Today is World Cultural Diversity Day. This global event has been going for over a decade, and since 2011 it has been the basis for a 24-hour United Nations campaign called: “Do one thing for Cultural Diversity and Inclusion”. People everywhere are being asked to make one positive gesture towards integration and cultural appreciation.

The campaign’s Facebook page has over 12,000 fans discussing how they will help encourage global multiculturalism. Suggestions so far include sharing food, translating poems, learning another language and supporting ethnic shops.

The eastlondonlines’ boroughs are lucky enough to have some of the most culturally diverse populations in the world, and we thought we’d celebrate by showcasing  some of them: check out the rest of the homepage for facts and figures about Hackney, Croydon, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets, and information on the most common languages spoken in each.

By Emma Craig and Sophie Robinson-Tillett

Two winners shortlisted Pic: Saskia Black

Students at Hackney Community College have been shortlisted for their anti-smoking film What Will You Do About It? for the National Cut Film Festival awards.

The Cut Film project aims to dissuade young people from smoking.

It was started by the Deborah Hutton Campaign group, a peer to peer smoking prevention charity, in memory of Vogue journalist Deborah Hutton who died of lung cancer aged 49 from smoking in her teens and early adulthood.

Riad Ahmed, 17, and Dushane Ashani Brown, 17, told East London Lines that they “didn’t have the words” to describe how excited and proud they were to have their talent recognised by being shortlisted.

Riad wrote the film  from the perspective of a cigarette, acting was by Dushane. They both hope to pursue careers in the creative industries.

As part of the festival, Cut Films gave 10 schools across Hackney training in video and film so they could learn transferable skills, as well being informed about the dangers of smoking.

The Deborah Hutton charity began the Cut Film project to inform teenagers about the dangers of smoking in a way that would attract their attention. Emma Wrafter, the charity director, said: “We wanted to target teens in a way that would engage and resonate with them and film seemed like the best option.”

The key aspect of the project is that it is teenagers telling other teenagers about the health risks from smoking, rather than adults.

Dushane thinks this approach works: “I think I’d rather learn about the danger of cigarettes from people the same age as me, because I can connect to them more easily. I think as well that teenagers are more honest; they say things from the heart and believe in what they’re saying.”

All the films are available online, which Emma Wrafter hopes will give teens the chance to “share them on social networking sites with their friends, family and local community.”

Diane Abbot, MP for Hackney, has backed the project, saying: “Hackney Cut Films Competition is an important and inspiring project, which raises awareness of the dangers of smoking, peer pressure, and the shocking effects of smoking.  It’s projects like this that are giving young people a voice.”

There will be an award ceremony at Hackney Picturehouse mid-July (date still to be confirmed) to celebrate the films made in Hackney.

Winning film to be announced at BAFTA HQ in July. Pic: Bafta

Then on July4 the students at Hackney Community College who participated in the project will attend a national award ceremony at the headquarters of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) to find out who has won the Cut Films Festival.

The Roundabout Kids meet once a month at the Book Club in Shoreditch to talk business and to make friends. Pic: Saskia Black

In Shoreditch a monthly meeting called the Roundabout Kids has started to bring young entrepreneurs working in the the tech scene at the Silicon Roundabout together.

Alex Nguyen and friend Vishal Adwar thought it would be a good idea to have meetings for young professionals who want to start up their own business on the internet or already run one.

23 year-old Vishal told East London Lines that it is an opportunity for like-minded people “who have the same passions for start ups and technology” to come together and talk about their ideas.

The meetings also offer a chance for young people to get involved in the tech scene and the start up culture, something that Vishal says “can be very daunting.”

The Roundabout Kids poster. Pic: the Roundabout Kids

Through sharing ideas, Vishal says it is also a chance to improve their business prospects:

“It’s a way for people to learn more about the industry, to meet people with the same interests and to make friends.”

East London Lines went along to this month’s meeting and spoke to Meera Trivedi, a 24 year old PR agent. Meera said being a part of the Roundabout Kids offers a great chance to see what is going on in the start-up scene, to “share ideas” and to get reliable advice:

“If you want an upfront answer, I’m sure they’ll give it to you. They’ll say what doesn’t work and people will give you other ideas.”

As well as talking business, the meetings are an opportunity to socialise.

The Roundabout Kids happens in Shoreditch for people working in the Silicone Roundabout, but the attendance grows, and Vidal hopes it could “pop up in other boroughs.”

The venue is currently the Book Club in Shoreditch. Tickets need to be brought in advance from here.

Pic: Croydon Council
Graphics: Hannah Newton

Croydon Council has 700 children currently in care and they urgently need more foster carers to give these young people the chance of a home life beyond council accommodation.

Active support for the annual campaign run by the charity Fostering Network aims to highlight the need for more than 9,000 new carers across the UK.

The message from the council is help give hope to the children in their care by responding to the  ‘Get in the Frame’ campaign to encourage more people to consider fostering.

Laura Fitzimmons, part of the fostering recruitment team at Croydon Council, believes the campaign is very important as Croydon clearly has one of the highest needs for carers across London.

So far the events in Croydon have been well attended. The awareness campaign is gathering momentum, despite the fact this is the first year that the Fostering Network has not received funding from the government.

James Foyle who works for the Fostering Network said they have received a lot of support: “We had a great success on breakfast TV and radio. There are a number of channels we’re using to get the message across.”

They have a big presence on social media and have used celebrity support to help attract many followers via twitter and facebook.

High profile backing includes Gareth Gates, the singer whose family fostered children when he was growing up, and Dani Harmer, who played Tracy Beaker in the CBBC television series about a children’s home.

Ian, a foster carer working in Croydon, believes that the local council are doing a great deal to raise awareness but, unlike James Foyle, he thinks that the media “could be doing a lot more” to support the campaign on a national level.

He said he was “disappointed with the lack of actual television coverage.”

Ian, who has worked with dozens of youngsters in the Croydon area, applied to be a carer in response to a similar appeal twenty eight years ago.

He thinks that one of the reasons for the shortage of foster carers in the borough is that people assume they have not got the right skills.

He said that “people just don’t understand that they could become foster carers…they discount themselves straight away.”

Croydon Council are hoping that residents not only support the campaign online, but also attend local events.

One of the ways in which Croydon Council hopes to attract potential carers is by providing an opportunity for people to hear the positive experiences of existing carers like Ian.

The council is running an information meeting at Croydon Town Hall giving locals the chance to hear from carers and social workers.

Local events will come to an end at the end of the week, but Laura believes that the fortnight  can make a difference despite  its limited duration. She said that last year Croydon “did actually see an increase in numbers after the Foster Care Fortnight.”

Reporters: Flo Neve and Hannah Newton

Modernisation and new management plan for Croydon’s Fairfield Halls

Fairfield Halls will be working more closely together with Croydon Council in the future management of the venue. This comes after 27 million pounds has been earmarked by the council for modernisation and refurbishment.

A restoration plan for the venue, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, has been on the drawing board for years, but not until now has the decision been finally implemented.

Fairfield Halls performs a key role in showcasing local amateur societies and up and coming artists. The hall has hosted many famous musicians, including a performance from the Beatles in 1963.

On top of the recent renovation funding, the halls will also receive their yearly one million pound grant as well as a further economic commitment to the musicians in residence, the London Mozart Players.

The council will be represented through membership of the Fairfield Halls which makes them able to exercise their “member’s rights” and step in should their investment be considered poorly managed.

Both Simon Thomsett, chief executive of Fairfield Halls and Simon Funnell, chief executive of the London Mozart Players have expressed their excitement about working more closely with the council in the future.

Fairfield Halls, Croydon Pic: Google

Local community groups, on the other hand, are concerned about the council having a greater role in the management of the venue.

Charlotte Davies, chair of South Croydon Community Association, said her members did not share the optimism being expressed about the future: “If anything they feel it is going to reinforce poor quality management and lack of vision”.

Councillor Tim Pollard defends the move saying that it is only in very unlikely circumstances that the council would exercise any kind of control over the running of Fairfield Halls.

The presence of the council, he says, is meant to ensure that the investment is “not spent unwisely.”

He said that the council would step in if there were financial problems, but he did not think it would come to that as “the Fairfield board are much better at running an event’s programme than the council could ever be.”

Charlotte Davies, of The South Croydon Community Association, is concerned about the lack of a buffer between the funding authority and the institution.

She fears this might have an effect on other investors in the future who may “see [Fairfield Halls and LMP] as effectively Croydon Council and therefore charities won’t fund them.”

Other concerns include affordability for local amateur societies to use, and differences of opinion about the nature of the building’s refurbishment.

Croydon Council and local residents hope the Halls can regain the reputation they had when first built in the early 1960s.

Visitors to the Halls, Frank Edwoods (67) and Trevor Baker (61) said that were a number of opportunities for improvements, such as updating the toilets and film facilities.

Councillor Pollard says the council wants the venue to be up to date for the audience and performers of today with better management and accessibility:

The modernisation would be completed faster and at a lower cost through a complete shut-down but a decision has been taken to keep two thirds of the Halls open.

“Local organisations and schools in particular use it for a lot of performance works, so it really is in the heart of the community,” the councillor says.

Reporter: Dea Cisar

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Joan Ruddock’s successor in Lewisham Deptford is Vicky Foxcroft

Lewisham Deptford’s constituency Labour Party has selected Vicky Foxcroft to succeed the veteran MP Joan Ruddock as the prospective parliamentary candidate in the next General Election expected to take place in 2015, according to a Labour Party activists’ website.

She was selected from a shortlist of six women on Saturday afternoon May 18 and the LabourList blog released the news at 3.08 pm.

The site describes itself as Labour’s “biggest independent grassroots e-network”  and expressed “congratulations to Vicky, and commiserations to the other shortlisted candidates” who were Janet Daby, Paula Hirst, Florence Nosegbe, Catherine McDonald and Mendora Ogbogbo.

The website indicates that the vote tally among the six candidates was “Foxcroft 169 McDonald 87 Nosegbe 40 Hirst 21 Daby 13 Ogbogbo 6.”

Joan Ruddock has been a constituency MP for the area since 1987. Vicky Foxcroft is described as having grown up “in the North West in a single parent household, and was the first person in her family to go to university.”

Vicky Foxcroft

Councillor Vicky Foxcroft represents high street bank workers for Unite the Union. She is a Local Councillor for Brockley Ward and Chair of the Labour Group. Before becoming a Councillor, she was Women’s Officer of the constituency, Trade Union Officer and Campaigns Officer.

Foxcroft has lived in the Lewisham Deptford constituency for the last 12 years and is actively involved with campaigns throughout the borough. The key local issues Foxcroft wants to address as a local MP is halting the reduction of services at Lewisham Hospital, and building more homes and schools to address shortages of affordable housing and a lack of primary school places within the borough.

“The reason why I’m standing is because I’m local, I’m passionate about the area, and …lots of local people asked me to stand, because they know that I’m not afraid to stand up for the needs of Lewisham Deptford.”

Before her selection she told East London Lines how she intends to tackle key issues facing the constituency, and her approach to the reduction of services at Lewisham A&E and maternity ward.