Community News

Hamad International Airport (HIA) is set to host the 12th Airport Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Doha, Qatar, from the 10^th to the 12^th of April 2017. The event will be under the patronage of H.E Mr. Jassim Seif Ahmed Al Sulaiti, the Minister of Transport and Communications of the State of Qatar.

The event’s agenda includes two ACI board meetings, namely the World Governing Board meeting and the Asia Pacific Regional Board meeting. In January 2017, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al Meer, Chief Operating Officer of Hamad International Airport, was unanimously appointed by ACI’s Asia Pacific Executive Committee of the Board as Special Advisor to the ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Board. This prestigious position is earned by airport leaders who have proven their ability in providing leadership to the region and guidance on policy development, management and finances. The ACI Asia Pacific Board comprises mainly of the Chief Executive Officers of 22 member airports including, Beijing, Shanghai, Incheon, Tokyo-Narita, Kuala Lumpur, Airports of Thailand, GMR, and Muscat.

The ACI World Governing Board is composed of Chief Executive Officers of 28 member airports nominated by the regional ACI Boards including Singapore-Changi, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Amsterdam-Heathrow, Paris, Istanbul, Toronto, Beijing and Sydney.  It meets twice a year and has the authority to take decisions on all relevant issues that advance the collective interests of airports and promote professional excellence in airport management and operations.

During both Board meetings, Engr. Al Meer will be presenting the achievements of Hamad International Airport, highlighting its key success factors and explaining the strategy that has, within 3 years of its operations, made HIA one of the fastest growing hubs in world, the 6th best airport in the world and an example of a corporate social responsible airport.

The ACI Regional Assembly, Conference and Exhibition, which is hosted annually by airports around the world, will have in attendance aviation leaders and industry influencers who will speak about industry hot-topics through moderated panel discussions. The event will also see exhibitions of innovative products and award-winning services by a large number of service providers.

Hundreds of farms across the UK will throw open their gates to welcome the public and showcase the fascinating world of farming. As well as being a fun and informative day out for all the family.

On Sunday June 11 LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) Open Farm Sunday’ will give visitors the opportunity to see first-hand all that farmers do and the impact their work has on all our lives.

This so often misunderstood industry has a vital role in not only producing safe nutritious food, but also using the latest science and technology to farm sustainably – that means increasing production whilst managing the environment for wildlife and enhancing our natural resources for generations to come.

Since the first Open Farm Sunday in 2006 over 1.8m people have visited a LEAF Open Farm Sunday event.  This year, farms across the country, from Cornwall to Orkney, will provide young and old with an opportunity to see farming in action and learn more about the work farmers are so proud to do.

The mostly free events will offer a range of activities from tractor trailer rides, farm walks and bug hunts, to feeding lambs, sheep shearing and milking demonstrations. The technology and science behind farming and food production will also be a focus; providing visitors with a fascinating insight into the world of farming.

Open Farm Sunday is managed by Linking Environment And Farming is the leading organisation delivering more sustainable food and farming.

Annabel Shackleton, Open Farm Sunday Manager at LEAF commented: “Modern farming is incredibly diverse and impacts on all of us - from the clothes we wear to the medicines we take and the food we eat.  Farming plays a vital part in each of our lives. LEAF Open Farm Sunday gives us the rare opportunity to see farming in real life and to learn about the hard work, care and pride that goes into the work farmers do, which is so vital to the environment, our lives and the economy.”

LEAF works with farmers, the food industry, scientists and consumers to inspire and enable sustainable farming that is prosperous, enriches the environment and engages local communities and has organised Open Farm Sunday since it began in 2006.

Sponsors of Open Farm Sunday 2017 confirmed to date are: Asda, BASF plc, Co-op, Defra, Farmers Weekly, Frontier Agriculture, LEAF Marque, Marks and Spencer, National Farmers Union, Waitrose plus the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, with direct support from the Beef and Lamb, Cereals and Oilseeds, Dairy, Horticulture, Pork and Potatoes sectors.

On Saturday, 8^th April, 2017 the Liberal Democrat’s candidate for mayor of the West Midlands, Beverly Nielsen launched her manifesto. Nielsen who is an entrepreneur, educator and businesswoman has vast amounts of  experience when it comes to life in the West Midlands, be it working for the Confederation of British Industry, working as the chief of Midlands Excellence Limited, or as a member of staff at Warwick University. From 2009 to 2013, Nielsen served on Worcestershire County Council from 2009-2013.

The launch of a manifesto is always an important event, but for Nielsen and the Liberal Democrats even more so. The West Midlands Mayoral Election is a hotly contested one, with the winner of the election promised broad powers as mayor, of one of the UK’s biggest regional areas. There are many areas in which the Midlands could do with improvement, in her manifesto, Nielsen promises to make developments in seven key areas.

These areas include: improving opportunities for people of all ages and backgrounds, delivering affordable housing for all, tackling congestion on the roads, growing home made businesses, enhancing the regions natural assets, delivering safe and secure communities and delivering fairer public services.

In her manifesto, some of the key pledges that Nielsen makes to better society within the West Midlands include: offering all young people aged between 16 and 25 a Swift Travel Card worth up to £300 to improve the chances of young people actively seeking work by offering more opportunities for free off peak travel, advocating a shared growth culture through promoting a real living wage for all employees and achieving this through using local procurement and bringing back production to the West Midlands.

Nielsen pledges within her manifesto to begin a house building programme that ensures access to homes of varying length and levels of affordability for everyone. She also promises to make more public homes available for rent and sale, and to ensure adequate high standard sheltered accommodation and provide more options for the older citizens of the West Midlands to live in.

To fulfil her pledge in reducing congestion, Nielsen has proposed offering free bus passes to encourage more people to use the bus, expanding the tram network within the West Midlands and developing a railway link between Birmingham and Moseley.

Nielsen also proposes the creation of a West Midlands Regional Bank to draw on local knowledge of local businesses, the creation of a £1 billion innovation fund to provide grants to start ups, to the region’s businesses schools, universities and colleges, to further encourage local business growth.

Finishing off the launch of her manifesto, Nielsen had this to say:

“The current government has cut services to the bone, and is now cutting £4bn more between now and 2020. If you make me the Liberal Democrat Mayor of the West Midlands, I will be your champion for change, and a unifying voice across the political divide which has existed for far too long.”

An awards ceremony to honour members of the public from across the West Midlands who have gone beyond the call of duty to help save lives and support the work of West Midlands Ambulance Service’s 4,500 staff has taken place.

The event, sponsored by Excelerate, Mills and Reeve, Higgs and Son, Zoll, University of Worcester, Coventry University and Imprint took place at the Copthorne Hotel in Brierley Hill, recognising the efforts of Community First Responders, St John Ambulance, other emergency services and other voluntary organisations, businesses and individuals.

Addressing the audience, West Midlands Ambulance Service Chief Executive Anthony Marsh said: “The role of our volunteers is incredibly important to the success of West Midlands Ambulance Service and that is something which I am acutely aware of.

“You all do a fantastic job, I know many of you put in a tremendous amount of hours, and you have all played a part in making our ambulance service the best in the country and for that you should be very proud, as I am.

“I personally would like to thank you all for everything that you do, you are a fantastic inspiration to all of us and to our communities.”

Deputy-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Viv Astling OBE, who helped present some of the awards on the evening, said: “Funnily enough I’ve never felt safer than I do here tonight.

“We are surrounded by some incredible people who work very hard on behalf of others and it really is a great testament to yourselves.

“My belief is that people do not get enough recognition for the good work they do in this country and I only wish that could be addressed. We are surrounded by award winners tonight and that is fantastic, you, along with all of your colleagues deserve great credit for the time you give to support the ambulance service, you should be very proud.”

WMAS Chairman, Sir Graham Meldrum, added: “We are gathered here tonight to celebrate good samartians. This is an evening to celebrate those who do not pass by when someone is in need – members of the public, young children and those who work as volunteers supporting the ambulance service.

“I thank you very much on behalf of West Midlands Ambulance Service for your loyalty, dedication and hard work.”

The acclaimed artist, Charlotte Hodes, will be exhibiting new work at Wolverhampton Art Gallery from Saturday, June 3 to Sunday, September 3.

The exhibition ‘Remember Me: Charlotte Hodes’ also includes an ambitious site specific, 12-metre long frieze commissioned especially for the Lichfield Street gallery.

City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Economy, Councillor John Reynolds, said: “The gallery has always been a great champion of new art work and we are delighted that Charlotte has agreed to work with us on this exhibition.”

Hodes has established herself as a leading figure within contemporary art, bringing together both fine and decorative arts as evidenced by her critically acclaimed exhibition at the Wallace Collection (2007) and winning the Jerwood Drawing Prize (2006).

For this exhibition, her powerful new work will consist of 120 individual wall-mounted ceramic pieces, arranged to create a single image that combines elegant historic patterns with contemporary and digital imagery.

It will also include a collection of intricate papercuts as well as a table top installation of more than 350 plates, which demonstrate the artist’s incisive and challenging approach to the aesthetic potential of domestic objects, both past and present.

A new sculpture celebrating Scotland's national animal will be unveiled one of the country's leading art attractions this week. The 7ft unicorn sculpture, designed and created by willow artist Woody Fox, takes pride of place within the 55-acre Crawick Multiverse artland in Dumfries & Galloway as Scotland's links to the mythical creature are celebrated across the country as part of National Unicorn Day tomorrow (9 April).

The fabled creature is a proud symbol of nobility and power and has been the nation's favoured beast since the 14th century.

Unicorns were written about by the ancient Persians, Romans, Greeks and Celts, and were often described as an elegant white horse-like creature with a single horn capable of magical properties.

They've been linked to Scotland for centuries and were used as an early form of the Scottish coat of arms by William I in the late 1300s.

VisitScotland Regional Director Doug Wilson said: “We are delighted to have been involved in bringing this sculpture of Scotland's national animal to Dumfries & Galloway and have no doubt it will be a great draw for visitors to the region.

“The Crawick Multiverse artland offers a unique and exciting experience for visitors and is the perfect backdrop for this distinctive sculpture in the year that we are celebrating Scotland's history, heritage and archaeology.

“2017 is the year to delve into the past and discover Scotland's fascinating stories, including those myths and legends about the unicorn.”

Duncan Mackison, director of Crawick Multiverse Trust, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with VisitScotland to play our part in National Unicorn Day by displaying this beautiful sculpture at Crawick Multiverse.

“This is a truly unique location which celebrates art, making it the perfect choice for this special installation.  We look forward to welcoming visitors to the site to see the unicorn which will be on display throughout the coming months."

Artist Woody Fox said: “I was thrilled to be asked to create this unique sculpture of a unicorn to mark National Unicorn Day.

“My previous work includes deer, badgers, foxes and rabbits which bring homes, gardens, parks and public spaces to life. It has been very inspiring for me to work on this noble and spiritual animal for the first time and to help promote Scotland at the same time.”

A regular car boot and market is returning to the West Midlands with the Oldbury Sunday market and car boot sale back on for the rest of the year.

Operated by Groupe Geraud, the market, at the West Bromwich Street car park, will open to car booters and traders from, 6am until 2pm, every Sunday, with entrance off the A4034 slip-road to West Bromwich Street. Entrance for stallholders and car booters is off Dudley Road.

City of Wolverhampton’s first ever Housing Fair proved a big hit with more than 550 visitors dropping in for free help and advice. The event was held at Wolverhampton Art Gallery as part of Residents Week (April 1-7).

There was a host of information available on new homes, homes to rent, help to buy and shared ownership schemes, mortgages, over 50s options, home improvements and energy efficiency.

Exhibitors included Butters John Bee, Connells, David Wilson Homes, Whg, Wrekin Housing Trust, Abbeyfield, L&A Lettings, TSB, RBS, Mortgage Bureau, Complete Advice Services, and Wolverhampton Citizens Advice.

City of Wolverhampton Council’s Rent with Confidence, Affordable Warmth, Housing Improvement Service and planning teams were also on hand.

WV Living, a council-owned housing company, sponsored the fair and showcased new plans for ‘homes you will love’ in Ashmore Park, Bilston and Ettingshall.

Rose Edwards from Penn Fields potentially found a new home to rent at the housing fair. She said: “I’m really happy. The housing fair has come at just the right time for me as I need to move out of my current property.”

James McCue, Manager at Butters John Bee estate agents, said: “The housing fair was a resounding success. We took over 40 new client registrations and we are already looking forward to attending next year’s event.”

Councillor Peter Bilson, City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Housing and Assets, added: “Supporting residents into housing, jobs, and improving the health and wellbeing of local people are top priorities for the city.

“The Housing Fair has proved a great addition to our Residents Week offer and we hope the next one will be even bigger and better.”

A group of apprentices from Severn Trent have had the opportunity to meet and chat with the Princess Royal. The meeting took place when the Princess Royal opened EEF’s new Technology Hub in Aston which is one of the centres used by Severn Trent’s apprentices for training purposes.

Georgia Brown, one of the Severn Trent apprentices who met the Princess Royal, said: “With more than 100 of our apprentices using EEF’s facilities it was a great opportunity to show off some of the activities they take part in, as well as highlighting the skills that they’re developing.

“We’re by no means alone in using the EEF for training purposes as they’re really great facilities right on our doorstep.”

As part of the event The Princess Royal received a tour of the centre from Neil Withey, EEF’s Director of Training, and Peter Winebloom, EEF’s Technical Director.

She met a number of Severn Trent’s first year apprentices who talked to her about their apprenticeships, the skills they are learning and their future career ambitions.

Other VIP guests at the opening included the Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of EEF.

The EEF is the voice of UK manufacturing and engineering and a leading provider of business support.

The NEC Group was recognised for its ‘Excellence in People Development’ at the 2017 Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Awards at the ICC, Birmingham.

The event – which was a sell out with over 1,000 guests in attendance – was hosted by broadcaster Gyles Brandreth and the NEC Group celebrated success against tough opposition including A-Plant, Common Purpose Birmingham, Creative Alliance and Rock Power Connections.

“I am immensely proud of our team,” said Jane Jarvis, NEC Group HR Director. “The success of the NEC Group is entirely down to the excellence of our people and how they support our clients and customers.  Developing our people to realise their potential to be the best they can be in their current role and to prepare for future growth is a key focus of our business strategy. This award is deserved recognition of the team’s efforts across the business to make that happen.”

Russell Jeans, Chief Operating Officer, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and Chair of the Judges, said: “Judges were impressed by a vastly professional and structured programme of induction and continued employee development which is tailored to individual roles.  People development is a key pillar within the overall business strategy and creates clear development paths for employees. This includes an in-house Learning and Development team who provide tailored plans for every stage of an employee’s career.”

Completing a successful week for the NEC Group, the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) - the UK’s number one venue - won ‘Best Venue Over 8000sqm’ at the prestigious Exhibition News Awards, also on Thursday 30 March.

The venue was up against key competitors including London’s ExCeL and EventCity (Manchester).

A Birmingham service for children and adults with complex needs received a sneak peak of the new production from leading theatre company Oily Cart. The show, titled ‘Kubla Khan’, has been developed in partnership with the national disability charity Sense, and is aimed at young people with complex disabilities. It is Oily Cart’s first ever production with a version for children and young people who are deafblind; there are also versions tailored to young people on the autism spectrum, and for young people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.

Over 20 people, across two performances, experienced the new show which is inspired by the acclaimed Coleridge poem.  The audience of children and adults were invited into a multi-sensory pleasure dome that they could touch, taste and smell. From the sounds of a sitar to the feel of a flowing river, they experienced the temperatures, textures and aromas of their journey to meet the Emperor.

Stephanie Tyrell, National Arts Manager for Sense, said: “Oily Cart challenge accepted definitions of theatre and audience, to create innovative, multi-sensory and highly interactive productions for young people with complex needs. It was a pleasure to work them and contribute towards a final production, which has special consideration to a deafblind audience.

Kubla Khan is a vivid, multisensory, interactive performance, incorporating touch, taste, smell, sight and sound. The audience today loved it and it will appeal to youngsters with a wide range of abilities.”

Tim Webb MBE, Artistic Director of Oily Cart, said: “One of the key reasons why I chose to work with this text, apart from the fact that it is filled with verbal descriptions crying out for multisensory interpretation, is that it is written in a rich and intricate style, featuring rapidly shifting points of view and characters and situations that defy ready definition. It offers a multitude of facets that can be appreciated both by the brain and the senses and is therefore perfect for deafblind audiences.”

Earlier in the year, Sense and Oily Cart developed a set of workshops with  the production company and some of the people Sense supports, with the learnings and experience contributing to the final production.

Kubla Khan will tour from August.

Recognising when a pet is overweight is the top issue vets and vet nurses wish UK pet owners knew about their animals, according to new findings released for National Pet Month (April).

More than one in five of veterinary professionals (23%) said the number one thing they wished their client knew about their pet was diet-related, with suggestions ranging from considering “Am I feeding them the right food?” to “Pets need a lot less food than we think!”, and “We have to protect them from themselves and not give into that 'look', especially where food is concerned!”

Over 500 vets and vet nurses across the UK were polled by the Veterinary Animal Welfare Coalition, which is made up of leading veterinary organisations and vet-led animal charities and aims to help pet owners better understand their pets' five welfare needs.

The answers given fell into 26 different themes, covering a wide variety of pet care issues. The top five most frequently mentioned things veterinary professionals wished all pet owners knew are:

• How to recognise when your animal is overweight
• That flat-faced breeds suffer lots of health and welfare issues
• How to recognise signs that your animal is in pain
• You have a responsibility to care for your pet properly and follow the five animal welfare needs
• That your veterinary team is the best place to go to for advice on all areas of pet care, including what pet may be the most suitable for you

“Every owner loves their pet; however, the vet team often see animals with problems that could be avoided. Vets and vet nurses are invaluable sources for pet care information with years of training and experience under their belts, and will be more than happy to answer any queries or concerns owners may have about their pets.”

Every day throughout National Pet Month, the Veterinary Animal Welfare Coalition – the British Veterinary Association, British Veterinary Nursing Association, British Small Animal Veterinary Association, British Veterinary Zoological Society, Blue Cross, PDSA and RSPCA – will be tweeting the various things vets and vet nurses wished pet owners knew. To find out more, check out their Twitter feeds or follow the hashtag #Wewishyouknew.

Samantha Morgan, President of the British Veterinary Nursing Association, said:

“People bring their pets to the veterinary practice when they are sick, however, what they also do not realise is that the Veterinary team can also provide a lot of advice for keeping pets healthy too. From diet and exercise to flea and worming treatments, veterinary nurses and veterinary surgeons have the knowledge to keep pets happy.”

The Veterinary Animal Welfare Coalition was formed to meet the recommendations in the Vet Futures project and aims to deliver awareness raising and behaviour change communication campaigns, based around responsible pet ownership and the five welfare needs as outlined in the Animal Welfare Acts.

Birmingham’s Glee Club has announced its charity partner for 2017 is Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity.

A new venture for the multi-award winning city centre comedy venue, The Glee’s vital fundraising activities will include a voluntary £1 donation on all ticket transactions, and a chance to donate more at the venue via secure collection points. There’ll also be a special autumn comedy event, from which all ticket monies will be donated to the hospital.

Tom Hunt, The Glee’s Marketing Manager, said: “We are pleased to be partnering with such a wonderful charity. The work of Birmingham Children’s Hospital changes lives, and we know that every penny our customers can give will go to helping children – and their families – when they need it the most.”

Elinor Eustace, Deputy Director of Fundraising at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “We are incredibly grateful to The Glee Club for selecting us as their chosen charity and can’t wait to work with the team throughout 2017.

“The money they hope to raise will go a long way to making a huge difference to the lives of our brave children and their families, as we continue our plans to improve our facilities – enabling us to treat even more children from Birmingham, the West Midlands and around the country.”

Opened in 1994, The Glee is firmly established as the West Midlands’ leading comedy club. Attracting in the region of 50,000 visitors a year, the Arcadian-based venue has hosted appearances by many of comedy’s biggest names, including Graham Norton, Peter Kay, Jack Whitehall, Jasper Carrott, and Jimmy Carr, as well as such chart-topping music acts as Adele, and Mumford and Sons.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital is a leading UK specialist paediatric centre, offering expert care to over 90,000 children and young people from across the country every year.

Delivering some of the most advanced treatments, complex surgical procedures and cutting edge research and development, the hospital treats one-in-five children from Birmingham, and one-in-eight from the wider West Midlands.

Every patient and family at Birmingham Children’s Hospital will have been touched by the hospital’s charity in some way. As a result it continually strives to do more for the poorly children in its care, whether that’s a newly refurbished playroom or ward, a state-of-the-art piece of equipment, or even a toy at Christmas.

But the impact of fundraising on patient experience is much more than purely financial – it makes a real difference to the services it provides to children and their families during difficult times.

Following the success of the Black Country Chamber Showcase, which saw a sell-out of 37 stands and almost 300 delegates in attendance, the Chamber Annual Exhibition 2017 has just been announced.

Hosted at West Bromwich Albion FC, the Showcase was a fantastic event that featured a Baggies Business Breakfast beforehand, which included an informative talk by Scott-James Eley, Supply Chain Manager – College, Innovation & Culture at HS2 Ltd, who updated the delegates in attendance on the supply chain opportunities available to them. Imran Ishaq, Marketing Analyst at Nant Ltd, commented: “The Showcase event was great value for membership, with amazing networking and lead generation opportunities.”

Following this success, bookings are now being taken for the Black Country Chamber Annual Exhibition, which will be on 28th September at Wolverhampton Racecourse from 9am to 1pm. This is set to be a great event, with more on offer this year, including a manufacturing and international trade section.

Proving itself to the one of the highlights of our annual events calendar, the Exhibition this year will feature approximately 70 stands, nearly 20 more than last year, with the event usually attracting over 500 delegates from the local business community. In essence, it serves as the ideal platform upon which to promote your company and networking with business professional from a variety of sectors.

In addition, this year the Chamber is delighted to have a few more surprises set for the day that will be announced nearer the time.

Following last year’s Exhibition, an exhibitor commented on the quality of the event: “It was a great event to do business and was very well organised. Well done to the Black Country Chamber of Commerce!”

Vying for votes to be the newly formed Metro Mayor of the West Midlands, Labour candidate, Siôn Simon, was busy at his campaign office, the Communication Worker Union office, in Newtown, in Birmingham, to overlook on his campaigners busy on the phone as they gathered his support.

“As Mayor, I will champion our region,” he said. “I would push to take back control-from Westminster-and putting the West Midlands first.”

To make history and be the first ever Mayor, of the region, he said; “There is nowhere in the world that compares to the West Midlands. If we were a nation, we’d be the 58th biggest country in the world and I would bring the united pride in what is the most diverse, multicultural area there is in Britain. And I want to champion that.”

The inaugural Metro Mayor will hold office for three years, with the term length being four years after that. A planned directly elected political post responsible for the metropolitan county – which includes; Birmingham, Wolverhampton Walsall, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull and Coventry – Simon said; “We have a culture in the West Midlands that is woven with diversity – a key strength here – and as Mayor, I would connect visitors – business and otherwise – to that; whether it be the South East Asian food culture in Ladypool Road for instance, the Chinese Quarter, the newer Eastern European communities, or the number of Caribbean cultural centres that’s away from our central towns and cities. The West Midlands is a fantastic hub for multiculturalism and I for one is hugely proud of that.

"Our region holds an incredibly special place in world; there’s Shakespeare – arguably the most creative figure in history whose body of work is unparalleled - the steam engine - the Lunar men - manufacturers of world-class cars and the spitfire – made in Castle Bromwich, in Birmingham.

The collective geniuses of the West Midlands are game-changers - global and historic leaders. I will see that we celebrate this more.”

A former MP for Birmingham, Erdington, Siôn is one of six candidates for the new post with the election to be held on May 4.