Kent Equality Cohesion Council

Tag: Mayor of Gravesham Cllr Peter Scollard

  • Communities Come Together to launch Christmas Celebrations in Gravesham

    Communities Come Together to launch Christmas Celebrations in Gravesham

    Gravesham Town Centre once again played host to the beloved Gravesham Festival of Christmas Lights Parade and Switch On, which took place on Friday 18th November.

    The lantern parade was established by Kent Equality Cohesion Council over 10 years ago to coincide with the Cultural Olympiad and since then has gone from strength to strength. Now linked to the Christmas Lights Switch On, this year’s event was produced in partnership with Cohesion Plus and Gravesham Borough Council and was part funded by Arts Council England.

    The parade was the biggest to date with 16 schools taking part from across the borough with an estimated 2000 people walking in the parade alone.

    The celebrations were attended by local dignitaries including Deputy Lieutenant of Kent Bhargawa Vasudaven, The Mayor of Gravesham Peter Scollard, local councillors and representatives from various faith and community organisations.

    Gurvinder Sandher MBE DL the CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council commented “I am really proud of what we have achieved with the lantern parade in Gravesham over the past 10 years. This event is a great example of our work in action, bringing together the diverse communities from across the borough to celebrate as one, creating shared experiences and promoting cohesion and understanding. As ever, great credit to all of our partners for working with us to create such a special event.”

  • Black History Month celebrations in Gravesham

    Black History Month celebrations in Gravesham

    Residents of North Kent attended annual Black History Month celebrations in Gravesham which boasted a spectacular programme of performances, films, speeches and presentations on Thursday 20th October. Organised by Kent Equality Cohesion Council in partnership with North Kent Caribbean Network and Cohesion Plus, the event was attended by local residents, community groups and civic guests and was funded by Involve Kent and Arts Council England.

    Civic guests included Deputy Lieutenant Dr Bhargawa Vasudaven, Mayor of Gravesham Cllr Peter Scollard, KCC Chair Cllr Lesley Game and Chief Constable Tim Smith all of whom spoke about the significant contributions Black communities had made to the UK past and present.

    There were musical performances from young local talent Kofi as well as films showcased by GTown Talent and NHS Diversity and Inclusion lead Helanna Irvine which focused on domestic abuse and the Windrush Generation’s impact on the NHS post World War II.

    As part of the event, special community awards were awarded to local community heroes, organisations and residents Genny Jones, GTown Talents, Mina Smith, Medway Culture Club and Dr Vasudaven DL. Each award winner was recognised for the positive contribution and impact that they made through their community initiatives, artistic offerings, service to the community and volunteering.

    Gurvinder Sandher MBE, CEO of Kent Equality Cohesion Council of the event commented, “We are so proud of the celebrations we delivered this month working in partnership with North Kent Caribbean Network. We aim to get bigger and better year upon year and especially with the 75th anniversary of Windrush taking place next year our ambitions are high. We look forward to working again with valued partners NKCN to deliver future events that promote and champion coming together to celebrate shared values and experiences.”

    Michelle Bramble, Chair of the North Kent Caribbean commented, “It’s such a pleasure to deliver this event working with KECC, in order to celebrate all the wonderful work and contributions made by members of the diverse community past and present. Events like these serve to remind us that there is more that unites us than divides us and that there is a whole history of events and people that have shaped who we are today. Those events and people unfortunately have been overlooked and forgotten in the past, however these celebrations serve as a valuable reminder to acknowledge our shared heritage.”