Tag: Holyrood reception

Edinburgh Tenants Federation celebrates 35 Years at Scottish Parliament reception

Edinburgh Tenants Federation (ETF) has celebrated its 35-year anniversary at a Scottish Parliamentary reception hosted by Sarah Boyack MSP, whilst launching a refreshed identity in line with the organisation’s future ambitions. 

Edinburgh Tenants Federation is a tenant-led charity that supports tenants across Edinburgh to understand their housing rights, have their voices heard, and influence decisions about housing and related services locally, city-wide, and nationally.  

The Scottish Parliament celebration featured speeches from Sarah Boyack MSP, who hosted the organisation’s 25th anniversary in 2015, as well as newly elected City of Edinburgh Council Housing Convenor, Councillor Tim Pogson. 

MSP Gordon MacDonald also attended the celebration, along with representatives from the City of Edinburgh Council and ETF staff, past and present. 

Sarah Boyack MSP said: “It’s amazing to be here to celebrate the collective voice of tenants in Edinburgh; a voice that is heard, respected and acted upon.  

“Edinburgh Tenants Federation is that organisation on the ground listening to these voices, ensuring that tenants’ lives are transformed for the better.” 

Attendees also heard from ETF Convenor, Betty Stone who has served as Chair of the organisation since 2005, having been involved as a volunteer since the Federation’s inception. Reflecting on the past, Betty noted the achievements of the organisation, thanks to the countless hours poured in by volunteers and encouraged attendees to browse the archive display of photos and newsletters dating back to 1985. 

Founded in 1990 from a merger of tenant networks to collaborate over similar housing issues, ETF has been at the forefront of the housing debate in Edinburgh campaigning for better tenants’ rights in areas such as stock transfer, rent increases and tenant living conditions.

Today, its volunteers work closely with the City of Edinburgh Council to help inform tenant participation strategy across the city.   

Looking at the organisation’s ambitions moving forward, Ilene Campbell, former CEO and current Associate at the Tenant Information Service (TIS) gave attendees a sneak-peak at the refreshed branding, mission, vison and values that has been launched to coincide with the organisation’s 35th year.   

The charity’s new identity is driven forward by their three-year mission statement: through collaboration, representation, and meaningful participation, ETF tenant volunteers will work with tenants’ and residents’ groups, The City of Edinburgh Council, housing organisations, and key decision makers to strengthen communities and drive positive change. 

Speaking of the organisation’s new visual identity and updated mission, vison and values, Betty Stone, ETF Convenor said: “This is a major milestone for our organisation as we celebrate our 35th year.

“With a clear purpose firmly embedded, we can move forward with our commitment to supporting tenants to understand their rights, amplifying their voices, and influencing the housing decisions that affect them every day.  

“By building on our strong foundations and refreshing our mission, vision, and values, we are well placed to grow our reach, increase our impact, and continue driving positive change for tenants across the capital.  

“If you are a tenant or part of a tenants’ or residents’ organisation in Edinburgh and want to be part of an organisation that makes a real difference in communities, I would encourage you to join us.” 

Join the Federation – it’s free!

Joining Edinburgh Tenants Federation is simple. Membership is completely free of charge and open to any tenants’ or residents’ organisations in Edinburgh – regardless of who your landlord is. Equally, if you live in an area without a tenants’ group, you can still join as an individual associate member, and organisations that share our aims and values can also become associate members.  

To find out more about membership, contact the Federation office by email at info@edinburghtenants.org.uk or call 0131 475 2509. 

Playlist for Life event at Holyrood

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our parliamentary reception at Holyrood yesterday, whether in person or from afar!

🎶 We had an entertaining and productive evening hearing from some amazing speakers about how personal music can improve wellbeing and why it is crucial that decision-makers support embedding playlists into dementia care to help people across the U.K. now.

💚 Playlist for Life president Sally Magnusson shared her personal experience with using in dementia care with her mother Mamie that led to her founding the charity in 2013, and we heard some powerful testimony from our lived experience ambassador Carol about how discovering and using playlists has been life-changing for managing symptoms.

🤝 We received some wonderful endorsements for our work from MSPs including Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport Tom Arthur, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party @Anas Sarwar and our generous event sponsor Foysol Choudhury. We were also delighted to have Neil Bibby, Kaukab Stewart, Michael Marra and Jackson Carlaw at our event, all of whom have supported our work, including visiting some of our amazing +2600 community partners distributing free playlist resources that make up our Help Point network.

🎸 We enjoyed a performance from our new musical ambassadors The Bluebells, plus our wonderful dementia-inclusive choir and charity partner the Westerton Male Voice Choir whose rousing renditions got the whole room singing, including a track that tops the playlist of our ambassador Sir Alex Ferguson of ‘Moon River’.

🎧We want to see everyone singing from the same song sheet when it comes to embedding personal playlists into dementia care in the U.K., where if nothing changes, 1 in 2 people will be affected by dementia by either developing the condition, caring for someone with it, or both.

There’s no cure for dementia but we know that personally meaningful music can help, so we look forward to continuing our discussions with key decision-makers about making personal playlists in dementia care a reality from diagnosis to end-of-life care 💚

HTA champions Scottish horticulture at Holyrood reception and Royal Botanic Garden member event

LAST week, The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) hosted its first Scottish regional event of the year at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, followed by a reception at Holyrood.

HTA members gathered for a behind-the-scenes tour of the site, an introduction to the Royal Botanic Garden team, and an update on the HTA’s policy work in Scotland. Following the regional event, the HTA hosted the Cross-Party Group (CPG) for Gardening and Horticulture for their Annual General Meeting at Holyrood, with MSPs and the HTA in attendance.

The evening reception was hosted by Christine Grahame MSP, with a speech from Professor Sir John Curtice, who advocated for the use of gardening and horticulture as a policy solution for the Scottish government, especially for an ageing population, to enable them to live better and not just longer. 

The HTA’s Chairman, James Barnes and Jim Fairlie MSP, Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity of Scotland, also spoke at the reception.

Christine Grahame, MSP said: “I am delighted to sponsor this event in the Parliament to raise awareness of the importance of the horticultural trades and their contribution to the economy. I’m also passionate about promoting the great health benefits and enjoyment horticulture offers to millions of Scots.

“If anyone was in any doubt before, the Covid pandemic certainly demonstrated the importance of having access to good quality green spaces and, better still, for those of us lucky enough to have a garden, our wellbeing, and the horticultural trades are key to enabling that.”

Jim Fairlie MSP, Minister of Agriculture and Connectivity of Scotland, said: “I was pleased to attend the HTA parliamentary reception and speak about my engagements with the horticulture sector over the last several months, which the HTA helpfully arranged.

“Environmental horticulture is a diverse sector and I have developed a real sense of the sector’s important contribution to the environment, the economy and the Scottish population’s wellbeing. 

“I very much welcome HTA’s ongoing engagement with the Scottish Government, in identifying where the sector and Scottish Government can work together to achieve shared ambitions.”

James Barnes, Chairman of HTA, said: “We were delighted to have Christine Grahame MSP, Professor Sir John Curtice, and Minister Jim Fairlie speak at our Holyrood Reception.

“We have seen the horticulture industry in Scotland being recognised from our constructive engagement with the CPG – led by Rachael Hamilton MSP- which has been helpful in gaining a common understanding.

“Be it on the cost of running a business, encouraging the next generation of skilled workers, engaging those in education or finding floral-based health and wellbeing solutions, the HTA is committed to our work in Scotland.”

The HTA hosts a vast schedule of regional meetings throughout the year, details of which are updated regularly on the HTA website: https://hta.org.uk/regional-member-events

Future Asset’s impact: Inspiring girls to create a diverse financial industry future

Reception at Holyrood addresses gender disparity in Investment Management

 On Tuesday 5 December, Future Asset hosted a Reception at Holyrood sponsored by Michelle Thomson MSP.

The event provided an opportunity for key stakeholders, including students, teachers, industry representatives and volunteers, and elected members, to discuss the lack of gender diversity in the investment management industry.

Michelle Thomson, MSP said: “I’m delighted to be sponsoring this Future Asset event in the Scottish Parliament this evening. I’m very interested in using all the ways I can to promote girls and women into financial services.

“Perhaps I have more than a vested interest in this, as I spent around 23 years in financial services. I’m also the convener of the Cross-Party group for women’s enterprise and sit on the Finance Committee. In other words I’ve spent my career involved in the area so that is why I’m so delighted to sponsor it.”

The evening also highlighted the support needed for girls from all backgrounds to pursue careers within investment management, widening the talent pipeline and enabling long-term benefits for the Scottish Economy with a powerful video from the girls and teachers who are taking part in this year’s competition.

Helen Bradley, CEO of Future Asset said: “We have had so much positive feedback from our guests already. From firms, teachers and perhaps most significantly, from the girls.

“They had a fantastic evening, and it has really underlined to them that they have so much potential, and that their talents are very much needed in the investment management industry.”

At a time when the proportion of female fund managers lies stagnant at 12% in the UK and almost 60% of 16-24-year-olds in Scotland are unlikely to consider a career in financial services, this discussion comes at a crucial time for policymakers.

Future Asset informs girls in Scotland about careers in investment management, enthuses them about opportunities in the sector, and widens the talent pipeline whilst improving diversity in the industry. 

Attendees on Tuesday night heard from several schools across Scotland’s 32 local authorities on their experience with Future Asset. There are now cohorts participating in the competition from 30 of the local authorities.

The girls shared their recommendations on the additional support they require to expand access to this sector. Guests also heard from key industry representatives on why they are lending their full support to this initiative.

For more information visit https://www.futureasset.org.uk/

Ben Macpherson supports Corra Foundation report

Corra Foundation Everyone Has A Story Reception 03

Ben Macpherson SNP MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith showed his support for the work of Corra Foundation when they shared their groundbreaking Everyone Has a Story report at a reception in the Scottish Parliament on 6th December. Continue reading Ben Macpherson supports Corra Foundation report