Artists, Creatives and Dreamers - this is Liverpool Calling...

THE plans for a major cultural festival to take place alongside Eurovision have been announced and artists and creatives from all competing nations are encouraged to get involved.  It's just over 6 weeks since Liverpool was named as the 2023 host City for the Eurovision Song Contest, staging the global event on behalf of Ukraine. Today, the internationally renowned Culture Liverpool team has begun to make its winning bid a reality by issuing a call out to artists, creatives, makers, musicians and performers for ideas towards creating an inclusive, thought-provoking, entertaining and diverse cultural festival in the lead up to May's main event.

The festival will include a series of commissions, events and installations which will celebrate UK music, Eurovision and most importantly, act as a platform for showcasing modern Ukraine - an ambitious, progressive country.

The commissioning call out is in 3 categories:-

►   UK and Ukraine... These commissions will bring together Ukrainian and UK based artists and producers to collaborate on creating new projects which capture the ambition and energy of modern Ukraine. Artists can come from any discipline, although there is a particular interest in large scale outdoor works and installations.

Each commission must bring together a Ukrainian artist, creative or collective with a UK counterpart. Applications from Ukrainian nationals living in Ukraine or outside of the UK are welcome, and support will be given to match those individuals with a UK collaborator.

►   Music United... These commissions will celebrate the power of music to bring communities together. They will encapsulate the joy and congregation which music can bring across boundaries, ages and backgrounds.

►   Eurovision in Liverpool... These commissions will be a celebration of the joy, diversity of spirit, plurality of opinion and sheer fabulousness of Eurovision taking place in the heart of the UK's most exciting City. They may draw on the history of the competition, or look to its future, or simply revel in what it stands for.

Anyone interested must:-

►   Have a history of creating high quality work of scale, ambition and accessibility.

►   Be willing to work in collaboration with other artists and producers.

►   Deliver breathtaking work in a short timeframe.

Applications are welcome from creatives who live in the nations competing in Eurovision 2023 and in particular from artists from Ukraine and from the Liverpool City Region.

The deadline for expressions of interest is midday Monday, 12 December 2022. Those successful in this 1st stage will be given an initial £2k funding to formally develop their proposal.

The Cultural Festival has been made possible through support from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, and will include partners the Ukrainian Institute and British Council in the commissioning process.

For full details and information on how to apply, visit the Culture Liverpool website.

Information about Liverpool's plans for the Eurovision education and community programmes will be announced in the new year.
 

New surveillance report from UKHSA shows rising antibiotic resistance

THE UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Monday, 21 November 2022, published its surveillance report, The English Surveillance Programme for Antimicrobial Utilisation and Resistance (ESPAUR).

The release of this report coincides with this year's World Antibiotic Awareness Week, which runs until 24 November 2022. The report warns of rising antibiotic resistant infections since 2020, along with high levels of resistance to 1st line antibiotics. In the North West there were 3,276 estimated resistant bloodstream infections, at a rate of 44.5 per 100,000 population, the second highest rate in English Regions.

Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but inappropriate or excessive use of antimicrobials, including antibiotics, such as:- penicillin, allows the target bacteria to develop antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Examples of inappropriate use include:- taking antibiotics for colds, sore throats, coughs and so on that are viral in origin, so cannot be treated by antibiotics. Drug resistant microbes are difficult to treat, and they may be impossible to treat in vulnerable people or people with weak immune systems.

In the absence of effective antibiotics, cancer treatments and common surgeries like caesareans would become very high-risk procedures and for many people, could lead to infections that cannot be treated and may become fatal. This is why it is vitally important to take antibiotics only when they are prescribed and necessary for the condition.

The latest data published by the UK Health Security Agency reveals that the estimated total number of serious antibiotic resistant infections in England rose by 2.2% in 2021 compared to 2020 (53,985 compared to 52,842). This is the equivalent of 148 severe antibiotic resistant infections a day in 2021.

The report also identified geographical variation in the levels of antibiotics prescribed across England. In the North West, total antibiotic consumption has decreased by 10.4% from 2019 to 2021, coinciding with the Covid19 Pandemic. The report also identified that the North West (alongside the North East of England) has consistently had the greatest levels of antibiotics prescribed across the country, measured by:- "defined daily doses."

The North West has the second highest rate in the burden of antibiotic resistance at 44.5 per 100,000 population. Variation also exists in the rates of antibiotic resistant infections between different demographic groups.

The figures are thought to be affected by Covid19 restrictions that were in place at the time, which has led to overall reductions in the number of infections during this period. This may mean increasing antibiotic resistance if people move away from the good hand and respiratory hygiene behaviours adopted during the Pandemic.

Dr Will Morton, Consultant in Health Protection from UKHSA, comments:- "Antibiotics are essential to treat serious bacterial infections, such as meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis but inappropriate use or overuse will mean they stop working against life threatening conditions. In the absence of effective antibiotics, cancer treatments and common surgeries like caesareans would become very high-risk procedures and for many people, could lead to infections that cannot be treated and may become fatal. Taking antibiotics when you don't need them puts you and your family at risk of developing infections which in turn cannot be easily treated with antibiotics. Antibiotics work by killing bacteria, so they won't help relieve the symptoms of cold, flu or Covid19 or treat these viral illnesses; please trust your healthcare professional, take antibiotics only as prescribed, never share with others and don't save for later. Globally, approximately 1.3 million deaths are attributed to bacterial antimicrobial resistance every year. AMR is here now and is a problem now. We need to continue to work together to prevent this Pandemic worsening in the future."

Professor Susan Hopkins, Chief Medical Advisor at the UK Health Security Agency, said:- "We are already seeing resistance emerge to our very newest antibiotics - innovation to find new treatments will only succeed if we use what we have responsibly. Overuse of antibiotics will mean they stop working against life threatening conditions such as sepsis. Antibiotics won't help the symptoms of cold, flu or Covid19; please trust your healthcare professional, take antibiotics only as prescribed, never share with others and don't save for later. Taking antibiotics when you don't need them puts you and your loved ones at risk of having an untreatable infection in future."

Professor Dame Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said:- "Antibiotic resistance is not a distant problem that we can ignore - infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria are killing thousands of people every year in this country and globally, as well as having a huge economic impact. As we emerge from the Covid19 Pandemic, this is a pivotal moment to maintain focus on the 'silent Pandemic' of antibiotic resistance through our extensive surveillance and antibiotic stewardship activities."

Access to the ESPAUR report is available here. Further information including resources and educational material relating to World Antibiotics Awareness Week is available here:- WHO.Int.