Getting on Board Conference Time Table

Getting on Board - Conference agenda draft

•          Creating organic workplaces for maximum productivity that benefit employers and employees
•          Presenting a compelling business case for more women operating at board level
•          Exploring through role play, challenging assumptions and demonstrating the benefit of gender balanced boards in western European and North American cultures
•          Appreciating  strengths and different  leadership operating styles
•          Developing the talent pipeline dramatically to bring women into leadership positions
•      Embedding strategies for conquering unconscious bias

Timing	Session and objectives	Lead
8.30-9.00	Registration and coffee
	Kazuri Minds Welcome and Housekeeping	Farah
	Introduction to the day – programme, the corporate gender landscape, purpose of the day	Catrina
	Mindfulness and expression for openness	Vajradaka
	Proposed legislation – what it means and implication for companies Written questions	Flo
	Coffee break
	Q and A Flo answers 2-3 most popular questions	Flo
	Felt sense Meditation	Vajradaka
	Discussion section: What barriers do you see or have you seen to women’s advancement	Paul
	Exercise on policy  review using part of diagnostic tool	Steve and Paul
	Change management – implications of making a change	Paul?
12.30-13.30	Lunch
	Professor Liz Kelly - keynote
	Group discussion - Confronting uncomfortable and difficult issues,
	Leadership behaviours	Catrina
	Motivation and values	Vajradaka
	Organisational and personal values charter	Steve /Paul
4.20-4.30	Plenary – individual take aways and actions, evaluation	Farah

Christian Candy development plan threatens death of essential homelessness and trauma services for vulnerable women in Camden

Kazuri Properties, a small social enterprise has operated from this building since June 2013. We operate an office, emergency and crisis services for women who have suffered domestic violence, are at risk of homelessness or fleeing terror. This is an essential community service.

We have developed a plan to build much needed refuge and transitional accommodation in a run down part of Camden with high levels of social exclusion and deprivation. This has the support of over 40 local third sector organisations and 400 people so far, have signed our petition to retain the building. Andy's Taverna on the ground floor is a much loved local restaurant. After it is refurbished, the owner has agreed to let us run a training kitchen, like Jamie's 15, until noon every day for women to learn catering and cooking skills.

We were in negotiations with the landlord for over a year and raised private and grant funds to purchase the building. We paid towards the development,  planning and implementation costs. The building was obtained illegally by Rev 1 LTD's directors  Evan Ivey and JP Tolaini after Stefan Bobolecki, Rob Sprunt (former director of development for LB Brent) & Stephen Gilbert FRICS who were working as consultants for Kazuri, took commercially sensitive information to JP Tolaini. They scuppered our deal and passed privileged material in breach of their professional duties to a rival commercial developer who cares nothing about the community and is cited in the local paper   "I believe I can build people beautiful, higher-quality living spaces with dashes of flair and panache that will be a joy to live in."  This would have been his first foray into property development, his background is in marketing. Mr Ivey plans to put in more yuppy flats (13) and an art gallery. Andy's restaurant is a much loved Camden institution.

Evan Ivey, JP Tolaini and Colin Sanders a director of a specialist lending company, Omni Capital which is funded by Christian Candy and JP Tolaini are being investigated by Holborn burglary squad for breaking and entering, theft, violations of the Landlord Tenant Act and the Protection from Eviction Act. Crime Reference number 2325478/14.

In March 2014, they broke into the property and changed the locks before they owned it, aided and abetted by Mayfair property consultant, Tony Lorenz.

When the locks were changed illegally, 2 very vulnerable women were living in the property and were further traumatised by their actions. One was 19, fleeing FGM and the other a 23 year old who had left a domestic violence situation. Her former partner had pushed her down the stairs. He knew she was pregnant so he kicked her in the stomach. She lost her baby. You can read their stories below.

This is what Christian Candy's money supports, developments which gazzump services to combat violence against women and girls. Please stop the Candys and developers like Evan Ivey, JP Tolaini and Omni Capital encroaching on Camden's vital and vibrant community life and services.

This matter is now before the Central London County Court where Deputy District Judge Dagnall expressed specific concerns about how the purchase was based on professional trust being broken.  

Help save this important community resource - sign our petition to ask Eric Pickles, Secretary of State to intervene here

Christian Candy - developer not known for his taste in design and famously involved in a row with HH Prince Charles and the Emir of Qatar over the Chelsea barracks development.

FGM/C is a practice that goes right to the heart of a girl’s ability to make decisions about her own life and her own body. It results in severe pain, difficulties urinating and menstruating, pain during sex, serious problems in childbirth, physical disability and psychological damage.

Mala’s Story , 19
I am a woman who was born and raised in east London.  When I reached 16, my mother told me I had to be cut, it is the tradition in our culture. I was very frightened and I  ran away  to my aunt but she was scared of the family so she returned me to my family. My father beat me that night until I bled and my eyes were shut  swollen from bruises. He threw me out of the house and said I had shamed the family. He locked the door and said I should not come home, I was dead to him. 

I ran away but the police did not know what to do. Finally, I was told about a charity that helps women with housing but I had no money and no way to pay for anything, but the people were very kind. They gave me one bedroom in a flat in Camden, to share with another woman. I am attending cooking classes and sewing classes and I do volunteering as a sales assistant in a local charity shop. When I came home one afternoon in March, the locks had been changed.  I was very frightened, I thought  I had done something bad and the charity had evicted me. I called the manager and she was very angry and surprised. I was crying in the streets, I had nowhere to go. 

My biggest fear is that I will be returned to my family and I will be cut. I have cousin sisters who have been cut. They get infections; it is painful to go to the toilet.  One of them had a baby and almost died because she lost too much blood in childbirth.

One of the workers of the charity came and got a key and she let us in, they promised us they did not change the locks and they did not know what was happening. My flatmate was also very scared and frightened; we did not want to go to the police or social services, they do not know what to do with women in our situation. They never believe us. 

One in four women will at some point in their life be beaten or abused by someone in their home. About 4,000 of them die each year, with 75% of them getting killed when they try to leave or after they’ve left the abuser.

Anise’s Story 23
I was pregnant the first time he hit me. I fell backwards down the stairs, He punched my face, he kicked my stomach with his work boots on.

I lost the baby. I was 21. Two years later I got pregnant again and he hit me again.  He told me I was too ugly to have his baby. This time I ran out of the house and neighbours called the police. When they came they said I had provoked him and we should not bring the police into our arguments.

I had nowhere to go, the local council didn’t have anywhere for me. A friend of my sister was doing some voluntary work for a social enterprise and she called the owner and asked if they had anywhere I could stay. It was three days before Xmas. The lady put me up in a flat in Camden, where I have lived for 10 months. It’s a cosy flat, not luxury,  and it has everything we need, sheets, towels, there was even food in the fridge and the bed had been made for me when I  stayed the first night. For the first few months I was scared to be by myself, than I got a flat mate and we could cook together and clean the flat together.

I was at a counselling session that afternoon, I walked home because it was a lovely sunny day. I got to the flat and my key wouldn’t turn in the lock. The restaurant owner came out and told me the keys had been changed by the new owner. I was angry and scared. I thought we had been locked out. When the lady came from  Kazuri, the restaurant owner gave her the new key but I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach again. It took a long time to feel safe and having the locks changed on our home was a mean thing to do. 

Help us beat the bullies - Camden doesn't need "flats with panache" or One Hyde Park monstrosities. You can support us by tweeting about it, sharing on Facebook and signing our petition to Eric Pickles. 

Resilience training Cardiff. Be the best YOU!

Resilience and trauma in the criminal justice system
Venue: Ocean Academy, Central  Cardiff, 24 July 13 00 – 17 00 hrs

In conjunction with Diverse Cymru, challenging discrimination in all its forms to create a more equitable future.

By invitation only, free to third sector organisations and public service employees,  providing services to people affected by the criminal justice system.“I know that I need to deal with it to heal,” says a woman we’ll call Ramona. “But sometimes I just have to take a step away from it too. I have experienced very painful flashbacks. The memories get so vivid; I literally, physically feel the pain again.”

Many people working in third sector organisations think of trauma as something that will affect others. Prisoners, survivors of domestic violence, asylum seekers and  recovering addicts all display signs of post traumatic stress disorder. The increase in direct exposure to violence or through the coverage of 24/7 events across the world by the media and the impact of hearing the experiences of  traumatised people are resulting in creating traumatised communities.  This is  already having significant social, economic and infrastructural impacts. The predicament of the  War Child  refugee and the direct correlation in the increase in violent gang crime is but one example.

This simple 4 hours training will introduce you to the concept of secondary trauma or compassion fatigue and provide you with a tool kit to overcome mixed emotions. We explore incorporating resilience into your core day. It is led by Flo Krause and Farah Damji.

Flo Krause a leading human rights barrister is on the frontline of changes in the criminal justice system. She represented prisoner John Hirst ,  Hirst v UK in which the actions of the UK government in denying the vote to serving prisoners were deemed to be illegal. Flo deals with parole boards and is in prisons almost on a daily basis and practices transactional analysis.

Farah Damji is a former offender whose life was shattered as a result of early life trauma and whose self destructiveness, mental illness, depression and substance dependency precluded living an authentic life. This came to a halt in 2005 when she was sent to prison. She set up a company in 2010, Kazuri which works with former offenders and other traumatised women to house them and provide safe pathways to employment and resilience training.

The topic of resilience, it seems, provides a solid platform for identification and for the education of the public on what constitutes good psychological health. As a result, individuals can put together their own strategies for building resilience, depending upon their individual strengths, styles and cultural differences. Resilience can even apply to organisations faced with significant pressures and challenges. After all, turning adversity into opportunity--a potential by product of resilience--is critical for organizations to thrive. Without question, building resilience is currently an important strategy as we deal with significant budget pressures and staffing shortages . But if we can draw on our strengths and build our resilience, we will most certainly "bounce back" from present difficulties.

 For more information please contact Kazuri on 020 7 377 5791. Places are limited and if you would like to attend please email info@kazuri.org.uk

Third sector and public sector: FREE, private  sector organisations £110

"Be like water."

Mindfulness in your creative life

We are very pleased to welcome Buddhist teacher and mindfulness practitioner, Vajradaka to the Women's Resilience Centre for a five week course on mindfulness in your creative life.

Week 1, Thursday the 4th of April 

Your inner life determines your outer life

Simple and easy to use mindfulness methods for finding what is important for you

Exploration of what effectively helps you achieve your direction and values

Coming into  a sense of  confidence in your strengths and being effective

Week 2, Thursday the 11th  of April

Have everything going in the same direction

Dealing with distraction and keeping a sense of direction

Entering into a sense of wholeheartedness and motivation

The relationship between discipline and spontaneity

Week 3, Thursday the 18th  of April 

Being engaged and fully present

Dealing creatively with obstacles to decisiveness

Keeping a sense of momentum 

Skills for breaking out of habit

Week 4, Thursday the 25th  of April

The fun/serious dichotomy

Having a big picture of what is in your best interests

Working from your strengths

Enjoying the process of personal development, even when it's hard

Week 5, Thursday the 2nd  of May 

Overcoming expectations and getting real

Understanding what being in a process means

The creative process of being receptive and keeping the initiative

Dealing the double-edged consequences of being successful

Although this course is for women it is led by a man. 

Vajradaka  is an ordained Buddhist who is acclaimed as  one of the most experienced practitioners and teachers of mindfulness and creativity globally. 

Because of his long experience of leading communities and teaching mindfulness  and our own personal perception and experiences  of him as a teacher who is safe and supports the vision of the women's resilience centre, we have invited him to help us seed the vision of our centre to lead this course.

 The Kazuri team.