Better Banking in Action: A Credit Union Open Day. Sat 6th October, Hackney

As scandal after scandal blows up in the papers, and the behaviour of our big banks goes from bad to worse, it’s easy to get despondent about the state of our banking system and the colour of our money.

Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. There exist financial institutions that will look after your money, reinvest it responsibly, and support the economy and society we would like to see.

One such option are the Credit Unions . Little know in the UK, Credit Union are well established across much of the rest of the world, including America and Ireland.

As not-for-profit financial cooperatives, with a mandate to support their members and grounded locally, they represent a genuine people-focused alternative to the big banks. They are at the forefront of the fight against financial exclusion, keep money circulating locally, and we need to shout about them!

Move Your Money has teamed up with London Community Credit Union to bring you:

Better Banking in Action: A Credit Union Open Day

London Community Credit Union, Hackney Branch, 225 Mare Street, E8 3QE

Date: Saturday 6th October, Speakers 12.00-13.00*

Refreshments provided. Facebook Event .

** £10 for every new account opened on the day ** ID required.

This is an opportunity for anybody interested in the alternative local banking sector and wanting to find out more. Our exciting line-up of speakers will guide us through the history of the Credit Union movement, how Credit Unions work, what they do, and the important role they play in the community, especially in the current economic and poitical climate.

LCCU will also be launching it’s new ‘Credit Champions’ project, working to bring the Credit Union further into the local community and workplaces. Followed by tea and cake.

While politicians and regulators fail to come up with the goods, we can take action to make banking better. Since January 2012, MYM estimates that 50,000 people have joined the Credit Union network, taking membership to over one million.

If you live in Tower Hamlets, Hackney, or any of the surrounding boroughs, invite your friends, bring your family, and we’ll see you there. It’s time to change banks.

* The Credit Union will be open from 10:00 – 14:00 with live product demos and the opportunity to open a new account. Anybody living, working or studying in Tower Hamlets, Hackney, City of London, Islington, Haringey, Waltham Forest or Newham can become a member and open an account. Please bring proof of address (x2) and a piece of ID.

Hackney Fairtrade Meeting tonight

Hackney Fairtrade Steering Group are holding an event this evening, Wednesday 26th September 2012. Time: 8pm Location: Council Chamber, Stoke Newington Town Hall, Stoke Newington Church Street. The format of the meeting is a Question Time-style debate on the theme of 'Can Your Shopping Basket Change the World?' The debate will be chaired by George Alagiah. Hackney Fairtrade Steering Group have invited a panel of speakers from the world of politics, business and the local food movement who will debate and answer questions from the audience about how the way we shop can affect the lives of people across the world. Some of the issues they hope to cover in the debate include: ·        Is it necessary for us to pay more to shop ethically? ·        Does supporting overseas producers come at a cost to local producers? ·        What difference does it make where and how we shop? ·        What is better - fair trade produce or organic produce? ·        What is more important - supporting local ethnic shops (with fewer fair trade products) or buying from the large national super markets (probably with more fair trade products)? The full panel of guests is: Diane Abbott MP Julie Brown, Chair of Growing Communities  Kate Bull, Founder of the People's Supermarket Professor Giles Oldroyd and John Page, Secretary Hackney Unties Please help spread the word Hackney Unites is a coalition for social justice, please cascade this email on and publicise its contents. If you are not already on our mailing list, you can sign up on-line (http://eepurl.com/bPJDH)  to receive regular updates. You can also follow us on twitter and join us on facebook. Many thanks John Page Secretary Hackney Unites

Inspire Hackney: Saturday 22 Sept - book your place‏

If you care about Hackney and the issues our communities face, then this Saturday’s Inspire Hackney is for you. It is at Morley Hall, City Edge, 125-127 Mare Street, Hackney, E8 3RH from 1pm to 5pm and you can register (for free) here: http://inspirehackney.eventbrite.com/   Dance performance, followed by workshops The event kicks off at 1pm prompt with a performance from African Dance troupe: EMASHI, followed by a presentation from Emmanuel Amevor from Centreprise (the community bookshop with a long history in promoting local writers which is facing closure) followed by a discussion of the power of communities organising together   The aim of the day however is not to have a series of ‘long boring speeches’, but to break into workshops to explore urgent issues for our communities.   The afternoon will be tailored so that you can chose to attend two of the eight workshop sessions (they will be running in parallel). There will also be a final informal ‘meet and greet’ session where you will be able to make those all important contacts with others who share your vision of Hackney.   Workshops include:   ‘Digs’ a new organisation set up by private tenants to support each other at a time when renting in Hackney is becoming harder. The group aim to set up a mutual self-help network and to challenge bad landlords and bad practice from rental agencies.   Youth & Policing the relationship between our youth and the police is poisoned by a sense of suspicion and the feeling that the police view all young people as potential criminals. Experts from the legal profession and from working with young people will explore stop and search in our community.     Unions and Communities with the government’s policies hitting jobs hard, and with youth unemployment hitting an all time high, is there scope for trade unions and communities to identify common objectives and to support each other? Dr Jane Holgate has been studying community trade union alliances on three continents and believes there is.   Borough of Sanctuary Hackney’s Borough of Sanctuary initiative is determined to make Hackney a consistently welcoming place to people who have been driven from their homes by oppression, war or civil unrest. The campaign is gaining support, but wants to see Hackney to be the first London borough to be formally accredited as a ‘borough of sanctuary’, come a long and find out more.   Public Transport: the government’s plans for transport will see ticket prices soaring above the rate of inflation and more and more rail workers losing their jobs. In particular we are likely to see less and less ticket office and platform staff, with the risk that stations become unsafe and unused outside of the rush hour. Come along and get involved in an attempt to set up a public transport user group for the borough.   Community Learning as unemployment soars and as job opportunities decrease, there has never been a better time to ‘upskill’. A new initiative in the borough is seeking to develop a network of trained ‘community learning champions’ who will be supported in identifying learning opportunities, formal and informal, that can assist our communities access learning. Whether it is to improve your CV or merely to develop a new interest, if you are interested in learning opportunities then come along to this session.   Unemployed Workers Hackney Unites is proud to have a strong unemployed workers group that has consistently challenged the myth that unemployed people contribute nothing. The group is currently working on a survey of unemployed, identifying the extent to which unemployed in Hackney are volunteering in our community, and also looking at a skills share project so that the unemployed can put their skills to good use.   Environment Hackney has long had a strong environmental movement. But we now have a government that appears to think that the way out of recession involves relaxing any targets on carbon emissions and abandoning planning rules. The discussion will focus on what we can do to limit the power of the ‘gamblers’ at the investment banks whose greed got us into this crisis, and whose solution is likely to make matters worse.   A time to discuss issues Alongside the workshops, there will be a series of information stalls and time to discuss issues on a one-to-one basis.   Among the confirmed stall-holders are:   POhWER Whose skilled and trained advocates work with individuals who need information and support to be heard. They work with people who are disadvantaged, isolated and/or have complex needs. This service is available to anyone over the age of 18, who has a mental health condition and/or learning disability, who is living in a hospital, in residential care or in their own home   The People’s Kitchen (who run a weekly community kitchen in Dalston, serving delicious meals using surplus food. They aim to raise awareness of food waste, actively divert food from landfill, and bring people together through preparing and sharing a meal. Envision, a social action charity which supports 16-19 year olds to investigate local social problems and lead creative community projects. Hackney Community Law Centre recently nominated for two of the Law Society Excellence Awards, one of which was for innovation in the creation of their ‘pop up’ legal surgeries. To celebrate, they are bringing a ‘pop up’ legal advice surgery to Inspire Hackney   Sante Refugee Mental Health Access Project provide Advice, Advocacy, Befriending and Casework to Asylsum Seekers to enable access to essential services such as reputable Legal Advice and Hosting or Destitution provision.  Their Befrienders meet an asylum seeker once weekly and give practical support and encouragement.   Education Africa Teaching  a community venture to take 15 young people from various backgrounds, to Ghana to learn about the culture and history. They will then return and visit various schools and community groups in England sharing positive experiences with their peers   Centerprise  One of East London’s oldest and most famous community bookshops which is a centre of life long learning at the hub of a vibrant multi-cultural, multi-faith community. They are also behind WordPower – Europe’s biggest black literature Festival & book fair. Hackney Refugee & Migrant Support Group an independent campaigning and support group with a long history in the borough.   Cultural Bridges and Nefes Folk Music Groups, a cultural group that uses traditional music to bring people together.   Hackney Coalition to Save the NHS a group that unites NHS users and practitioners in opposition to the government’s privatisation agenda of our most treasured national asset.   Workers Educational Association  founded in 1903, the WEA is now the UK’s largest voluntary-sector provider of adult education. through adult education the WEA challenges and inspires individuals, communities and society.   Don’t miss it! So if you have an afternoon to spare this coming Saturday, you could not do better than to join us, our workshops and our stall-holders to discuss what is good about Hackney, and what we need to do as a community to make it better.   Please register in advance and please forward this email far and wide to ensure everyone who would want to know gets to hear about Inspire Hackney http://inspirehackney.eventbrite.com/   Please help spread the word Hackney Unites is a coalition for social justice, please cascade this email on and publicise its contents. If you are not already on our mailing list, you can sign up on-line (http://eepurl.com/bPJDH)  to receive regular updates.   You can also follow us on twitter and join us on facebook. Many thanks   John Page Secretary Hackney Unites

Change the world, save Stokey and Inspire Hackney‏

This email alerts you to two local events: a round table discussion on Fairtrade and the influence our spending choices can have, and the Inspire Hackney event on 22 September, and it also urges you to support the Stokey Local Campaign against an over-development of the Wilmer Place car park in Stoke Newington Can Your Shopping Basket Change the World? Stoke Newington Town Hall, 26th September from 8pm - 10pm. Hackney Fairtrade Steering Group are hosting a very special Question Time-style debate chaired by BBC newsreader and journalist George Alagiah. Figures from the world of politics, business and the local food movement will debate and answer questions from the audience about how the way we shop can affect the lives of people across the world. · Is it necessary for us to pay more to shop ethically? · Does supporting overseas producers come at a cost to local producers? · What difference does it make where and how we shop? A panel featuring the following guests will aim to answer these, and many more, questions from local residents: · George Alagiah, Chair · Diane Abbott MP · Julie Brown, Chair of Growing Communities · Kate Bull, Founder of the People's Supermarket · Professor Giles Oldroyd · John Page, Hackney Unites The event is free and open to all members of the public, so please do come and contribute to the debate. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Cllr Daniel Stevens, Chair of the Hackney Fairtrade Steering Group, at daniel.stevens@hackney.gov.uk. Can we save Stoke Newington from over-development? Last year, Hackney Unites supported the zombie parade that drew attention to plans to build a Sainsbury superstore on the sight of Wilmer Place car park. The proposals still involve building a housing estate on top of a supermarket and will overshadow Abney Park Cemetery and impinge on a conservation area. Commercially, the impact of yet another huge supermarket would be to suck the lifeblood out of the numerous local independent stores in the area. The campaign group Stokey Local have been keeping up the pressure to preserve the local economy and resist the development, but a planning proposal has now been submitted. They have produced a detailed guidance to objecting to the proposals, so if you live, work or visit Stoke Newington, please consider whether you wish to object to the proposal: full details from http://stokeylocal.org.uk/latest-news/ Inspire Hackney It is just a little over a week to go to Inspire Hackney, a community conference called by Hackney Unites (from 1pm to 5pm on Saturday 22 September). There will be over a dozen stalls from community groups and eight sessions (some running in parallel) including, speakers, debate and workshops on some key issues affecting our communities. We have also set time aside for the all important networking that allows us time to meet others with similar concerns and aspirations for the area. If you have not booked your ticket perhaps you should do so now? Full details from http://inspirehackney.eventbrite.co.uk The event is free, but places are limited, so please book up and encourage others to attend. Please help spread the word Hackney Unites is a coalition for social justice, please cascade this email on and publicise its contents. If you are not already on our mailing list, you can sign up on-line (http://eepurl.com/bPJDH) to receive regular updates. You can also follow us on twitter and join us on facebook. Many thanks John Page Secretary Hackney Unites

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