Metro Mayor launches The Good Business Festival Youth Programme at Knowsley Safari

LIVERPOOL City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, Knowsley Council Leader, Cllr Graham Morgan and BBC Radio Merseyside Presenter, Ngunan Adamu joined students from Malvern Primary School to mark the launch of the:- 'Good Business Festival Youth Summit and Education Programme,' by planting vegetables in a new kitchen garden at Knowsley Safari.

The kitchen garden will help young people from Knowsley and beyond learn about horticulture, food production and sustainability. The garden has been built with the support from the Incredible Edible Foundation who will be organising special workshops for local Schools over the coming months.

It's just 1 part of a new education initiative being delivered by the Good Business Festival; a 3 day event across the City Region, from 7 July to 9 July 2021, focusing on ethical, inclusive and purpose driven business in July of this year.

The education programme will include a set of special workshops for young people across the City Region from partners including:- Abandon Normal Devices, Collective Encounters, Liverpool World Centre and the British Antarctic Survey amongst others. The programme will also be transformed into a digital resource which will be made available to Schools and community groups across the Liverpool City Region and beyond.

In addition, the Good Business Festival are working with Knowsley Council to deliver a special youth summit this summer, taking inspiration from the COP26 United Nations climate change conference being held this autumn in Glasgow. The summit; hosted by TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham; will bring together hundreds young people from across the Liverpool City Region to take part in a schedule of talks and activities exploring how business impacts climate, the environment and animal habitats.

Taking full advantage of the surroundings of Knowsley Safari, the Youth Summit includes a line up of special activities and interactive sessions from conservation tours to animal themed aerobics.

Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said:- "It's fantastic to be at Knowsley Safari to launch the Good Business Festival's youth programme. Over the coming months young people from across the Liverpool City Region are going to enjoy some really exciting and interesting activities as part of the Good Business Festival, but they're also going be able to make their voices heard on the issues that they've told us are most important to them; the environment, natural habitats and food sustainability. I commissioned the Good Business Festival because I wanted to showcase the Liverpool City Region as a radical leader in championing ethical, value driven business and we've launched the youth programme to ensure that our young people have a real say in the future we're trying to build. In the Liverpool City Region we're committed to building the fairest, greenest, and most inclusive economy in the UK and that means listening to future generations and providing them with the best opportunities we can."

Cllr Graham Morgan, Leader of Knowsley Council added:- "I am really delighted that the Good Business Festival Youth Programme is being launched here in Knowsley and that our young people will have an opportunity to be involved in something so exciting. The summit later in the year will be a great chance to meaningfully involve and engage with the next generation and that is so important. After all, they will be the workforce and business leaders of the future."

Nikki Burton Mallott Knowsley Safari's Head of Learning and Discovery said:- "When it comes to conservation and sustainability, young people are really showing us the way. That's why it's so important we give them the tools and knowledge they need to build a better world for the future. So I've been really proud that we've been able to work with our partners at the Incredible Edible Foundation to create this fantastic kitchen garden and that we are able to offer Knowsley Safari as the location for the Good Business Festival Youth Summit later this summer."

The Good Business Festival, not for profit 3 day event will take place Wednesday, 7 July to Friday, 9 July 2021, at venues across the Liverpool City Region, aiming to tackle the world's greatest challenges by bringing together the smartest minds to think big, galvanise our ambitions and focus on progress and not perfection. Tickets to the main festival start at only ₤10 donation for a 1 day pass as the festival are using this as an opportunity for positive impact, all ticket proceeds are going directly to LCR Cares; a local community fund established in response to Covid19 to support those needing help as a result of the Pandemic in Liverpool City Region.

The Good Business Festival, with more than 70 sessions in 6 boroughs across 10 venues with leading business experts and creative minds, will explore the economic, environmental, consumer and technological challenges our society faces, as well as offering ideas, inspiration and practical solutions.

Wayne Hemingway MBE, Creative Director, The Good Business Festival, commented:- "The Good Business Festival's goal is to collaborate with people of all ages and all businesses to tackle the big challenges that our society faces, from creating sustainable food to better housing, and examining how business can become a force for positive change. Tickets are now on sale from only ₤10 and all proceeds go to local Liverpool City Region charities. We'd all be daft not to be a part of it!"

Official youth programme partners include:- Knowsley Safari, British Antarctic Survey, Collective Encounters, Metal, Dot Art, UK Youth for Nature, Incredible Edible Foundation, Liverpool World Centre, Abandon Normal Devices (AND), Liverpool Schools Parliament, Roots and Wings, Knowsley Safari, The Bluecoat.

Official event partners include:- Patagonia, MasterCard, British Council, Deloitte, Google Digital Garage, Hotel Planner, Iceland, L'Oreal UK and Ireland, Torus, Mazars and The Regenda Group with exciting initiatives including the:- 'digital garage,' a 'Tech for Good Challenge,' and 'The Big Grow' among others.

For tickets and more information, please visit:- TheGoodBusinessFestival.Com.

Over ₤16k for projects in North West England to 'Celebrate Windrush Day 2021'

COMMUNITY led groups in the North West will receive a share of ₤500,000 to host events marking the 3rd national Windrush Day, Minister for Communities Lord Greenhalgh was confirmed, on Tuesday, 25 May 2021.  Building on the success of the past 2 years, in which 10 projects celebrating the British Caribbean community's culture and heritage were supported by the scheme, 2 projects across the Region will receive ₤16,350 this year. This year's projects have a particular focus on working with Schools and recording the memories and testimonies of the Windrush Generation for posterity, telling their stories and celebrating how they have shaped Britain's heritage. Events that will take place this year include:- a 3 month Windrush exhibition, performances by School children, live Caribbean music, a seminar on the history of the Windrush and workshops with children and young people on dub poetry and traditional Jamaican dancing.

Communities Minister Lord Greenhalgh said:- "This year's Windrush Day will be a chance for all of us to come together, either in person or virtually, to applaud the contribution British Caribbean communities have made to all aspects of our society. Communities in the North West are planning for a brilliant array of events on 22 June 2021, from poetry and dance workshops to seminars and performances. All of these events will commemorate and record the outstanding legacy of the Windrush Generation and inspire our children so that generations to come will remember the huge contribution they made and continue to make to this country."

All the projects receiving funding from the grant scheme will bring communities together, create a lasting impact and improve education and learning through building a deeper understanding of the Windrush Generation and their contributions to British society.

► Windrush Day...  2019 saw the 1st national Windrush Day take place, with activities and events up and down the country. Through educational workshops, theatre performances and historical exhibitions communities honoured that landmark day over 70 years ago when the MV Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks. The Government is committed to building on the success of Windrush Day 2019 and 2020 and embedding 22 June, in the national conscience, ensuring we continue to honour and recognise the outstanding resilience, innovation and creativity of the Windrush Generation and their descendants.

► The Windrush Generation...  Windrush Day marks the anniversary of the arrival of MV Empire Windrush at the Port of Tilbury, near London, on 22 June 1948. The arrival of the Empire Windrush nearly 73 years ago marked a seminal moment in Britain's history and has come to represent the rich diversity of this nation.  Those who arrived on the Empire Windrush, their descendants and those who followed them have made and continue to make an enormous contribution to Britain, not just in the vital work of rebuilding the country and public services following WWII but in enriching our shared social, economic, cultural and religious life.  Overcoming great sacrifice and hardship, the Windrush Generation and their descendants have gone on to lead the field across public life, in business, the arts and sport. Britain would be much diminished without their contribution.