Communities Live!

Bowie Jane interview

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Bowie Jane and Andy Cooper [Photo: Jamie Veitch]

Bowie Jane & Andy Cooper (photo: Jamie Veitch)

Singer / songwriter Bowie Jane joined us in the Sheffield Live! studio last week for an interview with Communities Live! presenter Andy Cooper.

The London-based Australian musician has been living a double life: by day, a “mild-mannered” criminal lawyer, but by night a musician performing live 5 or 6 evenings per week and developing a successful musical career.

Bowie Jane’s secret double life captured the world’s interest earlier this year with TV, radio and press attention leading to more than 10,000 hits a day on her YouTube site.

Her lyrics tell the story of real-life situations with honest grit and candor, but with a sharper edge:  “I write about things that aren’t normally talked about, looking at things from the perspective that you’d probably ‘think’ about, but wouldn’t feel confident to ‘voice’.”

The interview coincides with the release of Bowie Jane’s new single, “Bad Boy” which “points the finger at celebrity bad boys with a reputation.”

What next?

EMA: Futures at stake

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

By Amna Kaleem

Policies on education have been amongst the most unpopular initiatives taken by the coalition government. A look at the tuition fee protests all over the country is enough to gauge the anger of students. While most of the protests were focused on rise in tuition fees, almost every protest had a group of students from sixth form colleges and schools who were out to protest the scrapping of Education Maintenance Allowance.

The EMA is a weekly allowance of £10, £20 and £30 paid to students who are 16 to 18 years old. The amount paid varies according to the student’s family income, those living below £20,817 qualify for £30, those between £20,818 and £25,521 are eligible for £20 and the students whose family income is between £25,522 and £30,810 get £10 per week. The money is paid directly into the students’ bank accounts and is stopped if they fail to be punctual or attend their classes regularly.

The fund which was set up by the Labour government in 2004 is now being scrapped, which means from next academic year around 647,000 students across the country cannot claim their EMA. In Sheffield alone, there are little over 6,000 students who benefit from EMA. There has been a lot of debate on the subject, some feel students spend the money on iTunes and PS3 games, a claim which may not be completely unfounded as some students who qualify for EMA do not need it to support their education. However, there are also students who would not be able to pursue education if this small weekly payment is withdrawn.

At Longley Park Sixth Form College around 75% of students receive EMA. Here is an interview with college students Abby Thompson and Shanice Wright and their teacher James Finlayson:

EMA stories

One of the success stories of EMA is James Mills who used the programme to pursue further education and was able to go to university. James now works as a parliamentary researcher and has started the Save EMA campaign. James talks about how EMA helped him and how the campaign to save this fund is gaining momentum, nationally:

James Mills

For more information on the campaign, visit http://saveema.co.uk/

The report was aired on Communities Live on December 17, 2010.

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Clearing up snow clearance myths

By Amna Kaleem

Before you start clearing the snow from your driveway and pavement, let’s clear up some misconceptions around the myth of legal liabilities. It is believed that one can become legally liable for clearing public pathways if someone trips or fall.

The Department of Transport and the Department of Communities and Local Government have repudiated this misconception in a guide they issued in November 2010.

To find out Sheffield City Council’s position on the issue, we spoke with Cllr Shaffaq Mohammad, cabinet member for communities, who told us about the legal support the council is offering in this matter.

Snow myths


The report was aired on Communities Live on December 10, 2010.

DocReport: Waiting for Abu Zayd

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Documentary review by Erini Apostolidou

Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd at event

Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd in a snapshot from the film

The background of the story

As a Qur’an researcher Egyptian Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd was one of the leading liberal theologists in the Muslim world. In an era of rising fundamentalism his resolve to open up new interpretations of the Holy Book cost him dearly. In 1995 he was declared an apostate (infidel) by a court decision and was forcefully divorced from his wife since a Muslim woman cannot be married to a non-Muslim man. After becoming a hate figure for the islamists, he spent the remaining 14 years of his life in exile, first in Spain, then in the Netherlands, where he continued his work. He never assumed the role of the victim, because he did not want the Western media to consider him as such. On the contrary, he took a stance against islamophobia. He tried to tell people that there are various approaches to Islam e.g. rational and fundamentalist, and that other religions can also be interpreted in various ways.

The film

When director Ali Atassi first listened to Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd he was so impressed by his perspicacity and his gift for talking that he saw in him a leader against conservative Islam. He wished more people could listen to this man and so resolved to make this film. The project started with admiration but ended in conflict: why didn’t Abu Zayd return to Egypt where he was needed and take up the fight again? Why did he accept to take part in TV programmes since he knew he would be so much misrepresented?

The director’s ambition is to show the film in the Arab world. That’s why he takes for granted the audience’s knowledge of the case, since Abu Zayd’s trial was a big scandal in the mid ‘90s. However, for an audience unacquainted with the facts this is a challenging film in terms of structure. Its basic components are footage from a public talk where Abu Zayd was the guest speaker and extracts from discussions between Ali Atassi and a) Abu Zayd, b) Abu Zayd’s spouse Dr. Ibtihal Younis c) Abu Zayd’s student and spiritual son Mohammad Hakem. There is also the director’s own footage of Abu Zayd’s appearance in Al Jazeera and BBC radio in Netherlands. All these are crosscut into each other in a way that can be both interpreted as stimulating and confusing at the same time. What is certain is that Ali Atassi ended up with a gripping, even if elliptic, account of the late years in the life and work of an important contemporary figure.

This film apart from introducing us to Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, provides food for thought in several areas. I had the chance to watch it at the Sheffield Documentary Festival. After the screening I took part in and also recorded a lively discussion between the director and the audience. Click and listen below for an insight into the following subjects:

• Film as a medium for propagating ideas
• Fight against fundamentalism
• Faith in charismatic figures vs. collective effort towards social and political change
• Attitude of media towards intellectuals – ignorance, vulgarity, arrogance
• Conventional aesthetics in film-making vs. deliberate disregard towards them
• Approach to storytelling: total exposition to the background vs. elliptical narration
• Relation between documentary film-maker and subject/protagonists in their film

Part 1:

Part 1

Part 2:

Part 2

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New term, new building, new President…

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Emma Wass speaks to Joshua Forstenzer, president of the University of Sheffield Students’ Union.

Josh Fostenzer speaks to Emma Wass

As a non-British PhD student, Josh talks about how he hopes to bring something different to the role. He speaks passionately about the Students’ Union’s involvement with the local community and discusses the Gold Award, which was granted by the Student Union Evaluation Initiative to the union.

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The end of Bullfighting in Spain?

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Bullfighting ban in Catalonia

Spain has been famous for its somewhat controversial tradition of bullfighting, which is still a big part of the country’s fiesta culture. As a spectator sport, it is still widely popular, with several thousand Spaniards attending each week.

Despite this, in July the parliament of Catalonia voted to ban bullfighting after a petition was brought against it. The petition was signed by 180,000 people who believe this tradition to be barbaric and outdated. In the vote held on July 28, 68 voted in favour of the ban, 55 voted against and nine abstained.

Communities Live reporters Carlota Calderón and Emma Wass interviewed three Spaniards to ask for their opinion regarding this new legislation, which will take effect in January 2012.

Carlota is a Spanish native from the northern city of Pamplona, where San Fermines, the “running of the bulls” festival is held every summer. Emma spent a few months in the same region, Navarra, so has also experienced the fiesta culture first hand.

The interviewees are Hisham Melara from Granada, Andalucía, Oscar Floristán from Navarra, and Nacho Vázquez from Zaragoza.

The report discusses the moral issue regarding bullfighting i.e. animal welfare and the political issues behind the ban which relate to Catalonia’s fight for independence from the rest of Spain.

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Mind your language(s)

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Emma Wass with Annika Vale (left), Katherine Smith and Cllr Mike Reynolds

Audio – GCSE languages

GCSE results in August showed the percentage of students leaving school with a decent grasp of foreign languages at a record low. The number of students taking a language at GCSE has dropped by a third since the government made it optional in 2004.

Communities Live presenter Emma Wass spoke to Cllr Mike Reynolds from Languages Sheffield, Katherine Smith from the IBC programme and Annika Vale from local translation company TransAction Translators, to discuss this issue.

The panel discussed the coalition’s proposal to reintroduce a compulsory language at GCSE, which languages children should be studying, and why it is important to have knowledge of a foreign language.

The report was aired on Communities Live.

Darnall Post Office – local community in action

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While the big society initiative may still be limited to speeches made by Prime Minister David Cameron, a Sheffield neighbourhood has already put it to test. Darnall Forum, a Darnall based charity rescued their local post office with the help of the Sheffield City Council. The community-run post office will be inaugurated on Tuesday, August 21. The post office was one of 65 in South Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Huddersfield and Colne Valley selected for closure by Post Office Ltd in 2008.

Sheffield Live! reporter Nick Mosley chats with Rob Russell, manager of the Darnall Post Office about this unique initiative, the effort that went into it and what it means for the local community.

DarnallPostOffice-NickMosley.mp3

The report was aired on Communities Live on August 27, 2010.

A Flavor of Sharrow Festival 2010

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On the 3rd of July, the 13th ‘Sharrow Festival’ was once again held on ‘Mount Pleasant Park’ and continued its reputation as one of Sheffield’s best local festivals with over 7000 people attending to enjoy various music stages and nearly 100 stalls providing a wide selection of foods, crafts and information.

In these two reports produced and presented by Erini Apostolidou for Sheffield Live, we take a closer look at some of the events and people around the festival.

Part 1: Evelyn Joseph presents a local project for sexual health awareness in the BME communities. Ronin Barkshire explains why the extraction of oil from tar sands has to stop and how the struggle to achieve this is connected with saving energy here in the UK. Georgina Valentine gives us an insight on the beneficial effects of meditation. Usua, Maira and their friends tell us about their expectations from the festival and stress the need to bring famous bhangra musicians and performers.

[audio:http://web.sheffieldlive.org/podcast/get.php?web=j5768.mp3|titles=The Sharrow Festival 2010|artists=Erini Apostolidou]

Part 2: A compilation of music performed live at the festival. From rap to gypsy and from a cappella singing to karaoke. Don’t miss young Pallav singing the Jacksons 5 hit “I’ll be there”

[audio:http://web.sheffieldlive.org/podcast/get.php?web=j5776.mp3|titles=The Sharrow Festival 2010|artists=Erini Apostolidou]

Latest Sheffield Podcasts

SHEFFIELD: Forgemasters by Amna Kaleem

The biggest casualty of the recent budget in Sheffield has been the cancellation of the £80million loan to the city’s steel manufacturer Forgemasters. The loan was approved in March when the Labour government’s business secretary Peter Mandelson came down to the city of steel and made the announcement.

The loan was to be spent on constructing a 15,000 tonne forging press to make components for nuclear reactors. This plan would have created around400 jobs in the city. Once completed, the forging press, was expected to attract international business as the demand for heavy nuclear forgings is estimated to triple by 2020, up to 70,000 tonnes. There are currently five companies, capable of producing large nuclear components, and only one possessing a forging press as large as the one planned for Sheffield.

This podcast takes a look at how the city responded to the decision, featuring interviews with the city’s Labour MPs, Leader of the City Council, Lib Dem Councillor Paul Scriven, Doug Patterson, Unite’s regional representatives and locals who signed the petition asking the government to rethink its decision.

[audio:http://web.sheffieldlive.org/podcast/get.php?web=j5576.mp3|titles=Sheffield: Forgemasters|artists= Communities Live!]

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SHEFFIELD: City Of Culture by Amna Kaleem

‘City of Culture 2013’ aims to build on the success of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture 2008, which had significant social and economic benefits for the area. The winning city will be one that is able to deliver a substantial programme of cultural activity which leads to a demonstrable step-change in their area, and a lasting legacy. The four finalist cities are: Sheffield, Birmingham, Derry/Londonderry and Norwich.

The Sheffield bid aims to position a whole generation of young people in the driving seat for culture. The programme will uncover, nurture, inspire and showcase the talent and energy of Sheffield’s young people as the city’s emerging cultural asset. The city will become the stage for their cultural programme in which many elements are produced by and with young people and will connect with the wider generations of Sheffield.

We wish to engage everyone in the city in creating, making and performing cultural activities in 2013. Our people won’t just watch culture, they will create it themselves and produce an original, authentic, interactive and international programme.

This podcasts talks to Council Cllr Paul Scriven on the city’s bid to become UK’s first City of Culture and first aired on Sheffield Live! 93.2FM on June 16, 2010.

[audio:http://web.sheffieldlive.org/podcast/get.php?web=j5577.mp3|titles=Sheffield: City of Culture|artists= Communities Live!]

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SHEFFIELD: City Of Sanctuary by Amna Kaleem

City of Sanctuary is a movement to build a culture of hospitality for refugees and asylum-seekers. In 2007, with the support of the City Council, Sheffield became the UK’s first ‘City of Sanctuary’ for asylum-seekers and refugees—a city that takes pride in the welcome it offers to people in need of safety.More than 100 local organisations including schools, community projects, student groups, and most of Sheffield’s main faith communities have now joined the movement.

This podcast (Broadcast on June 16, 2010) is a report on Sheffield’s status as the City of Sanctuary for asylum seekers and refugees. The podcast features interviews with Sarah Elridge, development officer for Sheffield City of Sanctuary; Lib Dem Cllr Shaffaq Mohammad; Rodrigo Edema from Uganda, Tendero from Zimbabwe and Jinan from Lebanon, who all have successfully progressed from asylum seekers to refugee status.

[audio:http://web.sheffieldlive.org/podcast/get.php?web=j5578.mp3|titles=Sheffield: City of Sanctuary|artists= Communities Live!]