Nottingham connected
Business & Finance
27
Training for African Community Groups through NAC
By Mark Bowler
For the next ten weeks, African community group
members in Nottingham can take part in free training
provided by Nottingham African Consortium (NAC)
and funded by the Big Lottery.
NAC has asked Mark Bowyer, experienced trainer,
trustee, and charity sector manager to design and
deliver ten weeks of training to help new African
community group members or those who are thinking
of starting their own group. Mark has designed a
programme that covers all the basics of running a group
from incorporation through development, fundraising,
monitoring, legal compliance and management of
staff and volunteers.
The sessions run for approximately two hours once a
week. Participants get handouts with notes and useful
links. Mark is a qualified ESOL tutor as well, so if your
English is not yet perfect don’t worry you will still be
OK. During the course you will produce your own
development plans and fundraising bids so take full
advantage!
The course has already been run once, and the feedback
from participants has been very good. If you want
to join you can come on Wednesdays from 6.30pm-
8.30pm, or on Sundays from 10am-12.00 midday.
The sessions take place at Belong, 32 Gregory
Boulevard, Hyson Green, Nottingham NG7 6BG. Please
call or text Mark on 07786 993405 to say which day you
will be coming.
SOCIOLOGY SYMPOSIUM WITH NOTTINGHAM TRENT
UNIVERSITY: LOOKING AT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT WITH
EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS
By Penny Cooper
We engaged together, all in the same room,
Practitioners, Students MSc and PhD, Lecturers and
Department Heads, Representatives of Community
Groups and Guest Speakers. The day was set up
to engage in questions about public sociology.
Nottingham Trent University, and the Sociology
Department, Sharon Hutchins and her team, have been
piloting projects which come from the Community, for
students to learn and actively engage with different
local community organisations.
The pilot of this service learning began 4 years ago at
Nottingham Trent University, about 200 students and
fifty community partners, with a social justice focus
to benefit mutually both student and community
organisation, and can see how well practice and theory
connections come together. They get to grips with real
issues and sometimes highlight aspects they had not
thought of before.
Here at Mojatu, we have engaged with the universities
in Nottingham, at all levels of achievement, PhD, MSc,
undergraduates and graduates. If it had not been for the
work of such students engaging with our project choices,
we would not have achieved so much in the Community,
local, national and international engagement. They
have a big vote of thanks from Mojatu. Mojatu have
worked with the universities in Nottingham to improve
the service to students and by students when working
in the Community, and have successfully committed
to projects in: Africa, Kenya and working towards an
end to female genital mutilation; GAIN Diaspora has
grown and formed with the help of students; the Mojatu
magazine is being organised by a graduate, students
have engaged with Mojatu regular volunteers to help
at the Eco Farm in Screveton; students have worked on
the Committee of the Hyson Green Cultural Festival to
formulate ideas about community cohesion, bringing
different communities together, with an understanding
of the reasons we do it; and there is much more we can
be grateful for. They are learning about community
issues, events and celebrations. Their employability will
improve with their hands on experience, and it does
not end there, many students enjoy their experience so
much, their passion is ignited and they wish to continue
volunteering after their course module is finished.
This is a great forward approach for universities, and is
a modern take on education. We are pleased to be a
part of it at Mojatu.