A global conversation with local responses around race and racism, economic empowerment, the creative arts, space and regeneration. We convene voices from the South East London, Europe and North America to hear air our concerns, share our voices and discuss action points for a proactive future.
Guests include:
Shereener Browne
We are joined by Shereener Brown, actor, theatre producer and barrister, and founder and artistic director of Orisun Productions, a theatre company based in South East London. Shereener has played the female leads in Miss Julie, Macbeth (London Theatre) and Sankara (Cockpit Theatre); Antonio in an all female The Tempest at the Brockley Jack Theatre (whaddup #CroftonPark!); and has toured with two theatre productions. Her screen credits include 5 short films including the multi-award winning short, BAiL. As a theatre producer she is currently working on two full-length plays dealing with questions of race, mental health and censorship.
As a barrister Shereener's work has ranged from criminal defence to media law. In 2011 she won the Bar Pro Bono Award for her unpaid work in employment & discrimination law. She is a night lawyer with a national newspaper.
A former chair of the New Cross Gate Trust, a trustee at One World Media and chair of Friends of Eckington Gardens, Shereener is a tireless grass-roots campaigner and is married with three children.
@shereener_browne
@orisunproductions
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Nicholas Okwulu
Nicholas is the founder of PemPeople, which empowers people of the communities of South East London. He is a champion of South East London, specifically Peckham, Brixton and Old Kent Road. Nicholas is also one of those rare warriors that is able to bridge the gaps between unnecessarily disparate communities and constantly opens spaces to make opportunities for people to empower themselves.
https://www.instagram.com/pempeople/
;
https://twitter.com/pempeople
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Jeff Fard
A native of Northeast Denver, Jeff S. Fard, better known as brother Jeff, is a multimedia journalist, historian and community organiser who lectures nationally speaking to youth, students, social organisations, and professionals about subjects including cultural identity and history, diversity, self-empowerment, community building, economic development, health disparities, and the uniting power of art. In 1994 he founded brother Jeff’s Cultural Centre—located in the historic Five Points District in Northeast Denver—a space committed to fostering growth, strength, and voice in the community. He is also the publisher and editor of the award-winning monthly publication, 5 POINTS NEWS.
In 2000, brother Jeff began organising nationally to help reduce the disproportionate HIV and AIDS rate in the African-American Community and served as an advisor to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and several other governmental and non-governmental organisations committed to eliminating HIV. His current work includes gun violence reduction, mental health interventions and community mentor development.
brother Jeff is a board member for the Centre for African American Health and is a past board chair of the Denver Foundation, which is the nation's oldest and Colorado’s largest community foundation. He has received numerous honours for his work including being recognised by the late Steven Graham and the Community Resource Centre as a “Legendary Leader of Colorado’s Nonprofit Sector.”
https://www.brotherjeff.com/;
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.fard
https://www.instagram.com/jefffard/?hl=en
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Marque Gilmore
Marque Gilmore `the inna•most' is a US-born drummer and percussionist with a worldwide reputation, now nearly 30 years living in Stockholm and London. As a musician, producer, composer and pioneer of live 'Breakbeat' music, he has collaborated with artists from a myriad of different genres: from R&B, underground dance & electronica to African music masters, Bengali Sufi singers, Indian classical artists, Rock icons and Jazz legends.
Marque builds bridges between ancient musical traditions with modern electronic instruments and digital technology and futuristic music production - as is well documented with his legendary interactive club concept DRUM-FM from the underground DnB scene in London in the early 1990’s.
Marque's special “Acousti-Lectric”TM approach permeates all of his projects whether it’s in-studio productions/remixes, live events with his Stockholm-based umbrella organisation KULT-U-REAL or collaborations with artists of all cultures.
During his long career, Gilmore has played with numerous iconic artists such as jazz legend Joe Zawinul (RIP), pop star Sting, Black Rock icon Vernon Reid, Hip-Hop pioneer M1 of Dead Prez, Funk-Soul Queen MeShell Ndegeocello, Breakbeat legend, true Father of the “Asian Undergorund” SAM ZAMAN aka State of Bengal, classical piano virtuoso Katia LaBeque and African legends Cheick Tidiane Seck, Oumou Sangare & Toumani Diabate to name a few. Both in 2009 and 2013 his production collaborations with the Cuban pianist Omar Sosa received Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations. Recent activities include Marque in the studio with Manu Dibango and on-stage with the young rising star, Cuban virtuoso violinist Yilian Canizares, extensive touring 2019-2020!
https://www.facebook.com/drumfm
Instagram: @inna_most��
Facebook Arts/Music/Education Organisation (KULT-U-REAL™):
https://www.facebook.com/kulturealmusik/ ��
https://twitter.com/DRUM_FM
https://marquegilmore.bandcamp.com/; https://www.instagram.com/inna_most/;
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Ashanti Bentil-Dhue
Ashanti is an equity & inclusion expert helping the events industry improve retention of Black employees. She specialises in allyship and anti-racism training.
Her work focuses on helping companies develop their middle management population so they can become effective people leaders and drive business growth. She has extensive business management and operations experience gained over the last 12 years and has personally managed large teams based in multiple international locations. This experience has given her a practical, commercial and operational understanding of middle management and their development needs in the professional services industry.
She can provide companies:
* In-house workshops and training on management visibility and leadership paths.
* Virtual coaching on team management, virtual leadership and visibility.
* Tailored and bespoke management training solutions to help companies effectively recruit internally and boost retention, productivity and profitability.
Ashanti is also owner of the former co-working space and café in Catford, BENHUE, which hosted the 3rd #southeastsalon in November of last year.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashantibd
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Yvonne Field
Our guest Yvonne Field, Founder and Managing Director of Ubele Initiative, has more than 35 years of professional experience working with a wide range of organisations and stakeholders ranging from professional front line staff through to senior management, policy makers and planners in local, national and international government, civil society organisations and the corporate sector.
She has spent substantial periods working in organisational learning and development, change management, informal education with youth, social care, health systems.
Yvonne has an MA in Community and Social Work, a MSc in Change Agents Skills and Strategies, and professional qualifications in community and youth work, teaching and social work. She has also been on the board of a number of charitable trusts and is a Fellow of the Institute for Learning (FIfL) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
In 2012 Yvonne was awarded a Winston Churchill Fellowship and travelled to Atlanta, Georgia and New Zealand to explore social leadership development in African-American communities, plus community enterprise and the transfer of indigenous knowledge inter-generationally within the Maori community.
https://www.instagram.com/ubeleinitiative/
https://www.facebook.com/ubeleinitiative/