. The sounds of the Caribbean then filtered through Calverley Gardens as the Phase 5 Steel Band took to the stage. Popular Bangladeshi Pop Star Shilpi then wooed the audience before the ever popular Four by Four Bhangra took to the stage. They had the crowd up and dancing to their unique fusion of traditional bhangra and contemporary pop and hip hop. The Mela Festival was then brought to an exciting climax by Ilona an emerging pop and folk star and the Magical Motown Band who brought the great music of Motown to the Mela Festival.

    In addition to the stage programme there was a range of food and drink from around the world as well as information stands, charity stalls and free arts and crafts workshops for young people to enjoy.

    Sue Latham from Sue Latham Events commented “A lot of hard work has gone into pulling the Mela Festival together. I am very proud of what we and our volunteers have achieved. I feel that Tunbridge Wells should be very proud of its Mela Festival, we have been working on this for 8 years now and I believe that this is the best to date in terms of people attending, our stage programme and the breadth of stalls that we had. We have already had offers of support and sponsorship for next year which we will be following up in the coming weeks.”

  • Gravesham Fusion Festival Goes Global

    Gravesham Fusion Festival Goes Global

    Ying tao
    Ying tao

    KECC (Kent Equality Cohesion Council) in partnership with Gravesham Borough Council and leading Arts Organisation Cohesion Plus organised the first ever Gravesham Fusion Festival which took place on the Community Square on June 29. The aim of the free event was to celebrate food and music from around the World with the majority of the food stalls and artists coming from the North Kent area.

    Gurvinder Sandher KECC CEO commented “I was very pleased with the support which was shown for the Fusion Festival. The purpose of the event was to showcase new and emerging talent on the stage and also to allow people to experience different food from around the World. The feedback that I have received has been very positive and I am hoping in partnership with Gravesham Borough Council to organise something similar next year”

    Rainmaker
    Rainmaker

    The stage programme was opened by the Four by Four Bhangra Youth Club who fused the traditional sounds of the dhol drum with popular British Pop and American R&B; they were followed by emerging alternative rock band Rainmaker which was founded by Gravesham residents Gabriel Sanghera and Michael Constantine. They performed a set of original songs, performing in their home town for the first time. The Ying Tao Chinese Association performed a traditional Chinese folk dance which was appreciated by the audience. A particular highlight was Danny and Dan another Kent based act whose comedy routine had the audience in stiches of laughter. The Gypsy Stars the popular Eastern European Music and Dance group proved very popular as did Bhangra Singer Ravi Josan who performed a number of songs from his forthcoming debut album. Local schoolgirl Gemma Moore was another particular highlight singing a couple of songs which were enjoyed by the Festival goers. The event was brought to an exciting finish first by the Dartford based Steel Ambition and then by African artists Ayo Tikare and Joe Fowotade.

    There were also a range of food stalls on hand selling food from around the world including British, Chinese, Indian and African.

    Genny Jones(Confident Queen)
    Genny Jones(Confident Queen)

    Gurvinder Sandher KECC CEO concluded “All in all this was a great event, the feedback not just from those who attended but also from overseas where some people watched the live web stream via Gravesham TV has been positive. For example the Village in North India where Ravi Josan comes from stayed up later into the night to watch his performance via the web. So in a way we were showcasing the talent and positive community relations that we enjoy here in Gravesham not just locally but to the World.”

    Slide Show at bottom of article on Cohesion Plus web site

  • Gravesham Fusion Festival

    Gravesham Fusion Festival

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council in partnership with Gravesham Borough Council and Cohesion Plus have organised the Gravesham Fusion Festival which will take place on the Community Square on June 29 between 1pm and 6pm. The aim of the event is to celebrate food and music from around the World.

    The stage programme features a range of culturally diverse talent ranging from local dhol drummers Four by Four Bhangra to emerging band Rainmaker led by Gravesham resident Gabriel Sanghera to local comedy duo Danny and Dan. Leading Eastern European Group Gypsy Stars will also be appearing in Gravesham for the time; they are originally from Poland and perform traditional Roma music. They will be joined by Brit Asia Superstar Winner Ravi Josan an emerging star on the bhangra music scene and the Festival will be brought to a climax by Steel Ambition a popular local Steel Band and African Music Stars Ayo Tikare and Joe Fowotade.

    In addition to the stage programme there will be an array of food from around the world for the community to enjoy ranging from African to Asian to European as traditional British Tea and, fresh cream cakes and scones.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of the Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “I am pleased that in partnership with Gravesham Borough that we have been able to organise this new event for the Town Centre. We are looking to showcase a number of new and emerging acts in Gravesham for the first time, as well as bringing in a range of food from around the world. The purpose of this free event is to bring together the diverse communities of the borough through music and food and underline the positive relations which are enjoyed in Gravesham.”

    Fusion poster
  • Listen to Our Voices – Women’s Event

    Listen to Our Voices – Women’s Event

    Sadi Awaz Suno 1The Sadi Awaz Suno (Listen to our Voices) conference which took place on March 15 and was organised in partnership with Rethink Mental Illness proved to be a great success.

    The aim of the event was to explore important issues which are not often discussed openly including domestic violence, forced marriages and honour based crime. The audience of around 250 women was addressed by the Kent Police Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes who spoke about her new role and her determination to work for the communities of Kent. She was followed by Shereen Williams and Saeeda Chowdhry from the Henna Foundation a Charity based in Wales which supports victims of forced marriage and honour related violence. They spoke about the impact these crimes can have and talked about some of the cases that they had been involved with.

    Sadi Awaz Suno 2Following the key note speakers there was a panel session which was chaired by the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council Gurvinder Sandher and which had Kent Police, Rethink Mental Illness and the Henna Foundation on it. One the key messages coming out of the panel was the fact that there was support available locally and that if anyone needed any help or support they should not hesitate to ask for it.

    Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of the Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented after the event “The conference was very powerful and emotional; to hear stories about how life’s have been destroyed because of so called honour is very disturbing. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of these issues and we hope that as a result that those in attendance understand better what help and support is available if required. We are also very grateful for the support provided by our partners including Rethink Mental Illness, Kent Police and Awards for All in helping make this conference possible”

  • Saint George’s Day Celebrations

    Saint George’s Day Celebrations

    Over 1500 young people from 32 schools in Gravesham and Dartford will be taking part in community celebrations through Gravesend and Dartford town centres on April 23 to celebrate Saint Georges Day. The festivities has been organised by Kent Equality Cohesion Council in partnership with Cohesion Plus supported by Gravesham Borough Council and Dartford Borough Council’s in what will be some of the biggest celebrations taking place in England.

    Work will shortly commence in schools to prepare special visual arts and craft displays which will be used during the parade which will be led by the Premier Brass Band, Big Fish Marching Band and the Cultural Beats Project and which will also involve other local music and dance projects. The focal point of the two parades will be a model of Saint George which has been made by local children.

    The aim of the events is to celebrate the patron Saint of England and bring together the diverse communities in Gravesham and Dartford to celebrate this important day. The celebrations in Gravesham will take place between 10am and 11.30am and in Dartford between 1pm and 2.30pm.

    Gurvinder Sandher the Director of Kent Equality Cohesion Council (KECC) who has been working on the celebrations for the past few months commented “This is our biggest celebration to date. I am really proud that working in conjunction with our local authority partners in Gravesham and Dartford that we have been able to organise such large scale celebrations to mark Saint George’s Day. I feel that Saint George’s Day should be celebrated more widely as it is an important way of bringing diverse communities together and celebrating what it means to be English today.”

  • Listen to Our Voices – Women’s Event

    Listen to Our Voices – Women’s Event

    sws 1Kent Equality Cohesion Council in partnership with Rethink Mental Illness have organised a Women’s only Conference which will take place on the evening of March 15 at the Woodville Halls in Gravesend. The event is titled Sadi Awaaz Suno (Listen to our Voices).

    The aim of the event is to look at issues such as domestic violence, forced marriages, women’s mental health issues and the different support services available to women in North Kent.  It will also provide an opportunity for delegates to socialise and network.

    The event will be addressed by the Kent Police Crime Commissioner Ann Barnes and by representatives from The Henna Foundation which works nationally and internationally to advance the needs, concerns and aspirations of Muslim women, children and their families.

    Gurvinder Sandher, CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council, commented “This is the first of 4 events that we are delivering this year as part of our Cohesion and Engagement Project to raise awareness of important issues. We are grateful to be again working in partnership with Rethink Mental Illness who have an excellent track record of supporting and advising members of the local community who require help and support. We hope that the event is well attended and people take something away from the evening.”

  • Kent Equality Cohesion Council

    Kent Equality Cohesion Council

    We have recently moved office to the Basement, 8 Wrotham Road, Gravesend, Kent, DA11 0PA. Our new offices are opposite the Civic Centre and about a 4 minute walk from Gravesend Train Station.
  • Festival of Light Proves Popular in Dartford

    Festival of Light Proves Popular in Dartford

    Dartford Town Centre was brought to a standstill on Friday November 23 as around 500 people took part in the fourth Dartford Festival of Light which was organised in partnership by Kent Equality Cohesion Council, Cohesion Plus and Dartford Borough Council. The parade involved 9 schools from Dartford along with their parents and members of the public who joined in as the parade went around. The children had been working hard in the preparation for the festival making lanterns and torches which they carried in the parade. In total around 400 children benefited from workshops in the build-up to the event.

    The aim of the Festival of Light was to bring the communities of Dartford together through the arts, and was inspired by the Great British Year which included the Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics and the Paralympics. Union Flags were given out during the parade and many people waved them with pride as the children walked by with their lanterns.

    fol dart nov 2012

    The parade which along with the schools also featured Bloco Fogo Samba Group and the Four by Four Bhangra Dhol Drummers started on the green outside Central Library, it then went onto the High Street, before finishing at One Bell Corner where the National Anthem was played before the participants were thanked by the Mayor of Dartford Cllr Ann Allen and event organiser Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council. All schools were then presented with trophies which were presented by guests from Dartford Borough Council, Kent Police and Kent Fire Rescue Service.

    According to Gurvinder Sandher the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council who led on the organisation of the Festival “Having had to cancel the original date in October due to bad weather I was really proud that we were able to not only re-arrange the event but that we were able to put on such a spectacular event which was enjoyed by all who took part. The theme of the festival was to celebrate the great British Year and we hope that the young people who took part will remember this for many years to come. I was pleased that people waved the union flags which we gave out as the parade walked by as I believe it is important that we use events like this to celebrate what it means to be British. Great credit also needs to be given to our partners Dartford Borough Council whose help and support enabled the event to be the success it was.”

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