Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: High Sheriff Nadra Ahmed MBE DL

  • Windrush Celebrations take place across Gravesend, Dartford and Maidstone

    Windrush Celebrations take place across Gravesend, Dartford and Maidstone

    A week of activity took place across Gravesend, Dartford and Maidstone to celebrate Windrush Day and the 75th Anniversary of the arrival of the SSE Windrush. Organised and delivered by the North Kent Caribbean Network and supported by Cohesion Plus, Kent Equality Cohesion Council, Dartford Borough Council, Gravesham Dartford Borough Council and Kent County Council.

    The programme of events were launched by a flag raising and networking event in Dartford which was attended by Deputy Lieutenant Kelvin Holford and Leader of the Council Cllr Jeremy Kite as well as staff members from Dartford Borough Council and community members.

    This was followed by a community luncheon in Gravesham which saw community guests and senior staff from Gravesham Borough Council. The event was also an opportunity to showcase exhibition produced by the NKCN called ‘The Front Room’ which serves as a time capsule for what would have been a typical household for those who arrived from the Caribbean to the UK.

    Furthermore, a special Windrush event and flag raising ceremony took place on Thursday 22nd June at County Hall in Maidstone to mark 75 years since the arrival of the SSE Windrush to the UK in 1948. The event began the flag raising outside of Sessions House which was attended by partners, community and NKCN group members as well as KCC and Kent Police colleagues. The flag which was designed by a volunteer from NKCN, flew centre stage at the top of Sessions House and was flown for the remainder of the week to mark the national celebrations for Windrush 75.

    The flag raising was followed by a luncheon serving traditional Caribbean cuisine that was attended by civic guests including High Sheriff of Kent Nadra Ahmed and Chairman of Kent County Council Cllr Gary Cooke. Also in attendance were the Leader of KCC Cllr Roger Gough and Chief Superintendent Shaun White from Kent Police.

    The exhibition was presented in its entirety at County Hall and gave those in attendance the opportunity to interact to view it as well as talk with the Windrush generation from North Kent who were also on hand to talk about their experiences and challenges working, studying and living in the UK.

  • Eid Community Mela

    Eid Community Mela

    The Fort Gardens in Gravesham saw over 1000 people attend the Eid Community Mela on Sunday 4th June. The Mela celebrations were produced by Kent Equality Cohesion Council and Cohesion Plus, working with Gravesend Skills Centre, Involve Kent and local community members. The ethos of the Mela was to celebrate Eid and bring communities together regardless of faith, ethnicity, gender and socio economic background.

    There was wide array of activity both on and off stage with civic guests such as the High Sheriff Nadra Ahmed MBE DL, Deputy Lieutenant Rosemary Dymond and Mayor of Gravesham Cllr Gurdip Bungar who all spoke at the celebrations and congratulated those marking the occasion.

    Off stage attendees were able to enjoy free musical workshops for young ages by the Playground Project, cricket workshops by Kent County Cricket Club working with Gravesham Cricket Club as well as face painting, fun fair and a range of food and community stalls including Kent Police, Rethink Mental Illness and Kent Fire and Rescue Service.

    Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL the CEO of KECC commented “Community cohesion is the absolute heart of everything we do, breaking down barriers and raising awareness to better promote understanding and unity. The Eid Community Mela was the embodiment of those ideals with the event being open to everyone regardless of faith. The event was a great way to bring everyone together to celebrate Eid in a fun and interactive way. We are thankful to everyone who attended and we look forward to putting on even bigger and better community celebrations in the future.”

    Khawar Khurshid from local company Gravesend Skills Centre who were one of the key community partners for the Mela commented “We were proud to support the Eid Community Mela. Eid is a special time for the Muslims around the world and this time it was made extra special for us in Gravesham as we were able to celebrate with all of our friends and colleagues at the Mela regardless of faith.”