Monthly Archives: September 2022

Find out more about the Female Inclusion and Empowerment Conference

- Female Inclusion and Empowerment Conference on Thursday 13 October 2022- The event will take place at the John Smiths Stadium from 8.30amnoon- Event sponsored by iTrain Legal

The John Smiths Stadium is hosting its first Female Inclusion and Empowerment Conference on Thursday 13 October 2022; from 8.30am until noon.

This is a free conference and networking event open to all to promote female inclusion in sport and other industries, through a series of inspirational talks.

Taking place at the John Smiths Stadium on Thursday 13 October 2022, from 8.30am until noon, the conference will provide attendees with lots of information and inspiration around Female Inclusion and Empowerment!

Dorigen Sykes, the Headline Speaker at this conference, will reflect on her journey from working in the Ticket Office at Huddersfield Town to becoming Managing Director of her own technology training business.

She will discuss the many challenges she has had to inherent in achieving career success as a woman and try to provide inspiration to pursue goals in career and life regardless of gender. Dorigen will be on hand to share tips on how to support the women and girls in your life to be whomever they want to be.

Alongside Dorigen, there will be a flurry of guest speakers to follow:

Jacqui Gedman (CEO of Kirklees Council) will share details on her career to date and the lessons she learnt along the way, as well as the things she wishes she could have told her younger self!

Kim Leadbeater (MP for Batley and Spen) set up her own business after finishing college as a personal trainer, wellbeing coach, and group exercise instructor and will speak about the importance of sport for womens empowerment in the UK and internationally.

Steph Bartle (Delivery Lead for Apprenticeships, Kirklees Council Employment and Skills Team) is driven by a desire to ensure that opportunities are accessible to all and will give an overview of the Employment Skills service at Kirklees Council.

Solat Chaudhry (CEO of the National Centre for Diversity) will focus on the ambivalence and complacency we still have around gender equality, if we get gender equality right then we will have taken a large step at getting equality right.

Anne Bell (Former Senior People Lead for HSBC UK Corporate Bank) was instrumental in recognising the need for menopause awareness, education, and support within the HSBC UK Corporate Bank.

Joseph Bell (Speciality Dental Registrar in Orthodontics) will share how he has been heavily involved in raising awareness and helping to reduce the taboo around menopause in the dental profession.

Representatives of Huddersfield Town will present an overview of the Club's female inclusion work to reinforce the importance of football being a game for everyone.

If you would like to attend the conference or to find more information on the guest speakers that will be making appearances, then CLICK HERE to register for free!

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FEMALE INCLUSION AND EMPOWERMENT CONFERENCE - News - htafc.com

RESTON, Va. & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Neustar Inc., a TransUnion company and LiveVox Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVOX), a leading cloud-based provider of customer service and digital engagement tools, are collaborating to help improve outbound customer contactability. The partnership integrates Neustar Caller Name Optimization (CNO) and SmartDial solutions into LiveVoxs four separate outbound dialing solutions that help increase contact rates and improve engagement while helping to mitigate compliance risk.

In todays complex and highly regulated digital communications landscape, our goal is to continuously improve the ways our contact center customers connect to their consumers to make the experience as quick and seamless as possible, said LiveVox CEO and co-founder Louis Summe. Communicating with consumers, however, is becoming more difficult because contact information is continuously changing and people are not answering their phones if they dont know or trust who is calling. The integration of CNO and SmartDial into our platform will help enhance our capabilities with identity-based solutionsand enable organizations to connect with consumers and get the most out of each dial, saving time and resources.

LiveVox customers can now more easily mitigate compliance risk, and minimize dials, by automatically leveraging the right number, day and time to reach the right party. In most cases, the solutions take just two weeks to implement. These capabilities will be available to LiveVoxs customers in the financial services, healthcare, telecom, lead generation, and collections industries, among others.

Collectors that employ intelligent contact solutions position themselves to connect with consumers faster, improve revenue recovery and reduce compliance risk, with organizations experiencing an average 25% increase in right party contact rates, said Robert McKay, senior vice president of customer identity and risk solutions for Neustar. The intelligence that CNO and SmartDial provide to enable better customer contactability regardless of the industry helps enhance both consumer trust and efficiency.

CNO helps enterprises designate verified business numbers for all outbound calls, ensuring they are not mislabeled, tagged as spam or blocked. SmartDial is a dialer workflow automation engine that provides dialers with pre-loaded contact intelligence and the best day and time for reaching specific contacts. Together, these solutions enable better customer contactability to improve customer experience and operational efficiencies.

For more information on Neustars CNO and SmartDial solutions, please visit home.neustar/trusted-call-solutions.

For more information on LiveVoxs purpose-build contact center solutions, please visit livevox.com.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)

TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing an actionable picture of each person so they can be reliably represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good. A leading presence in more than 30 countries across five continents, TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences, and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people. http://www.transunion.com

About Neustar

Neustar, Inc., a TransUnion company, is a leader in identity resolution providing the data and technology that enable trusted connections between companies and people at the moments that matter most. Neustar offers industry-leading solutions in marketing, risk and communications that responsibly connect data on people, devices and locations, continuously corroborated through billions of transactions. Learn how your company can benefit from the power of trusted connections. https://www.home.neustar

About LiveVox

LiveVox (Nasdaq: LVOX) is a next generation contact center platform that powers more than 14 billion omnichannel interactions a year. By seamlessly unifying blended omnichannel communications, CRM, AI, and WEM capabilities, the Companys technology delivers exceptional agent and customer experiences, while helping to mitigate compliance risk. With 20 years of cloud experience and expertise, LiveVoxs CCaaS 2.0 platform is at the forefront of cloud contact center innovation. The Company has more than 650 global employees and is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Atlanta; Columbus; Denver; St. Louis; Medellin, Colombia; and Bangalore, India. To stay up to date with everything LiveVox visit livevox.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Some of the forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words. Statements that are not historical in nature, including those containing the words anticipate, expect, suggests, plan, believe, intend, estimates, targets, projects, should, could, would, may, will, forecast, opportunity and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon management estimates and forecasts and reflect the views, assumptions, expectations, and opinions of LiveVox as of the date of this press release, and may include, without limitation, changes in general economic conditions, including as a result of COVID-19, all of which are accordingly subject to change. Any such estimates, assumptions, expectations, forecasts, views or opinions set forth in this press release constitute LiveVoxs judgments and should be regarded as indicative, preliminary and for illustrative purposes only. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are subject to a number of factors, risks and uncertainties, some of which are not currently known to LiveVox, which may cause the LiveVoxs actual results, performance or financial condition to be materially different from the expectations of future results, performance of financial condition. Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results are described in LiveVoxs filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 11, 2022. Although forward-looking statements have been made in good faith and are based on assumptions that LiveVox believes to be reasonable, there is no assurance that the expected results will be achieved. LiveVoxs actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and LiveVox does not undertake any obligations to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Neustar and LiveVox Join Forces to Improve Outbound Customer Contactability - Business Wire

The number of young people in Africa is rising quickly. Africa was home to 226 million people aged 15-24 in 2015 almost a fifth of the youth population worldwide. According to projections, there will be 42% more young people in Africa by 2030.

Already, Africa is home to the worlds largest youth population with 70% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa being under the age of 30.

In Ghana, meanwhile, young people make up just over 35% of the population meaning theres huge potential for young people in Ghana and across sub-Saharan Africa to empower their communities and bring about transformational change. But first, they must be empowered themselves.

So far, however, this empowerment is yet to happen in Ghana (although the government did launch its YouStart programme in March this year aiming to tackle the issue), and it shows in the nations rates of youth unemployment. Ghana has a youth unemployment rate of 12% and an underemployment rate of over 50%, according to the World Bank this month higher than overall unemployment rates across other sub-Saharan African countries, and compared to an average national unemployment rate of about 6%.

Ghana's youth employment challenge is vast and requires an all-round, deliberate, and consistent response, said Pierre Frank Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.

The very good news, however, is that there are activists, advocates, and organisations already out there working to empower young people and set them up for the futures they need and deserve. As part of our Global Citizen Festival campaign, and in the run up to Global Citizen Festival: Accra on Sept. 24 find out more about the festival and how you can get free tickets here were working closely with five organizations in Ghana and across sub-Saharan Africa that are empowering young people and changing lives.

Lets dive in to see who these organizations are and what they do.

The Ghana Education Collaborative provides support to exceptional students who are living in poverty in Ghana. As well as academic scholarships, the nonprofit also provides mentorship opportunities, access to a strong peer community, and guidance for students all year round, focusing on leadership development so they can impact their communities too. The organization envisions a time when education is accessible to all Ghanaian students.

Africa Matters Initiative is a youth-led organization that believes Africas large youth population is an opportunity for the continued development and growth of the continent.

To this end, they upskill and empower young Africans through capacity building and community impact projects. The objective is to see all African youth become change-makers who empower those around them.

LEAP Africa is a youth-focused leadership development nonprofit on a mission to inspire, empower, and equip a new generation of leaders with the skills and tools for personal and community transformation.

It provides capacity building for young people in leadership, education, employability, entrepreneurship, and civic participation to enable citizens to demand good governance and creatively address social issues.

Joy Olivier and Makhosi Gogwana founded Ikamva Youth in 2003, working to provide a safe space where students have access to after-school care, including homework support and other services. Having grown from humble beginnings, they now have more than 15 branches across South Africa and support over 5,000 learners yearly.

Junior Achievement Africa empowers and enables youth to thrive in a global economy. To allow young people to own their economic success, they strongly emphasise entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and work readiness.

Now youve met these incredible organisations, you can join us in supporting their work. You can do this by taking action here to support the Global Citizen Festival campaign in empowering girls and women, driving climate action, breaking the systemic barriers that keep people in poverty, and protecting and uplifting the worlds advocates and activists.

Well also be sharing more about these organisations and their work in the lead up to Global Citizen Festival, so follow us @GlblCtznAfrica on Twitter and Facebook, and @GlblCtzn on Instagram and TikTok, so you dont miss a thing.

If youd like to, you can also support the work of these organisations financially, by donating to one or more of them through our partnership with GlobalGiving.

Global Citizen Festivalis calling on world leaders, corporations, and philanthropists to do more than theyve ever done before to End Extreme Poverty NOW. Through our global campaign and with stages in two iconic locations NYCs Central Park and Accras Black Star Square we will unite leaders, artists, activists, and Global Citizens around the world on Sept. 24 to achieve an ambitious policy agenda focused on empowering girls and women, taking climate action, breaking systemic barriers, and lifting up activists and advocates. Wherever you are in the world, you can join the campaign and take action right now bydownloading the Global Citizen app.

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5 Organisations We've Teamed Up With to Empower Africa's Young People - Global Citizen

If you ever feel lacking in personal inspiration, you need to only look on the internet. On social media, there has been a huge wave of aesthetic trends. The various aesthetics group together an appearance or vibe that people can use as guidelines for fashion or home decor. Some people go a bit more extreme with their adherence to their core aesthetic and forget that there can still be problematic aspects to it.

In 2020, Cottagecore (a celebration of cottage life/simple country living, lots of floral prints, and pastels) made it to the mainstream news. A more recent trend focuses on the neon pink vibe with Barbiecore. Another one on the rise celebrates all things Stevie Nickswait, no, I mean all things witchy (but Stevie is close enough). Lets dive into the moody and beautiful world of Witchcore.

During times of worldly troubles, humans turn towards witchcraft. Overall, it gives us a sense of control and a way to understand the seemingly random (and usually negative) events in the universe. Using potions, herbs, and rituals calms us. So, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Witchcore (and people identifying as witches) grew into an internet subculture. Who doesnt want a magic potion (salts and herbs) in their baths to relax instantly? And almost everyone has wanted to see into the future by having their tarot cards or palm read at least once.

Even before 2020, a witchy theme had been stirring since the 2016 election. Using witches as an empowerment symbol among women worked to rebel against the patriarchy. One example was the widespread appearance of the phrase we are the granddaughters of the witches you werent able to burn on protest signs on t-shirts. Although witchcraft (and all things related to it) is not a gender-specific practice, it is something that draws in a huge amount of women. With the focus on goddesses (and Mother Earth), self-empowerment, and lack of a condescending father figure, it only makes sense why people who feel powerless in other aspects of society love it.

Witchcore is for everyone, not just people who identify as witches. If you are familiar with the ongoing list of specialized aesthetics, Witchcore is like a combination of Naturecore and Dark Academia with a dash of the mystical. There are dusty tomes, crystals, overgrown plants, glass bottles, herbs, and candles. Brooms, cauldrons, tarot cards, and celestial-themed items also pop up often. Most animals are welcome, such as snakes, crows, and owlsand of course, cats. Lots of cats, especially black ones. Basically, anything that you think a witch would own or be associated with will appear in Witchcore.

For clothing choices, black is always in (but other colors are acceptable). Flowy clothing, large-brimmed hats, and silver jewelry round out the look. Inspiration for outfits can come from popular media like American Horror Story: Coven, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and witchy classic The Craft. Or you can try getting ideas from The Owl House. It may be billed as a kids show, but it is full of super cute witchy stuff and is one of the best shows on television.

A popular aspect of Witchcore is the act of sage burning or smudging. Many do not realize this is cultural appropriation. The use of white sage to smudge a person or an area is a tradition specifically from Native American cultures. Not only is it now trendy to do something indigenous people were once punished for practicing, but such mainstream use of the plant is causing over-harvesting, leaving those who use it for spiritual ceremonies with a dwindling supply. Instead of sage burning/smudging, do a smoke cleanse using homegrown sage, incense, or other herbs. People used smoke cleansing practices all over the world, so you are more than likely to find something that fits with your personal heritage.

For me, the trend is kind of a mixed bag. I have been a practicing witch since I delved into the craft around the age of twelve. This means I have traveled down the path for over twenty years. On the plus side, I can now find clothes and housewares that fit my tastes at mainstream stores. I mean, they are now selling Wiccan books at Target. It also makes witches much less scary and off-putting. Witchcore may even be a way for people to explore witchcraft in a non-threatening way and become full-fledged witches.

However, I would like to remind people that some of us are witches who have not had a lot of community acceptance for our aesthetic. In the past, wearing a pentagram or dressing witchy made you a target rather than cool. Teachers, strangers, and co-workers have harassed me for my beliefs over most of my life. So, please remember that for witches, we dont wear certain symbols because they look cute; it is because they hold power and meaning to us.

Overall, if it makes you happy (and doesnt hurt anyone), do what you want. We can all wear big hats, light a candle, and dance under the full Moon while Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac plays in the background.

(featured image: FX)

The Mary Sue has a strict comment policythat forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults towardanyone, hate speech, and trolling.

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What is Witchcore? The Aesthetic Gaining Popularity on Social Media, Explained - The Mary Sue

This month marks the 10-year anniversary of Tinder; a decade filled with swiping right, curating the perfect bio, and posing proudly with dead fish. It is pretty remarkable that, in such a considerably short period of time, online dating apps have completely revolutionised the world of romance.

According to data from Statista, 3.2 million Australians were using dating apps in 2021 such as Tinder, Grindr, Bumble and Hinge, making it the most common way to find a partner. Over a quarter of these daters stated they were using these platforms to find a long-term partner, with the largest demographic aged between 25 to 34.

Last year 3.2 million Australians were using dating apps such as Tinder, Grindr, Bumble and Hinge.Credit:iStock

Long gone are the days of casually meeting in a pub and feeling a spark across the room dating is now a matter of carefully selected profile pictures and setting your preferred radius to locate the love of your life.

We have a tendency to mourn the ye ol days of rom-com style romance, regarding dating apps as a colder method to find love and romance. Swiping through profiles and forming judgments within a couple of seconds can, understandably, feel a little extreme.

However, this perception disregards some of the important advantages that have been gained with the advent of these apps, namely in terms of the control and new sense of empowerment.

Romance is no longer left to the hands of fate and convenience. It does not depend upon meeting your soulmate in secondary school, or bumping into them at the bookstore. Dating apps have opened up worlds of romantic possibilities outside our personal bubbles.

Dating apps have opened up worlds of romantic possibilities outside our personal bubbles.Credit:Shutterstock

I met my partner online at the start of 2020, only weeks before the world as we knew it turned topsy-turvy. If it wasnt for dating apps, we wouldnt have met. Its as simple as that. We had no mutual friends, worked in entirely dissimilar careers, and he would much rather be kicking a soccer ball around while I would be at the theatre. There is no way our two circles would have ever collided.

Two and a half years after swiping onto his profile, we are in the process of unpacking the boxes of our first house together.

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After 10 years of swiping right, what have we gained from Tinder? - Sydney Morning Herald

Stephen Shames had just turned 20 when he visited the headquarters of the Black Panther party in Oakland, California, and showed some of his recent photographs to Bobby Seale, co-founder and main spokesman for the organisation. Though Shames was still finding his way as a photographer, Seale liked what he saw and decided to use some of the pictures in the Black Panther newspaper. So it was that a young white guy from Cambridge, Massachusetts became the official chronicler of the Black Panthers from 1967 to 1973, documenting their community programmes, protests, rallies, arrests and funerals at close hand.

The Panthers were never a black nationalist organisation, says Shames, now 74. They formed alliances with many black writers and activists and their whole legal team was white. They were not out to get white people, as the American government insisted. They were a revolutionary organisation who worked with anybody they felt was sincerely trying to change the system to benefit poor people and create a more just society.

Since that time, Shames has published two photobooks about that struggle The Black Panthers (2006) and Power to the People: the World of the Black Panthers (2016) as well as several other titles that attest to a life of activism and deep engagement with his subjects. Next month, he will complete his trilogy on that era with a book that, as he puts it, is long overdue. Co-authored with former Black Panther Ericka Huggins, who is now a writer and educator, Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party is a dynamic visual and oral testament to the crucial role played by women in a revolutionary group whose figureheads, with a few exceptions, were men.

In her foreword to the book, the activist and author Angela Davis points out that 66% of the membership of the Black Panthers was female. She writes: Because the media tended to focus on what could be easily sensationalised There has been a tendency to forget that the organising work that truly made the Black Panther Party relevant to a new era of struggle for liberation was largely carried out by women.

At the black Free Huey rally in Provo Park in Oakland, later re-named Martin Luther King, Jr Civic Center Park, 1971.

The book is a powerful record of an intense period of grassroots activism and political engagement, a counter-narrative to the one propagated by J Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, who called the Panthers the greatest threat to the internal security of the country. Like the Black Panther men, the women members tended to look both stylish and dramatic, often sporting afros and at times wearing the black leather jackets and berets that were the Panther uniform. Most young people are photogenic, says Shames, but the Panthers were charismatic. It was something to do with the pride they instilled in their people. Rather than treating them as a problem, as the government did, they gave them a sense of faith and pride and I really think that shines through in the photographs.

Shamess extraordinary access allowed him to capture fly-on-the-wall shots of young women at protest rallies, but also carrying out on-the-ground organising of various Black Panther community initiatives, including the Free Breakfast for Children Program, the Peoples Free Ambulance Service and the Peoples Free Medical Clinics, which offered medical care, including sickle-cell anaemia testing. Though the series is punctuated by images of well-known female members Kathleen Cleaver (law professor and former communications secretary for the party), Elaine Brown (prison activist, writer and former chair of the party), and the late Afeni Shakur (political activist and mother of rapper Tupac Shakur) most of the testimonies come from ordinary black women whose youthful engagement with the Black Panthers remains the most empowering moment of their lives.

Carol Henry, who joined the Oakland chapter of the Panthers, recalls: I joined the BPP when I was 20 years old. I lived in a part of town where the Free Breakfast for School Children Program ran. We got up at 3am; it was a real mission, but it was beautiful. We gave those children a full breakfast every day. Cooking that breakfast was the most memorable part, because everybody got up so early and everybody worked together. Another woman, Barbara Easley-Cox, who was in the Philadelphia chapter, remembers: Love is what tied me to the party; it exemplified how I understood love. And that is: you have to love people, to serve them. I was so loved. So blessed on this earth because of my sisters, all of us, who came into the party. Its lacking today, when I look out on this landscape in America.

As co-author, Ericka Huggins wrote the introductory essay and tracked down, as she puts it, the women who were there and whose individual testimonies we could use to evoke how extraordinary that time was for many of us. Hugginss own moment of political awakening was seismic. Aged 18, and a student at Lincoln University in Philadelphia, she picked up a copy of the radical leftist magazine Ramparts and saw a photograph of a young black man strapped to a hospital gurney with a bullet wound in his stomach. Next to him, a policeman stood grinning at the camera. On reading the accompanying report, she found out that the young man was Huey P Newton, a co-founder of the party, who had authored the partys 10-point manifesto with Seale in 1966. I studied the picture for some time, she recalled years later, I didnt have tears for it, I was so appalled.

The following day, she left a note for her friend and fellow student John Huggins that read: I am going to California if I have to walk. I am going to find Huey Newton and work in his defence. Are you coming?

The pair subsequently drove across the country to Los Angeles, where they joined the local Black Panther chapter, which then comprised around 20 members. They were married soon afterwards and initially worked at whatever task was necessary: answering phones, selling newspapers, writing letters to politicians and talking to potential financial donors. Not long after their arrival in California, they attended the funeral of 17-year-old Bobby Hutton, who had been killed in disputed circumstances during a shoot-out between the Panthers and the Oakland police. The person waiting in line next to me to pay his respects was Marlon Brando, says Huggins. He looked as heartbroken as I felt.

Gloria Abernethy sells the Black Panther newspaper while Tamara Lacey holds a sickle-cell anaemia poster at the Mayfair supermarket boycott in Oakland, California, 1971.

The killing was an augury. In January 1969, her husband, who had become a leader of the Los Angeles Black Panthers, was assassinated on the campus of UCLA by alleged members of a black nationalist group, the US Organization. The killing was thought by many in the black community to be linked to the Cointelpro programme that was being conducted clandestinely and illegally by the FBI against the Black Panthers. In December that year, Black Panthers Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were killed in an FBI-orchestrated raid on Hamptons apartment.

Widowed with a three-week old daughter, Huggins moved to her husbands home town of New Haven, Connecticut and, alongside Kathleen Cleaver and Elaine Brown, organised a branch of the Black Panther party there. In 1969, she was arrested alongside Bobby Seale, and charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy but, after a lengthy trial, the charges were dismissed in May 1971.

Panthers sons and daughters march in front of the Black Panther office on Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, 1971.

The word conspiracy was used a lot at the time, she says now, calmly. We spent time in jail for a murder we did not commit or have anything to do with. The system, then as now, was punitive. We were punished before we even entered the courtroom and their aim was to keep us in prison for ever

Did her time in prison dent the sense of optimism and empowerment she had experienced when she joined the Black Panthers? My optimism was dented by my husband being killed, she replies, and by not being able to see my daughter except for a single hour every Saturday. But I chose not to let it break my spirit. When I was in solitary and grieving, I taught myself to meditate in a way that brought me into a deeper focus, so that when I went to court I could be really present. Its a practice I have kept to this day.

Glen Wheeler and Claudia Grayson at George Jacksons funeral in Oakland, California, 28 August 1971.

Huggins insists that her experience was not exceptional and that it helped me help the women I contacted to tell their stories, because its hard sometimes to go back. Alongside Shamess powerful images of a moment of black activism that echoes through the decades to this day, those stories evoke a time in which young black women experiencedlifechanging personal empowerment and collective possibility.

These are not war stories, says Huggins, who spent 14 years as a Black Panther, making her the longest serving woman in their history. They are stories of service to humanity. The reason they are so striking, touching and inspiring is because you can sense how beautiful and alive the women were in that moment. Every function of the government that could do harm to us did so, but we kept stepping out and stepping up, because we were giving our communities what had never been given. I think all the women in the book realise that, because they can remember how great they felt back then, what they learned, and what was indelibly imprinted on their minds and in their hearts. The book is our legacy.

Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party by Stephen Shames and Ericka Huggins will be published by ACC Art Books on 9 October. There will also be a book signing and talk on 9 October at Marcus Books in Oakland with the co-authors and special guest Angela Davis, 2-4pm

Link:

Sisters of the revolution: the women of the Black Panther party - The Guardian

Corruption involving PPE was uncovered soon after Covid hit South African shores.

Black economic empowerment policy was corrupted by officials appointed by the ANC and has been used to perpetrate economic crimes, arguesCasper Lotter.

More than two decades ago the South African government put in place a policy designed to redress racial imbalances in the countrys economy. But, as I suggest in a recent paper, the policy known as broad-based black economic empowerment) has been hijacked and repurposed by individuals and factions within the ruling African National Congress (ANC) for the purpose of corruption and self-enrichment.

This was particularly noticeable during the Covid pandemic. The governments Special Investigating Unit found that corruption or fraud accounted for 66% of all national funding set aside for the procurement of personal protective equipment.

I argue that the empowerment policy has been corrupted by officials appointed by the ANC and has been used to perpetrate economic crimes. I contend that the policy, as an ideological vehicle, was repurposed for self-enrichment.

I argue that the repurposed policy benefits only a tiny group, amid widespread unemployment, economic stagnation and poverty.

The original intention of the black economic empowerment policy to transform the South African economy by enhancing the participation of black people. The aim was to erase systemic racist inequities that had built up over centuries.

Before 1994, economic opportunities were denied African people. The policy set out to redress this historical imbalance in all spheres of the economy and society.

The initiative was wide-ranging. It included employment equity, skills development and preferential procurement. Another aspect was enterprise development, in terms of ownership and management representation.

In this way, the policy was meant to address issues that affected most black people unemployment, economic stagnation and poverty not just the elites.

But its repurposing has benefited a small elite, who have, with few exceptions, escaped accountability. Predictably, very few people have been charged with Covid tender corruption. And those exposing corrupt practices open themselves up to severe danger. A shocking example was the assassination of Babita Deokaran. She was a provincial health department whistle blower for the Special Investigating Unit, which had been looking into a multi-million rand scandal over the supply of personal protective equipment.

This lack of accountability is described by Jeffrey Reiman, an American conflict criminologist, in what he describes as Pyrrhic defeat theory. He contends that the criminal justice system in capitalist states demonises the poor to deflect the crimes of the rich.

In South Africa, the justice system is much more focused on crimes generally committed by poor people than on the crimes largely committed by the affluent and the politically connected.

Stanley Cohen, a world expert on crimes committed by the state, suggests that crimes committed by the rich and powerful are rarely prosecuted.

In my paper I show how vested interests in the South African government used the Covid-19 pandemic as a form of disaster capitalism. This is a term coined by the Canadian social and political activist Naomi Klein. By latching onto natural disasters, such as Covid-19, rich industrialists remake the scene, resulting in great profits for themselves. Klein explains:

(once a crisis) has struck it was crucial to act swiftly, to impose rapid and irreversible change before the crisis-racked society slipped back into the tyranny of the status quo.

In the case of Covid-19 in South Africa, the authoritarian measures used in the hard lockdown provided the conditions under which people could more easily divert contracts to patronage networks.

An added factor that has enabled the repurposing of the black economic empowerment policy has been the ANCs cadre-based deployment policy. This involves the government appointing members of the governing party to government positions irrespective of their competence. This has led to the creation of vast patronage networks within the ANC.

As South African political analyst Ralph Mathekga suggests in his well-informed book The ANCs Last Decade (2021),

decisions (were) made to serve the patronage networks flowing through the ANC to benefit the interests of an elite group of party officials and businessmen.

The crux of my argument is that black economic empowerment has become a disguise which has been repeatedly used to hoodwink the public. It is being used to enrich a few people while masquerading as a vehicle for mass empowerment.

This same criminal modus operandi was essentially employed during the Covid pandemic. In particular, the supply and distribution of the vaccine and personal protective equipment were enacted within the framework of the policy. Contracts were awarded solely on the criterion of being aligned to the ANC. Merit or even qualified merit didnt matter.

Economic redress is clearly justified in view of South Africas failed project of economic redistribution one of the ANCs election promises in 1994. But the vast majority of South Africans of all races are excluded from the benefits as corruption has taken hold.

The confluence of state capture (a process whereby state resources and institutions were appropriated on a gigantic scale to benefit a tiny minority of tenderpreneurs and politically connected people), as well as patronage networks within the ANC, created a perfect storm. It culminated in the governments opportunistic response to the pandemic, even if one concedes that a mere faction within the ruling party drove the initiative in favour of self-enrichment.

Casper Lotter, Research fellow, North-West University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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ANALYSIS | Only SAs elite benefits from black economic empowerment and Covid-19 proved it - News24

As student nurses some of the main buzz words we hear during our first year, centred around effectively communicating with patients, are empathy and compassion, phatic communication, active listening, humanised care, empowerment, respect and trust.

All important and powerful nouns, which send us out into placement with the determination to interact with patients in a meaningful way.

In practice, I have also learnt that human touch can often communicate a thousand words without the need for a single utterance.

"During a first-year placement in endoscopy, I experienced an inspiring example of the power of touch"

Touch is the first sense to develop in infants the importance of skin to skin contact as soon as the baby leaves the womb is widely recognised and it therefore stands to reason that it would continue to remain central to our needs as adults. Research even attributes touch to enhanced sleep regulation, increased immunity to fight infections, improved heart rate and blood pressure, and better mental health outcomes.

During a first-year placement in endoscopy, I experienced an inspiring example of the power of touch when I accompanied a patient into the procedure room for a gastroscopy he was self-assured, talkative and did not appear nervous. I monitored him throughout, and verbally reassured him while taking regular observations.

At the point the scope moved around the first bend of the large colon and the patient experienced increased pain and discomfort, I sensed him staring into my eyes as a non-verbal indication of rising panic and vulnerability. I immediately took his hand and held on tightly for the remainder of the procedure.

Afterwards in recovery he told me he would never forget the significant difference it made to him when I held his hand the simplicity of touch belying the importance of the comfort it gave.

Research into the impact of Covid-19 on patients' physical and mental wellbeing is ongoing, yet it is already acknowledged that the requirement to maintain distance has had a profound effect on the incorporation of touch in nursing, leading perhaps to a more task-orientated approach to provide physical comfort over and above emotional comfort.

This is also known as instrumental touch: the necessary touch required to carry out procedures or direct care, such as personal hygiene and toileting, changing dressings or taking observations, and can be directly contrasted with expressive touch the touch which conveys support and compassion, and which is central to developing a therapeutic relationship with the patient.

As we move forward from the pandemic, and as the next generation of nurses, we need to be even more aware of the powerful tool touch provides in patient communication and person-centred care. We need to become increasingly versed in the impact of touch on both the conscious and the unconscious: evidence indicates that touch has the potential to stimulate a response from unconscious patients when other methods of interaction have failed.

Of course, touch is not always appropriate or welcomed by the patient and preferences must be taken into account.

As student nurses we are learning to evaluate physical and psychological care, and adapting to patients responses to touch forms an important part of this ongoing learning curve.

Georgia Fox is a registered nurse degree apprentice at Bournemouth University

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'We need to be aware of the power of touch' - Nursing Times

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. With the start of the semester, Penn State is reminding students of the resources available to support their mental health.

Natalie Hernandez DePalma, senior director of Penn State Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), and Brett Scofield, CAPS associate director, both note that the number of college students seeking counseling services has increased nationally over the past decade. Additionally, the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been felt nationwide, with students reporting an impact from COVID on their well-being and mental health.

What the data shows us is that some particular areas of distress have increased, such as anxiety, DePalma said. But the increase in distress is not necessarily the only reason why demand is rising. Rather, mental health awareness has become a bigger part of the cultural conversation.

Scofield, who also is executive director of the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, noted that more students are feeling comfortable asking for help, and a growing amount of faculty and staff are successfully identifying students with mental health concerns and referring them for services, which is a positive trend. Initiatives like the Red Folder, which has been well-received and integrated into training and orientation for new and current staff, help those that interact with students learn how to Recognize, Respond and Refer students for support.

The original Red Folder initiative was made possible by a substantial CAPS funding increase from President Eric Barron in 2017 and major support from the 2020 and 2016 senior class gifts. The University Park Undergraduate Association also has helped to create and lead the initiative, which aims to educate faculty and staff members at all campuses on how to identify signs a student might be struggling with their mental health or wellness, as well as resources available to benefit them. A recent Red Folder expansion has offered additional guidance and resources for low and moderate distress in addition to high distress options, and new print folders will be distributed at University Park and the Commonwealth Campuses this semester.

An important component of the Red Folder and creating a community of care is the concept of no wrong door practiced across Penn State, said De Palma and Scofield. This allows students to obtain information, support and direction from whomever they may approach. While each office cant fulfill all needs staff expect and appreciate the opportunity to help a student find the next step and resource in their journey as a student.

The important thing to know is that Penn State cares, we are here for you, and we are equipped to support and empower you. Seeking help demonstrates strength and is a sign of self-compassion and care, said Scofield.

Helping to care and look out for other Penn Staters, including friends, colleagues and peers, is also an important element of what it means to be part of the Penn State community.

If you sense something amiss, say something, DePalma said. If you think someone is struggling, check-in with them, ask how they are, or reach out to a trusted source, like CAPS or the Penn State Crisis Line, for guidance.

This health and wellness webpage, maintained by Penn State Student Affairs, details the many wellness and mental health resources available to support and empower Penn State students, including:

Counseling and mental health services available through CAPS, which can be reached at 814-863-0395 for University Park students, or at each Commonwealth Campus location.

WellTrack, a free app that offers interactive tools for building resilience and managing stress, depression and anxiety with self-help videos; and guidance in determining next steps.

Life Hacks, step-by-step wellness kits designed to help you navigate and demystify some of the more perplexing parts of being human. Instructors can utilize these as pre-packaged extra-credit options for their students.

Drop-in groups focus on peer support and discussion. Stop by at your convenience during the group time. These are not therapy groups and no appointment is required. Topics cover Wellness, Sexual and Gender Diversity, Women of Color Empowerment, Black and Latino Male Empowerment, Interfaith Dialogues, and addiction recovery.

Health Promotion and Wellness at University Park offers wellness and stress management programing.

Free wellness sessions on topics including stress, sleep, nutrition, physical activities, and healthy relationships and sexual health.

Campus Recreation programming, including personal and group fitness classes, outdoor recreation, intramural sports and other offerings.

A full range of medical services, physical therapy, preventive care and immunization services available through University Health Services.

The Collegiate Recovery Community supports students in recovery from alcohol and other substance use disorders.

Support for students experiencing food and housing insecurity or struggling with other essential needs, including assistance with groceries and meals, toiletries and household items, housing, rent and utilities, medical bills and health insurance, textbooks, child care and financial emergencies.

The Red Folder Initiative offers guidance to faculty and staff members on how to identify students who may struggling with their mental health and resources that are available to support them.

The Penn State Crisis Line (877-229-6400) and the Crisis Text Line (text LIONS to 741741), which are open 24/7 to Penn Staters dealing with both crisis and non-crisis situations including faculty, staff and students at all campuses who have a question about someone else. The licensed professionals with the Penn State Crisis Line can help evaluate each individual situation, offer guidance and help connect callers with further resources if appropriate.

Penn State University Libraries has a library guide available on Personal Health and Mental Wellness that includes a variety of wellness-related resources.

For those in immediate crisis, services through CAPS are available without a wait. DePalma and Scofield said a crisis can include thoughts of harming oneself or others, loss of housing, a recent death in the family, or any other traumatic event that profoundly and negatively impacts ones day-to-day life and ability to function.

If you want to connect with a mental health professional in the event of a crisis:

For immediate or life-threatening emergencies, call 911.

Call CAPS at 814-863-0395 during regular business hours, or connect with the counseling offices available at each of Penn States Commonwealth Campuses.

Call the Penn State Crisis Line a 24/7 toll-free service staffed by licensed professionals available to all Penn State students, and those concerned about a student, at University Park and Commonwealth Campuses at 877-229-6400.

Text the 24/7 Crisis Text Line, another 24/7 resource available to all community members, by texting LIONS to 741741.

Students facing unforeseen challenges also may connect with the Office of Student Care and Advocacy, which works with students struggling with everything from medical emergencies and hospitalization to food or housing insecurity. Student Care and Advocacy works with partners across the University to empower students impacted by medical issues, mental health crises, food and housing insecurity and more. Students at Commonwealth Campuses may also benefit from services offered by the Student Affairs office at their individual campus.

DePalma and Scofield acknowledged that college can be a uniquely stressful time for many students, and that the events of the preceding years, including the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to impact students in different ways. But an important thing to understand is that feeling stress in stressful times, or anxious during uncertain times, is a normal and healthy human response to life, especially life transitions.

Anxiety is your bodys way of communicating that something is wrong that it wants you to pay attention to, Scofield said. In new life circumstances, some anxiety is normal, even healthy. Be patient with yourself as you adjust. Its when that anxiety exceeds normal levels if youre feeling nervous and upset on a regular basis, or if anxiety is interfering with your ability to effectively lead your life that you should reach out for help.

James Dillard, distinguished professor of communication arts and sciences at Penn State who researches how people experience and manage fear of infectious diseases, said that while feeling unsure or even fearful in uncertain times is normal, there are also strategies you can use to help manage your emotions.

Dillard said that taking breaks from the news and social media can help manage stress and boost an individuals well-being. He said individuals should gauge the impact the news related to the pandemic has on them while being mindful of their mental and emotional state, and adjust their media intake and interpersonal communication on that basis.

Dillard, DePalma and Scofield also shared that taking proper care of your body and overall wellness can help contribute to positive mental health. They advise students to continue to move their bodies regularly, get plenty of sleep, eat well-balanced and healthy meals at regular intervals, and avoid consumption of alcohol and drugs.

Whatever you may be going through or feeling, let yourself feel it and practice compassionate acceptance of yourself, DePalma said. Rather than trying to shut negative feelings down, its important to be honest with yourself and the people in your life, especially if you need support. And its equally important, for everyone, to keep connected to your important people, to the hobbies and passions that are important to you, and to your own sense of your bigger purpose in the world.

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Students reminded of University resources to support mental health and wellness - Pennsylvania State University

Amanda Robb has transferred her skills from a 27-year career in counselling to being behind the camera for boudoir photography sessions, which she calls self-empowerment body love shoots. Business is booming. Robb, 50, lives in her home in South Brighton, Christchurch, which also doubles as her studio.

AMANDA ROBB:

I picked up a camera because I like to record the beauty around me.

People started offering me money for family photos, landscapes. I just laughed, and said, Are you crazy?

But I did some courses, just having fun; local photographers day courses, and some national five-day landscape courses, online courses on how to use settings.

I realised I was making as much money from part-time photography, mainly weddings, as from my work.

I quit my counselling job and three days later Covid happened, and every wedding was gone.

I had a portfolio for family photography, but I didnt get any bites for that. I posted a model call for normal women who wanted to try modelling in lingerie, and there was a demand for boudoir photography.

It took off like crazy. Its been a full-time roller-coaster since then.

You can figure out which job is more fun. Theyre both great, but I was probably a little burnt-out from being a counsellor for such a long time. And its nice to be self-employed. I can have my own schedule, work what hours I want to work, take breaks when I need them, no commute or office politics.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

The lamp is from Art by Lydia. Lydia Hawkins is a friend of Robbs who does pop art and upholstery.

I dont do that many shoots a week: They're time-consuming. Although I do sometimes travel around the country doing boudoir marathons where we shoot 10 women a weekend.

The whole house is a studio. I shoot out of my bedroom. I feel like Im camping here and the whole house is a photography backdrop.

I had a break-up in January, and I moved out of our home in Belfast. I lived in a campervan for a while. I was homeless for a little while, and then I moved in here.

I bought the house a couple of years ago, knowing if I ever needed to, Id love to live here because of the views. Im looking at it right now, across where the Avon River goes into the estuary. There's a dead end road, a bank, the water with swans.

Its such a beautiful setting, good for a photographer because its always changing: The sun rises and sets, the lights always different, and the birdlife too. And its peaceful.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

Robb says her Canon R5 camera is her baby.

Its three bedrooms but its quite small, 90m. My two children left in the last eight months: My daughter, 21, is flatting in Tauranga, and my son, 19, has joined the army.

I guess like any woman at my age and in my position, its a transition. Ive gone from a large house with six people to living alone. Im lucky I have the business to keep me busy, and lots of friends, but its a transition.

I dont meditate every day, but I sit outside and watch the sunset, have a cup of tea. Or I have friends over, a bottle of wine and watch the sunset. Thats mindfulness.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

The view of the estuary directly outside Robbs South Brighton home faces west, making it perfect for viewing sunsets. .

I used to teach mindfulness in my counselling. You get into something so deeply you see the beauty in it and thats why I wanted to start taking photos.

My clients are just normal women of all ages and sizes, all on a journey to love themselves. They come in really nervous, some are purely terrified of being in lingerie and of being in front of a camera.

First they go and get their makeup and hair done with my business partner, Melodie McColl, in Addington. And then they come here. We go through what theyve brought to wear, and look in my client wardrobe, which is full of lingerie, gowns, wings and stilettos.

She gets changed into the first outfit and then we start.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

The neon sign hangs in the third bedroom where the boudoir shoots usually begin on the chaise longue.

My counselling training probably helps a little. I completely guide them. I control the session hair, lighting, pose, facial expression because they wouldnt. Most hate cameras, and they call themselves not-photogenic.

I call the sessions self-empowerment body love shoots. Weve had women recently whove lost 40kg or 60kg, or theyve just separated from a partner and want a confidence boost. Or just turned 40 or 50 or 60. For all of those reasons people have a shoot. Its often very personal.

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Boudoir photographer Amanda Robb helps 'terrified' women love their bodies - Stuff