
Call to tune into student radio BBC fast tracks senior managers Interview: Take cover, it’s “the comedy assassin” Not a laughing matter Government’s £3m ethnic agency account re-think TV Talent Honoured Match made in Mumbai Parisa: Fashion Treats with Sabah Riaz from Sensazn Magazine ALICIA – musician on a mission Bhoothnath gets launched across social networking sites Zee Cine awards make a splash in London Rainbow Film Festival Summer of fun at the Drum, Birmingham Bollywood dance championships heat up Construction industry needs to attract more ethnic minority workers Graduate Recruitment The way forward Jump into the Graduate Talent Pool The Charity Commission: Making Good Intentions Count	NETWORK NEWS COLUMN: MP Diane Abbott The Dangers of DNA Databasing Stephen L France Says…. IS UNIVERSITY STILL PRACTICAL? Celebrating Conference Success Job Seekers get Boost Through Twitter and Facebook Help for “vulnerable working students” Dianne Abbott Bend it like Birmingham Dismissed staff could soon be blacklisted Student designs computer game for the blind Building a diverse workforce Faith in church networks Banking on success Making it in Law

Celebrating Conference Success

The recent NUS Black Students’ Winter 2009 Conference was a success and the largest conference ever, with hundreds of African, Asian, Arab and Caribbean students in attendance from all over the country, the largest event in the country of its kind. Black students were given the opportunity to come together and learn about the Campaign and its initiatives. It also allowed them to engage in debates on contemporary issues while networking and sharing information.

Thanks to the trade unions the NASWUT and CWU, Talent Media, the Voice newspaper and money raised from the Black Students Handbook, we were able to give free places to all Further Education Students that attended. Our campaign has always done everything in our power to increase the participation of students in FE, especially because this is where 60% of Black students study. These free places saw a 200% increase of FE students some of the most disadvantaged students.

The conference was addressed by prominent speakers from our communities nationally and internationally. In the first plenary ’Winning for the Black Community in the 21st Century’ we heard from Lee Jasper from the National Black Alliance and the African Academy who stressed the importance of the unity needed amongst the different Black communities; Ashok Viswanathan from Operation Black Vote who reminded us that we were the future of this country and the importance of using our democratic rights to vote and American Civil Rights activist Shanta Driver who outlined the role of young black people in participating in the historic campaigns for civil rights in America.

Our ‘challenging Racism – One Society Many Cultures’ plenary featured Dr. Abdul Bari, the General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain about the increasing threat of Islamophobia, and addressed the recent horrific attacks against Muslim students at City University which saw students stabbed. Sabby Dhalu of Unite Against Fascism outlined how the BNP are gaining ground against the backdrop of racist hostilities and talked about how students have an important role challenging fascism. Hicham Yezza gave a personal account of how racist anti-terror legislation is being used to victimise students and erode civil liberties. The most moving account was from Michael Abatan from the Justice for Jay Campaign who gave a first hand testimony on the brutal murder of his brother and the continuous fight to bring his killers to justice, who remain free to this day.

We were particularly privileged to hear from the speakers on our international Peace and Justice plenary who had come from three different continents to address our conference. Egle Sanchez a trade unionist from Venezuela spoke about the immense social change happening there, Selorm Drake from the All Africa Students Union spoke to the conference about the challenges that the continent and its students face as well as thanking the BSC for our continual support and Khaled AlMudallal from Let Palestinians Study about defending the rights of Palestinian students to access education and the illegal, inhumane siege on Gaza.

Practical training was provided in partnership with a number of community groups from Shine Media, Reach Role Models programme, The National Assembly Against Racism and Africlimate. They were getting involved in the media industry, increasing employability, clubs and societies, building anti-racism campaigns and increasing Black representation and understanding the history of the Black student movement, environmental campaigns and international peace and justice work, including how to get involved in the forthcoming Viva Palestina convoy which aims to break the siege of Gaza to make humanitarian donations.

With the upcoming general election, a debate was held on the concerns that young black people have about the country. A range of issues were discussed under Education, Social policy and International relations. This debate will continue and all Black students will be invited to contribute to the Manifesto of what Black Students will be demanding from the next government.
Thanks to Talent Media and the sponsors Grace Foods, Shell Livewire, BBC1 Xtra, Channel 4 and icould.com every Black student was presented with a goody bag.

The event was attended by the country’s most conscious, active and brilliant young Black people, completely trashing all the stereotypes that are so often bandied about in the media. With the ever apparent rise of racism in this country it appears that we have formidable challenges ahead. However the NUS Black Students Campaign is engaging black students and young people at a critical time to realise the potential of the next generation for all our communities.

Look out for the conference brief which is available on www.officeronline.co.uk/black