[To receive the Mayor’s announcements]
Minutes:
1. The Queens Award for Voluntary Service 2021
The Mayor was delighted to announce that in June 2021 there were five worthy winners of the Queen’s Award for the Voluntary Sector:
· Wednesfield in Bloom,
· Friends of Bantock Park
· The Big Venture Centre
· TLC College
· The Well Foodbank.
The Mayor had written a letter of congratulations to each of the winners on behalf of the Council.
2. Queen’s Birthday Honours
The Mayor was delighted to announce that three people with connections to Wolverhampton were recognised as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours:
· Kim Hatton and Claire McKen who run the charity Let us Play were awarded BEM’s,
· Barry Bond, Chair of Governors at Green Park School, was awarded an MBE.
The Mayor had written a letter of congratulations to all three on behalf of the Council.
3. PRIDE Month 2021
The Mayor reported that June 2021 saw the Council celebrating Pride Month. Pride Month celebrates the rich history of Pride not only in the UK but throughout the World. The Council was proud to raise the rainbow flag throughout the month. The EDI Team and the Rainbow Staff Forum produced a number of articles that discussed the various aspects of Pride such as the Councils relationship with Wolverhampton LGBT+ and Stonewall and what pride means to Council Staff. The Council also encouraged citizens to take part in the Rainbow City Consultation. The results of this were being reviewed and would form part of the Rainbow City Strategy.
4. Armed Forces Day 2021
The Mayor reported that Armed Forces Week began with a short private flag-raising ceremony on Monday 21 June outside the Civic Centre and a Celebration event took place in West Park on Saturday 26 June.
The Mayor added that the Celebration Event was well attended. He had also presented the Mayoral Cadets with their badges. The grand finale to Armed Forces Week was provided by The Wings Parachute Display Team.
5. Windrush Day 2021
The Mayor reported that on Tuesday 22 June 2021, he had raised the flag in honour of the “Windrush” generation of migrants who came to Britain from the Caribbean in the post war years.
The Mayor added, that later that day he was invited to the Wolverhampton Heritage Centre in Clifford Street, to unveil a blue plaque in memory of Paulette Wilson. Paulette was one of the “Windrush Generation” and campaigned for justice after she and many others who entered the UK as children and lived here all their lives were wrongly accused of being illegal immigrants. The blue plaque was a fitting memorial to her legacy of campaigning.
6. Covid-19 Update
The Mayor reported there had now been over 290,000 vaccinations administered in the City, with 127,345 people having received two doses. There were 1121 positive cases reported in the City in the seven days to 18/7/21 and no deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test recorded in the same week.
7. Relighting the City
The Mayor announced that two festivals had been announced to give the City a boost to its visitor economy as restrictions were lifted.
The Relight Festival begins in West Park on 20 August and runs to 5 September, with entertainment and activities for all the family and all age groups, from animatronic dinosaurs to live music and comedy.
Creation Day Festival is set to take place on 28 and 29 May 2022, again in West Park, and will feature top music acts.
Tickets for both events are available online now.
8. South Asian History Month
The Mayor announced the Council was proud to be celebrating South Asian Heritage Month, which would be taking place between 18 July – 17 August. Wolverhampton is a diverse city, with 17% of the population having a South Asian background (2011 census) which includes 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants. Over the next month, the Council would have a range of virtual events for colleagues to take part in.
9. Summer Holiday Activities
The Mayor reported the school holidays were almost upon us and the council was running a new Yo! Summer Festival offering over 400 activities and events for youngsters to get involved in. The activities, many of which were free, included sports, clubs, fun days, arts and crafts and much more, and were already underway.
The Mayor added that highlights included free swimming lessons from WV Active, sensory sessions with animals at HugglePets in the Community, sculpting, painting and drawing classes from Real Arts Workshops, and the return of the innovative walking, running and rolling game Beat the Street. The Central Youth Theatre and our public libraries were also hosting events and requested councillors to spread the word among our communities to get our youngsters out and about and involved in something positive this summer.
10. UNESCO Learning City
The Mayor was delighted to share the news from the UK Commission for UNESCO had agreed to put City of Wolverhampton forward for the UNESCO Learning City Award 2021. This meant that Wolverhampton was going forward to the next stage.
The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) would review and shortlist the nominations it received from National Commissions
(worldwide). A jury appointed by UNESCO would then select the awardees which we anticipate being announced in September.
11. MJ Awards
The Mayor announced that the Council had been nominated in three categories for an award this year:
· Tim Johnson had been nominated for “Chief Executive of the Year”.
· Anthony Walker had been nominated in the ‘Rising Star’ category, for working hard to protect every person experiencing homeless in the city during the pandemic.
· The Commercial Regulation Service, working with legal services had been nominated in the ‘Best Social Housing Initiative’ category, for their work in ensuring the council could act quickly and effectively against landlords acting illegally.
12. Euros 2020
The Mayor congratulated the England football team on reaching the final of the Euro 2020 tournament, only the second time ever our national side had reached the final of a major championship. The team had played superbly well and despite coming second on the night, they did the country proud.
The Mayor placed on record that the online racist abuse aimed at some of the players was totally unacceptable and hoped that justice was eventually served.
13. EID
The Mayor wished all those that are celebrating Eid al-Adha, Eid Muburak. Eid al-Adha celebrates the “feast of the sacrifice”. Eid al-Adha remembers a story about Allah asking Abraham to sacrifice his son as a sign of faith. It is also the time of year many Muslims make a five-day pilgrimage to the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia called Hajj.
14.Councillor Paul Appleby
The Mayor congratulated Councillor Paul Appleby and his partner Becci, on the birth to their daughter Ava on 15 June 2021.