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| Africans In London Deserve Respect. |
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| Boris Insults Africans |
African Occupy of Trafalgar Square.
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| This is Africa Day when Ken Livingstone was in power and I was responsible for promoting African culture. |
Read this letter and send in your own compliant to Boris don't forget to copy in the organisers below. Email: Mayor@London.gov.uk
Boris Johnson
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Mayor of London
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City Hall London
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Greetings Mr Johnson,
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The African Heritage Parade & Festival in Trafalgar Square
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The African Heritage Organisational Committee has of yet, not received GLA permission, allowing us to hold a requested licensed event in Trafalgar Square.
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Annually the following communities hold their events in the Trafalgar Square :-
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· St Georges Day
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· Turkish Day
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· St Patrick's Day
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· Diwali,
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· Eid Festival,
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· Korean day.
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· Chinese new year
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· Thai Day
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· Russian day
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· Polish day
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At least another 10 communities/cultures hold their licensed event at Trafalgar Square.
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The vast Majority of the communities that hold licensed events in Trafalgar Square receive funding, support, encouragement and promotion from the GLA.
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The African Community (i.e. all communities of African Heritage) is the only major community that does not have an annual licensed event or festival in the square.
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African Heritage members have held successful Parades, from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square, and Rallies in Trafalgar square in 1992 and 2012.
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The African Heritage Organising Committee now wishes to evolve this into an annual licensed event, where we expect to host over 120 community organisations. Licensed events are less restricted and far more prestigious and befitting to our community. Licensed events by their nature have to be spectacular and that creates a better perception of our community.
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Since June 2012 we have been attempting to secure a date for the 2013 festival and have made two separate applications which have so far not been successful.
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We always hold a spectacular cultural street Parade to open the event, from Speakers corner Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. This year ours plans are that the parade will be even more spectacular with African masquerades, acrobats and (the world's) Africa's biggest traditional drum etc. When the parade arrives at Trafalgar Square the Festival will then begin in earnest. We have already started to get Embassies and High commissions involved to represent the diversity of African Heritage. There simply is no better outdoor location that is more appropriate than Trafalgar Square.
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Their main reason given for our first application being unsuccessful was that they felt Trafalgar Square was too big and we should find a smaller venue because we did not fill the square in 2012, even though the event was organised in just two months and was our first time since 1992.
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The 1992 event was very well attended. So to ensure a very good attendance this year we expect partnerships with over 100 community organisations, these include, schools, trade unions, ex servicemen of the Navy, Army and Air force, Human rights organisations, Dance groups, Drumming groups, singing clubs, youth mentoring groups, African cultural organisations, Haiti Earthquake and Caribbean cultural organisations, Brazilian cultural organisations, Berber organisations, Papua New Guinea, steel band and brass band groups, Salsa, Zumba and Samba groups etc.
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This is all to ensure we have a world Class event with a large turnout.
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We were advised to get an approved and accredited events management company. We selected CLP ltd who are approved and accredited by the GLA. CLP ltd has held more than 50 licensed events in Trafalgar square. They helped us to draw up a second proposal for a world class event. CLP ltd has described our proposal as one of the best they have seen. Creating world Class proposals and managing events and the production is their job, they know the criteria as well as anyone. They have been submitting proposals for over thirty years.
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When the second application was unsuccessful, it became hard to see how the MESG ( Mayoral Events Steering Group) and the special events team can claim that they were following their own codes of practice and guidelines for holding licensed events in the Square. They could not prove we had not met the criteria, they just stated they wanted us to hold the event at a different venue.
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Our festival is very much an outstanding celebration of music (especially alternative music), games, food from all over the African world, an award ceremony for successful and outstanding children, youth and adults, different cultures, business networking and opportunities, youth and children activities etc. We have a live link up with Haiti via a large outdoor Screen for an update on the Haiti Earthquake. We also have an African Heritage exhibition which involves material supplied to us by Westminster Archives (one of the 120 community partner organisations helping to stage this event). We have a section called "Africans in the UK 1500 to 2000". This involves mention of the Enslavement showing the darkest period in our history.
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However the African Heritage Exhibition also shows and illustrates great periods in our history which is largely unknown. History involves the Square itself. Our exhibition also illustrates the outstanding modern success of great individuals, groups and countries. There is no other event like this anywhere.
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The GLA special events team proved how obstructive they were to us when we asked for dates and nationalities that have approved and confirmed events this year for holding licensed for events at Trafalgar Square.
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They did send a list of nationalities possibly holding events but they refused to give any confirmed event dates. This has restricted our choice of dates for our event. The long delay in trying to obtain approval has cost African Heritage financially and hurt our preparation plans.
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We believe they are not being straight forward or helpful to us.
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Mr Johnson, given all the above, it appears that someone has decided not to cooperate with our committee for the use of a public space by British Citizens, despite your belief in being fair, equitable and welcoming to all communities.
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Members of our coalition are looking for your direct intervention to get this event approved.
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If some changes need to be made we are happy to meet with you to discuss this.
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Yours faithfully
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Olu Femiola
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African Heritage
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OTHER SUPPORTING ORGANISATION AND SIGNATURE TO LETTER
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· Global Afrikan Congressuk (GACuk)
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· Pan Afrikan Society Community Forum (PASCF)
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· Black Workers for Justice -europe (BWJ-e)
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· RMT's Black and Ethnic Members (BEM)
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· RMT's Black and Ethnic Members South East (BEMSE)
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