Published: 04 December 2024
From: Community
Yesterday, Mayor of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾, Councillor Sharmila Sivarajah, welcomed the Aldermen of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ Borough Council to sign the unity pledge. Alderman Councillor Brian Quinn and Alderman Colin Lloyd joined the Mayor to add their signatures to further signify the unity of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾.
The unity pledge celebrates the diversity and inclusivity of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ and was signed by community leaders, council members and other key representatives from across the local community last month at the first unity event.
The November event opened with a speech from Councillor Michael Jones (Leader of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ Borough Council), followed by speeches from Councillor Yasmin Khan (Cabinet member for Public Protection), the Mayor of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾, Councillor Sharmila Sivarajah, Councillor Duncan Crow (Leader of the opposition) and ºÚÁÏÍøվ’s MP Peter Lamb. Community leaders also spoke at the event including representatives from the Hindu faith, Christian faith and Muslim faith, as well as Marilyn Mansfield-Clark from Diverse ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾, Paul Taylor-Burr from ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ Campaign Against Racism and Youth Mayor, Elijah Norton.
Compered by Chris Oxlade from the ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ Town Centre BID, the November event also featured fantastic performances from Tamil Learning Centre ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ dance group, Ukraine soloist Sofia and DMT school musical theatre group.
It was my pleasure to welcome Alderman Councillor Brian Quinn and Alderman Colin Lloyd to the parlour today. I am delighted that their signatures have been added to the unity pledge – further demonstrating our commitment to celebrating the diversity of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾. This unity pledge means so much to all those in our community and I look forward to it being displayed in the Town Hall so that future generations have the opportunity to understand its significance.
Councillor Sharmila Sivarajah
Mayor
ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾
I was very pleased to hear of this initiative by the council and other community leaders. One of ºÚÁÏÍøվ’s greatest strengths lies in its longstanding diversity and inclusivity and I’m delighted to join in signing the unity pledge.
Alderman Colin Lloyd
As former Mayor of ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾, I have always maintained that ºÚÁÏÍøÕ¾ has been a fine example in Britain of a multicultural society where our community have worked together to develop a prosperous culturally and compassionate society. And, of course, ºÚÁÏÍøվ’s most striking feature is the diversity of its residents - each ethnic group enriches the cultural life of this wonderful town as we see here today.
Alderman Councillor Brian Quinn
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