The charity is urging Ministers to follow up on previous promises about the replacement, reduction, and refinement (3Rs) of the use of animals in research.

In 2010, the UK Government made a commitment to the 3Rs on the use of animals in research. In 2015, government agencies went on to publish a ‘Delivery Report’ to assess progress against the plan, followed by a Roadmap to help progress non-animal technologies in the UK up until 2030. There has been no further publicly available update to the roadmap since 2015.

Naturewatch Foundation Campaign Manager, Sarah Carr commented:

“As a charity committed to campaigning for animals, Naturewatch Foundation is appalled that the UK government continues to allow millions of innocent animals to be used in research in the UK every year. There has been huge progress in modern, groundbreaking science which does not use animals. In comparison, old fashioned animal research can add years to research programmes, not even be accurately predictive and be very expensive. On top of this, there is also an enormous economic opportunity for the UK to be a world leader in non-animal methods such as ‘organ-on-a-chip’ and computer models.”

Naturewatch Foundation has launched the campaign to urge UK government to prioritise their research investment into modern non-animal technologies.

Sarah continued, “The UK government has announced plans to increase research spending from nearly £15bn a year to £22bn by 2025. For millions of animals imprisoned in research laboratories around the country, science is not a liberator. It is their captor, torturer – and executioner. If the Government is serious about ending animal testing, they will announce their intention to direct the new research funding to non-animal methods.”

The facts

• Over 3.4 million scientific procedures involving live animals were still carried out in Great Britain in 2019.
• The procedures included 1.73 million experimental purposes and 1.67 million procedures for the creation and breeding of genetically altered (GA) animals.

If enough people who care about animals join the campaign, Naturewatch Foundation hopes it will be the impetus the government needs to prioritise non-animal technologies.

To support the campaign to call time on animal experiments, go directly to the charity’s e-action below or access it through the website at naturewatch.org.

Naturewatch Foundation’s campaign emails two Ministers – one responsible for Life Science government policy in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the other for the regulation of the animal testing laboratories based in the Home Office.

Whist progress has been made to advance the 3Rs, Naturewatch Foundation believes that urgent action is required for the UK to move forward more quickly and replace animals in experiments with modern non-animal technologies (NATs). The charity wants to see an ambitious updated plan from the Government with a timeframe for ending animal testing in the UK.

E-action: https://action.naturewatch.org/call-time-animal-experiments

Delivery report: Working to reduce the use of animals in research: delivery report – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Roadmap: Roadmap_NonAnimalTech_final_09Nov2015.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)

Founded in London, WILDLIFE BODY is a UK-made Vegan skincare brand that centres its message on inclusivity and empowerment of the community, while ensuring sustainability is present in all its products and packaging. Simply termed, it’s our Feel Great principle.

As part of this principle, WILDLIFE BODY looks to future collaborations with a careful selection of charities that focus their support on communities who experience inequality, exclusion or mental health issues. ‘Be The Tiger’ is a call to arms to every person who hears it to step forward and be a part of an empowered and inclusive society.

However, the principle goes further, as WILDLIFE BODY also works with suppliers who ensure Soil Association Certified Organic oils are present in all three Body Scrubs, as well as only using Rain Forest Alliance Certified Coffee is used in WAKE, the coffee-based scrub. This is crucial as it ensures our products also support biodiversity & the health of the Earth, as well as the more vulnerable individuals within the supply chain. 

Currently, WAKE is the only Coffee Body Scrub on the market to use Rain Forest Alliance certified coffee.

In addition, all of WILDLIFE BODY’s packaging is fully recyclable and the labels are made using Vegan inks, which are certified for compostability.

Now available in the UK & EU, are the three debut Body Scrubs, CLEANSE, REVIVE and WAKE. Hand-made in the UK, each scrub contains 100% natural ingredients, are Cruelty Free & have so far received a unanomious 5-star rating from Customers on Trustpilot.

Founder, Victoria Watkins, strongly believes that ‘Skincare is a necessity, not a luxury. Through WILDLIFE BODY I wanted to create clean simple skincare products that deliver optimum care without compromise, synthetic ingredients or wild price tags…The Beauty Industry has such potential to be an incredible force for good & social progression and so it’s only natural for WILDLIFE BODY to be at that forefront.’

This June, will be WILDLIFE BODY’s first Pride Month, and to celebrate will be donating 20% of sales to LGBTQIA+ causes.

RRP £18.99 per 200ml jar – available to buy at www.wildlifebody.co.uk

Instagram: @Wildlife_Body

Copenhagen/Singapore/New Delhi: Muellners Foundation today announces the appointment of two new members – Lira Priyadarsani and Dinesh Singh to its board.

Lira Priyadarsani has been appointed to the ‘Digital Initiatives’ Advisory Committee of the Foundation.

Dinesh Singh has joined the Foundation on its ‘Finscale’ Steering Committee.

Lira Priyadarsani is an entrepreneur and a business strategist. She has been working for over two decades in marketing different products/services such as Mastercard. Lira is the founder of the Maximum Childhood initiative, a social network for parents focused on education. This initiative was also the winner of the business idea competition by Economic Times Power of Ideas (ETPOI 2015).

Dinesh Singh is an IT veteran with over two decades of experience in managing technology teams across industries. He has led technology, automation, analytics and digital transformation in multiple organisations. He has worked with the likes of Experian India and Tech Mahindra in key leadership roles. In addition to a long corporate career, Dinesh now advises start-ups in the fin tech sector. 

In the Foundation, Dinesh will contribute to open source technology initiatives such as Finscale.

On the appointment, Dinesh said, “I consider it a privilege to be working alongside people who share a common vision of making a difference in the society we live in.”

For more info on the Muellners Foundation, please contact via the contact form.

Muellners Foundation maintains open source projects such as Bitrupee, Finscale and promotes other open source technologies like Apache Fineract.

In 2015 the Jive Aces appeared on the Avalon stage with West End star Cassidy Janson. During their final number, piano player Vince Hurley did an acrobatic handstand on the keyboard, while still playing, only to see the piano stand collapse while he was mid-air, upside down and vertical! The crowd gasped and hearts stopped beating, fearful of a nasty accident. The whole moment was by chance captured by a GoPro.

“Il Professore Vincenzo Hurley” as Ian Clarkson, leader of the band, introduced the pianist for this piece said: “I could literally hear the crowd’s synchronized heartbeats and breathing stop dead. All happened in seconds but it felt like hours!”.

The crowd’s shock turned to wonder as Vince mastered the whole incident and continued playing the piano without a flinch, landed on his feet like an agile panther, and simply continued the piece on the keyboard, which was now on the floor, all with the same energetic enthusiasm as if nothing untoward had just happened.

For many of those who witnessed it, it was the most unanticipated epic and memorable Glastonbury show of that year!

Vince recalls the incident: “I really didn’t expect the keyboard stand to collapse. It didn’t matter, the show had to carry on. Our band’s motto is and has always been “The show must go on!” From a handstand on top of the keyboard I went plummeting downwards, somehow managing to land on my feet and carry on playing. The roar of appreciation from the wow’ed Glastonbury crowd then came my way, at which point I knew we had made it work.”

It is not for nothing The Jive Aces have christened their daily live stream -which has now gone on for over 470 episodes- “JiveStream – The Show Must Go On!”. They have been performing every single day since 17th March 2020, just before the lockdown, at 8.30pm GMT on FaceBook and YouTube.

Watch the 30 seconds clip of the collapsing keyboard on YouTube (@Jive Aces, Glastonbury Piano Epic Fail) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw8VD53bR6U

For more information about the Jive Aces visit www.jiveaces.com or catch their daily stream at 8.30pm on FaceBook or YouTube.

Band media info contact:

Grazia Clarkson

Jive Aces publicist

publicrelations@jiveaces.com

The group of about 30 relatives and friends of Mia Strothers, who died aged 14, have chosen to do their skydive on what would have been her 15^th birthday and will be raising money for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity. Mia was treated in the hospital in the days after she was hit by the car in Moston.

The skydive day – Thursday, 1^st July – will be a mix of emotions for the family. It will be a nerve-wrecking challenge but there will also be time to think about Mia and also celebrate her life, as well as raising money for the children’s hospital – something Mia would have been very supportive of.

Her dad Daniel said: “She would be really touched and pleased to be doing something for charity, she was a very kind and very loving person.” Laughing he added: “But she’d also be chuffed she was famous.”

“Mia was absolutely amazing,” he said. “She was very easy going and really loved Alton Towers and the Pleasure Beach so I bet she would have loved to do a skydive.

“She was a very special girl.”

The crash happened on Monday, 5^th October 2020 in Moston, not far from where Mia lived with dad Daniel Strothers, mum Vicky Orman and younger sister Lexi Strothers. Mia, who had been walking to school, was rushed to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital but she sadly passed away two days later. At a court hearing, the driver of the car was jailed for 10 years, having pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He was travelling at 57mph in a 30mph zone, had taken drugs and knew the brakes of his silver BMW were faulty.

Since her sad passing, the family have been passionate about fundraising for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity. In December a group of relatives and friends hiked round Dovestones and once the skydive is complete, they plan to organise a hike up Snowdon. The family are also considering a Charity Night at their local pub on the anniversary of her death in October, with a theme of purple and blue – Mia’s favourite colours.

Daniel’s sister and Mia’s auntie, Gemma Strothers, has organised the skydive. She said: “We’ve already raised about £4,800 on her fundraising page which, to say she only died in October, has been amazing.

“I can hear her rolling her eyes and saying ‘oh Auntie Gemma’ with a smirk on her face at the thought of us all doing this skydive. She’d think we were all daft.

“We wanted to do something for the children’s hospital – they were wonderful at treating her. All the staff put 100% into caring for her and when she died they were broken too. They’d very quickly become part of the family, it was awful.”

Mia was an avid Manchester City fan, often attending matches at the Etihad Stadium with her dad. When she wasn’t watching football her other favourite hobby was making TikTok videos with her sister Lexi. The girls were very close and had been sharing a bedroom, but before her death the family had been planning to move to a bigger house so they could have a bedroom each.

Mia’s mum Vicky, who will be cheering on the skydivers from the comfort of solid ground, said: “She had lots of energy and was such a beautiful girl. She could be quite dippy sometimes but she had fun with it. She’d laugh things off and was very easy going.

“She loved all the big rides at amusement parks so she’d definitely be up for doing the skydive, unlike me! I’ll be keeping my feet firmly on the floor but I can’t wait to watch them all.”

After the skydive at Black Knight Parachute Centre in Cockerham, everyone will be invited back to the Alliance Inn in Blackley for some food – a chance to celebrate Mia’s birthday.

Gemma said: “I think the plan in future will be to do something special on all of her birthdays. It will be a nice, happy way to remember her.”

Donna O’Reilly, Senior Community Fundraising Officer for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity has been supporting the family with their fundraising. She said: “Mia’s whole family have been so great at thinking of fundraising ideas and ways to support the children’s hospital.

“Like many of our patients and families, they felt a close connection to the staff who treated Mia and I think that really says a lot about the NHS – it’s a vocation, not just a job.

“I can’t wait to hear how the skydive goes and how much they raise for such a wonderful cause close to their hearts.”

To sponsor the group’s skydiving challenge visit https://miamustard.muchloved.com/ and to find out about other Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity events and ways to support visit www.rmchcharity.org.uk/events

ENDS

A selection of photographs is available to accompany this release.

For more details, please contact Press Officer Emma Wright on emma.wright2@mft.nhs.uk or call 0161 701 5114.

Notes to Editors

• Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity provides resources to make a difficult time a little bit easier for children and their families who use Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
• Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital treats over 280,000 patients every year. They come from all over the North West of England and from other parts of the country for some highly specialised treatments.
• Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity is part of the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) Charity. Registered charity number 1049274.
• The other hospitals which make up Manchester Foundation Trust Charity are: University Dental Hospital of Manchester Charity; Manchester Royal Eye Hospital Charity; Manchester Royal Infirmary Charity; Saint Mary’s Hospital Charity; Trafford Hospitals Charity; Altrincham Hospital and Wythenshawe & Withington Hospitals Charity.

To find out more visit www.rmchcharity.org.uk

You can also follow Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Some of the areas given greater emphasis by the Don Ash Foundation include positive parental behaviour, children’s mental health, increased participation of handicapped children as well as efforts to reduce violence against minors.

“The welfare of children remains our major priority”, says Maya Gocheva-Ash, chair of Don Ash Foundation, “Awareness programmes for the public in the areas of health, nutrition, responsive care and early education are the key to building better lives for children.”

The objective of the Don Ash Foundation is to encourage educational and economic prosperity in societies that support children. The Foundation is governed by values of honesty and transparency, scalability and efficiency when picking projects to support them.

To celebrate its third anniversary, the charity has launched a Small Grant Application scheme to support smaller charities and community groups to promote early childhood development. The main objective of this Grants programme is to encourage non-for-profit sector to raise awareness on early childhood development and to nourish actions to its implementation. Grant funding shall be provided under the priority categories listed in the Foundation’s Areas of Intervention. The Small Grants Scheme will provide funding for activities and services in the local community for organisations and groups.

Proposals with budgets of up to £5,000 for first time applicants and £20,000 for recurring applicants and will be considered for award.

“We’ve been very conscious of the challenges that the charities and the grass root organisations are facing over the past year, and now that we emerge from lock-downs and reopening sites, funding from this programme is ever more important for the community,” Mrs. Gocheva-Ash said. “Hopefully such funds may make a difference and assist the provision of important services for local communities by volunteer and community organisations. I am glad our assistance reaches the neediest.”

The Scottish Greens manifesto stated they ‘support the gradual reintroduction of species native to Scotland where appropriate and in cooperation with local communities, including a lynx reintroduction trial’.

“The Scottish Greens have committed to restoring nature through rewilding, including a trial lynx reintroduction. If they reach an agreement with the SNP that includes this commitment, many will see this as a sign they can achieve real change through cooperation,” said Steve Micklewright, Scottish Rewilding Alliance Convenor and Chief Executive of Trees for Life.

The native Labrador-sized Eurasian lynx was driven to extinction in Scotland some 500-1,000 years ago through hunting and habitat loss. It has now been reintroduced to many areas of Europe, including in areas used for farming, hunting, forestry and tourism.

Lynx areshy and solitary woodland hunters that avoid humans. Research suggests the Highlands has enough habitat to support around 400 lynx, which could help to restore nature’s balance by controlling numbers of roe deer, the cat’s preferred prey.

An opinion poll survey by respected market research organisation Survation for the Scottish Rewilding Alliance showed that 52% of Scots supported a pilot reintroduction of lynx, with just 19% disagreeing.

Steve Micklewright said: “A trial reintroduction of lynx will have very strong public support, and there would be no clearer signal that Scotland intends to become the world’s first Rewilding Nation.”

The Scottish Rewilding Alliance also wants to see a better approach to beaver relocations to suitable areas of Scotland where beavers are still missing, to help stop the needless killing of wild beavers when they cause problems for farmers on Tayside.

Beavers create wetlands that can reduce flooding, improve water quality, and benefit fish and other wildlife. But since the Government legally protected beavers in 2019, its nature agency NatureScot has issued dozens of killing licences – resulting in 20% of the Scottish population being killed in 2019 alone.

Steve Micklewright said: “Nearly all of these beavers could have been relocated to parts of Scotland where local landowners and communities want the benefits they bring, including reducing the risk of flooding. A deal between the Greens and SNP deal must tackle this needless waste of life.”

The Survation poll showed that 66% of Scots support beaver relocation ahead of their authorised killing. NatureScot has identified 100,000 hectares of potential beaver habitat in Scotland, but Ministers have decided to block beaver relocation to these areas.

“Public opinion is in favour of beaver relocation and we have huge areas where they could be moved to. The Greens must ensure that this can happen,” added Steve Micklewright.

The Scottish Rewilding Alliance, a coalition of over 20 environmental organisations, is calling on the Scottish Government to declare Scotland the world’s first Rewilding Nation, with the rewilding of 30% of Scotland’s land and sea within a decade.

“The land managers have continued with many of the conservation measures we helped them put in place,” said Lizzie Grayshon, GWCT lead ecologist on the project, “and, despite the unusually cold Spring, our monitoring suggests there will be at least 100 breeding pairs of lapwing this year, which is brilliant and consistent with the number at the end of the project. The long-term commitment of these ‘working conservationists’ is vital to ensuring the lapwings’ future in the Avon Valley.”

The valley’s farmers, gamekeepers and river keepers have maintained efforts to protect the endangered bird species from predators like foxes, using techniques previously carried out by GWCT ecologists, such as erecting temporary electric fences around nests.

“The farmers are still really engaged with their waders and provide us with regular updates,” said Lizzie. “The fact that lapwing numbers have remained stable since the end of the project shows how, given the right funding, advice and encouragement and by working together, farmers can boost biodiversity in the working countryside. 72% of the land in Britain is farmed, so private land managers must be properly supported to carry out conservation on a landscape scale.”

Avon Valley farmer Will Mitchell, who grew up in the valley, said:”If I find some eggs or new chicks I let Lizzie know and she keeps us up to date on progress elsewhere in the valley – we have a bit of competition now on who has the most lapwing. Each year we’re getting more and more involved with the birds and all the family enjoy seeing the progress they’re making. It’s great to see the lapwing coming back and this year we’ve had three types of egret, a redshank nest and for the first time a pair of oyster catchers.”

The impact of 2021’s cold Spring has, surprisingly, not been all negative for the waders. Lapwing nest on the ground and their chicks are mobile and foraging for food as soon as they hatch. This year’s late cold weather has slowed the growth of vegetation, offering the birds alternative nesting sites, where vegetation would normally be too high for building nests and raising chicks.

Shorter vegetation later in the year also gives lapwing the opportunity to try again, or ‘re-nest’, if they lose their first clutch of eggs to predation. This means that the breeding birds are at different stages: most chicks are fledging, but some pairs have small chicks or are even still sitting on nests.

Ground-nesting birds and their chicks are especially vulnerable to both predators and disturbance by people and dogs. “When you visit the valley, please stick to the paths and keep your dogs on leads,” said Will. “If the birds are making lots of noise, this is their alarm call because you may have strayed into their nesting area and could cause them to abandon their chicks, so please take heed and stay on the path.”

LIFE Waders for Real project

The Avon Valley, between Salisbury and Christchurch, was one of the key sites in England and Wales for breeding waders, but it has seen dramatic declines in lapwing, redshank and snipe. Only a generation ago, large flocks of lapwing were a familiar sight across the country, but the population has fallen by 80% since 1960 in England and Wales.

After monitoring waders in the valley since the mid-1990s, the GWCT, a national conservation charity based in the Avon valley, decided to act. The Trust’s research showed that the decline was due to poor breeding success, with predation of nests and chicks being the main cause. They secured funding and invited the valley farmers to join the LIFE Waders for Real project which began in 2015.

The project succeeded in reversing the decline of lapwing in the valley. By starting with existing breeding populations, incorporating predator control alongside habitat creation and, most importantly, involving local land managers, the number of lapwing in the Avon Valley went from 61 pairs in 2015 to 105 at the end of the project in 2019. Crucially, breeding success also improved. To remain stable, a local population needs to fledge an average of 0.7 chicks per pair each year. Before the project, lapwing productivity had dropped as low as 0.4 young per pair. By 2019, the figure was 0.96, safely exceeding the critical level for sustainability.

Waders for Real concluded in 2019 but the GWCT continues to monitor wader numbers in the Avon Valley. Lapwing numbers have remained stable since the end of the project and early counts are showing that redshank are also doing well this year.

Notes to Editors

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust – providing research-led conservation for a thriving countryside. The GWCT is an independent wildlife conservation charity which has carried out scientific research into Britain’s game and wildlife since the 1930s. We advise farmers and landowners on improving wildlife habitats. We employ 22 post-doctoral scientists and 50 other research staff with expertise in areas such as birds, insects, mammals, farming, fish and statistics. We undertake our own research as well as projects funded by contract and grant-aid from Government and private bodies. The Trust is also responsible for several Government Biodiversity Action Plan species and is lead partner for grey partridge and joint lead partner for brown hare and black grouse.

Finding out their child will have a short life sends a family into freefall. Jessie May is able to catch them, to offer vital support, in the family’s own home. This year’s Children’s Hospice Week (21st – 25th June) marks the start of the Jessie May Summer Appeal. An important time for us to share aspects of the crucial work we do.

One of the children Jessie May supports is 9-month-old Alessi. Alessi was born during the COVID Pandemic, and was diagnosed with severe Cerebral Palsy after a complicated labour. Reagan, Alessi’s mum, relies on Jessie May.

“I’d had a straightforward pregnancy and was looking forward to welcoming a new bundle of joy to our family. But the labour was far from straightforward. Many things happened but ultimately Alessi’s heartbeat stopped. Once she was here, we were told the news no Mum or Dad ever wants to hear: our daughter was unlikely to live for very long. In fact, they said they’d be surprised if she made it past the first day.

9 months later and Alessi needs round the clock care. She regularly has terrifying seizures and needs to be suctioned constantly and tube fed. Me and Mitch – her dad, take turns to sleep so that someone is always with her. At the same time, it’s a constant struggle to get the support we need – emotionally, financially and practically.

And after a year in and out of lockdown, with Alessi in and out of hospital, and cut off from our support networks – we feel pushed to our limits. Some days we don’t know how we can go any longer.

There’s no one else in our family, bar Mitch and I, who can care for Alessi. No one who can relieve us. Except the Jessie May nurses, they are trained professionals and I know Alessi is safe when she is with them.

If I need someone, they’re there. They’re helping us rebuild from the trauma of Alessi’s birth and diagnosis, and without them, life would be very different. Me and my family are pushed to our limits every day. Jessie May can’t be pushed to theirs.”

More and more children are being diagnosed with serious illnesses – putting more and more pressure on hospice services like Jessie May. If they are to help every family like Alessi’s they need the continued support of the general public and local businesses to do so. Support Jessie May this Children’s Hospice Week, by making a donation or by pushing yourself to your limits and taking part in a fundraising challenge.

You can read the full story, or make a donation on their website here: www.jessiemay.org.uk/pushed-to-the-limits

Sometimes juvenile idiopathic arthritis can be an invisible condition and people don’t see the daily struggles that children with arthritis face. As well as coping with the pain that their condition causes, there is a lot more to cope with too from medications (often as painful injections) and regular blood tests as well as a plethora of other tests, scans and x-rays. Then there are the side-effects of the medication which can be very unpleasant. Having a child with JIA in the family can be tough on all family members with so much time spent at appointments and getting to grips with a “new normality”.

Having lived with JIA for 6 years Mia, along with her brother Max, decided to organise some fundraising activities to raise funds for Juvenile Arthritis Research. As well as guess the number of sweets in a jar and other activities, Mia and Max will be joined by their cousins for a sponsored bike ride. So far they have already raised an incredible £500. These vital funds will be used towards searching for a cure for juvenile arthritis, and awareness and support work. You can read more about Mia’s story and support her fundraising at https://bit.ly/JARMiaMax

Mia’s mum, Jo, says “It certainly has been a rollercoaster and I imagine the ride is far from over but she is taking it in her stride and makes us so proud every single day.”

Richard Beesley, founder of Juvenile Arthritis Research explains “Awareness that children can get arthritis remains low and this can cause long delays in diagnosis. During that time, joints can become permanently damaged. We know that prompt diagnosis and treatment leads to far better outcomes for children with JIA. Mia and Max are doing an incredible job of telling people about JIA as well as raising funds to allow us to support more families affected by the disease.”

If you have been inspired by Mia’s story and want to make a difference in your community to raise awareness of JIA, please get in touch through our website, www.jarproject.org

SOS Rescue Kitchen is celebrating the 1st anniversary of its first operation in the midst of a pandemic in June 2020. To celebrate its achievements, SOS Sanur Rescue Kitchen hosted series of exciting events throughout the day to share with its volunteers, chefs, and the general public the milestones and challenges during the one year since its operations.

On the 17th June 2021, SOS Rescue Kitchen distributed over 5000 meals including 3250 Nutritious meals for the people in need in Bali. SOS Rescue Chefs have prepared and cooked meals from 2 AM that day with volunteers coming from different institutions namely;  Indonesian Special Force Police BRIMOB, Army, Ritz Carlton chefs, Pertiwi Indonesia, MENWA, and many others gathered together to break the record of cooking 3250 nasi bungkus in one day.

The event is also attended by notable guests including Mayor of Denpasar, Danish Ambassador, Head of Military District Badung, Head of Social Department Denpasar, Head of International and National Affair Denpasar, Head of Brimob Bali, and Head of Sanur Police Station.

Furthermore, during the event, SOS is collaborating with Pertiwi Indonesia and PMI to celebrate Blood Donation Day, with 50 participants of blood donors that day.

A pioneer of digital not-for-profit fundraising and services, Curious Minds provides turn-key  digital solutions for non-profits to engage and acquire loyal and long-term donors for their  cause.

The Curious Minds process is best-known for providing not-for-profits highly valuable monthly donors that average a 95% retention rate in the first year compared with an industry average of 60%. This high retention rate impacts a non-profit results’ significantly and gives them greater flexibility to plan for future growth and service delivery.

Curious Minds performance and results has allowed it to grow its business in the top 3 global fundraising markets: Australia, UK, and US – and to recruit a global team of non-profit specialists to service its client-base of over 50 charities, such as: Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders), Bush Heritage and the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Such is the success of their digital fundraising philosophy that four of Australia’s five most-trusted charities now use Curious Minds as their digital fundraising partner.

Unlike most other digital agencies specialising in the non-profit sector, Curious Minds, maintains the entire process in-house, providing its non-profit clients with an easily manageable and accountable solution that can be maximised around the clock to ensure it delivers each campaign’s desired outcome.

As more not-for-profits turn to digital solutions to attract new donors, a trend which had gained significant traction during the pandemic, Curious Minds is a leader in this space and continues to provide its sought-after services to a growing list of clients.

“Our global clients have been asking us to establish a presence in the UK market and we already provide limited services to the market. Establishing a local team allows us to better service our clients and open our services to US-based non-profits and deliver something that doesn’t exist now but is very much needed,” explains founder and CEO Stephen Thirgood. “Over the past decade, we’ve created a proprietary system that assists our not-for-profit clients attract long-term regular givers to their charities. In turn, this gives those organisations a stable platform to plan their future growth strategies, knowing Curious Minds will deliver the numbers they require to sustain their ambitions,” Mr Thirgood added.

“We needed to move quickly onto digital platforms to enlist the wider public to make regular donations to support our critical services. Curious Minds had the expertise and the people to deliver tangible outcomes for Barnardos Australia,” Adnan Shahzad, Barnados Australia’s Senior Digital Growth Manager, says. “The pandemic created a new set of pressures within Australian society that required our charity to increase our protection of vulnerable Australian children and their families,” he added.

Curious Minds will start working with select UK-based non-profits in 2021 and service their goals with their global team and local presence. It has set up multiple options to best accommodate the local market and finds solutions to match the client’s size and ambition.

About Curious Minds:

• Since 2013, Curious Minds has worked with the Not-For-Profit industry to transform how digital marketing serves the fundraising mission.

• Collaborating with Greenpeace and Amnesty International in the early days, Curious Minds developed a model that proved to the fundraising world that digital was a profitable, scalable and essential component of the fundraising mix.

• Today we work in partnership with the world’s leading and innovative charities to ensure that they are at the forefront of digital acquisition and retention.

• 2020 saw Curious Minds expand its platform into New Zealand, Singapore, the UK and now the US.

• Results in all markets are reinforcing that the high-touch digital engagement model – developed by Curious Minds – is the future of digital fundraising.

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Rukesh Patel is also the Chief Technology Officer of Edelweiss Financial Services and an experienced industry veteran of the financial services sector.

Rukesh has also worked as CTO of Reliance Jio(Money and Payments Bank). Besides this, he has been in the financial services space for more than two decades, working with likes of American Express, PWC etc. He hails from Mumbai, India.

Rukesh also has a long standing association with academia, having served on the Board of University of Technology, Sydney.

Last year, Rukesh gathered close to 200 differently-abled individuals and 50 families, and organised an effort to assist them with food aid. These families had lost their livelihood due to lockdown, during the pandemic.

The Muellners Foundation looks forward to actively working with Rukesh on advancing its agenda of financial inclusion, social inclusion.

For more info on the Muellners Foundation.

Muellners Foundation maintains open source projects such as Bitrupee, Finscale and promotes other open source technologies like Apache Fineract.

Prof Christian Fuchs, who is the Director of the Communication and Media Research Institute at the University of Westminster and co-initiated the Manifesto, commented,

“Democracy requires Public Service Media and a Public Service Internet. The digital giants such as Facebook, YouTube/Google, Netflix, and Amazon dominate the Internet. The results have been monopolies, dataveillance, algorithmic politics, digital populism, the Internet as huge shopping mall, filter bubbles, fake news, post-truth culture, and a lack of debate. Our Manifesto demands the creation of a Public Service Internet so that Public Service Media are enabled and properly resourced to be able to provide online platforms that have a not-for-profit imperative and the digital remit to advance information, news, debate, democracy, education, entertainment, participation, and creativity with the help of the Internet”.

The Manifesto was created by a group of international media experts who engaged over several months in an online discussion and collaboration process utilising the ecomitee.com platform. The Manifesto initiative is part of the research network InnoPSM: Innovation in Public Service Media Policies that was funded by the UK Arts and Humanities Council and is led by Dr Alessandro D’Arma from the University of Westminster and Dr Minna Horowitz from the University of Helsinki.

Dr Klaus Unterberger, who is Head of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation’s Public Value Department and the Manifesto’s co-initiator, said,

“Public communication is more than business. It is a public purpose. The global pandemic, accelerating climate change and increasing social inequalities have demonstrated the urgency of accountable and reliable news beyond fake news and polarization. We need a new Internet that provides a public sphere for citizens, not just for consumers. The existing infrastructure of Public Service Media must play a vital role in creating an alternative to the dominance of data companies. There are new opportunities for strengthening the public sphere and democracy. This is why we call for action”.

In the following months, the Manifesto will go global and ask supporters to sign it. There will be several activities and events addressing media and communications policy makers, Public Service Media, civil society, and the public in order to create a broad coalition for the creation of a Public Service Internet.

The Public Service Media and Public Service Internet Manifesto:
http://bit.ly/psmmanifesto
The Manifesto can be signed here:
http://bit.ly/signPSManifesto

Contact:
Prof Christian Fuchs,
University of Westminster,
Communication and Media Research Institute
c.fuchs@westminster.ac.uk

Esther has lived with tinnitus for five years now. She shared: “Taking part in the Great North Swim to raise money for the British Tinnitus Association was an amazing experience. I had a brilliant time and am very proud of the achievement. The swim happened almost five years to the day since I woke up with deafening tinnitus. I felt like I had a tumble dryer in my head. A random virus had attacked the cochlea in my left ear leaving me permanently deaf on one side.”

“Over the next extremely disorientating few weeks as I struggled to understand what had happened to me, one organisation in particular gave me great support – the British Tinnitus Association. I was very afraid at that time that my condition would mean I would no longer be able to do my job as a theatre director, but the positive case studies they shared with me helped me to see that I could perhaps learn to adapt to live with the condition which I have accomplished. I swam to say a big thank you to them for giving me hope and solidarity when I needed it the most.”

There are a range of techniques that help people manage their tinnitus, including sound therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness. For Esther, swimming has been a blessing. She confided: “In my process to learn to live with tinnitus a huge help to me has been water. Being by the sea, a river, or open water has always brought me incredible relief from the tumble dryer in my head. So last year I took the plunge and started open water swimming, and I was inspired to do the Great North Swim for my “Thank You BTA” campaign.”

The British Tinnitus Association’s vision is “A world where no one suffers from tinnitus” which Esther fully supports. She is hoping that her open water fundraising challenge will get people raise vital funds and awareness to make sure the charity can fund future tinnitus research, to ultimately find a cure, and people can access the support they need now.

The BTA’s Fundraising Officer Jess Pollard commented “We’re so proud of Esther for her achievement, and grateful that Esther is able to share her experience to give support and hope to others. She’s smashed her fundraising target not once but twice, raising over £1400 so far and just keeps on going – just like her swimming!”

Please support Esther by donating at justgiving.com/estherichardson, or email fundraising@tinnitus.org.uk take part in your own challenge.

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Editors Notes

For more information

Nic Wray, Communications Manager

nic@tinnitus.org.uk

0114 250 9933

About the British Tinnitus Association

The British Tinnitus Association is an independent charity and the primary source of information for people with tinnitus. It helps to facilitate an improved quality of life for people with tinnitus through a range of support options including support groups, a helpline and its website, while also taking steps to bring forward the day when tinnitus is cured. The charity works to inform and educate medical professionals and the community on what tinnitus is and how to manage it. The British Tinnitus Association wants “a world where no one suffers from tinnitus”. It wants to find better ways to manage tinnitus and, ultimately, to help find a cure. In 2020, the publication of its Tinnitus Manifesto led to more than 120,000 people signing a petition for more funding for tinnitus research to find cures.

Website: www.tinnitus.org.uk

Twitter: @BritishTinnitus

Facebook and Instagram: @BritishTinnitusAssociation

LinkedIn: British Tinnitus Association

British Tinnitus Association, Unit 5 Acorn Business Park, Woodseats Close, Sheffield S8 0TB

The British Tinnitus Association is a registered charity. Registered charity number 1011145.

16 June 2021

New partnership between The London Festival and Knights Security Group sets gold standard for Covid secure events

The London Festival has announced a landmark partnership with Knights Security Group (KSG) to deliver a Covid safe event in 2023. The London Festival is an extravaganza of live music performances, cultural events, engaging new technology and feel-good entertainment.

Knights Security Group will work in collaboration with The London Festival to deliver a strategic and fully comprehensive 360-degree Covid-safe blueprint. It will deploy their wide range of COV-RID products across multiple locations in the festival to keep festival goers safe. Planning is already under way and will continue as arrangements are made to kick off the inaugural event.

With significant experience in dealing with high traffic locations, the KSG Team will ensure that over 250 hand sanitiser stations are kept in operation throughout the two-week festival, regular thermal fogging will be deployed to ensure that all attractions are clean and safe. Going above and beyond, The London Festival will offer free 50ml hand sanitiser bottles to families with young children free of charge on entry to the festival.

All COV-RID products to be used during the London Festival are alcohol-free and are specifically designed to be non-toxic and non-hazardous to use. The COV-RID products are natural and friendly to the environment as they are derived from plants and biodegradable.

Achieving the gold standard for disinfecting locations with lots of visitors and people, KSG will become an integral part of The London Festival team throughout the event with pre-tested teams continually disinfecting all areas of the immersive and technologically advanced event at regular intervals.

Mr Andrew Knights, CEO of Knights Security Group Ltd said: “The London Festival will be provided with the full range of COV-RID products to achieve levels of hygiene and cleanliness that no big event has experienced before.

“All products planned for the festival are alcohol-free, non-toxic and non-Hazardous. By thermally fogging all of the exposed surfaces in the enclosed locations the London Festival will ensure they are disinfected and safe for the whole family.”

The London Festival is organised by Empower London Foundation in partnership with the Nascent Vek Group.

To find out more about The London Festival visit: https://thelondonfestival.com/

About

Empower London Foundation is committed to raising funds to better the lives of disadvantaged communities and underappreciated individuals in the capital by partnering with reputable charities and public sector organisations.

By raising money via an annual two-week long event known as The London Festival, the charity seeks to provide funds to many charities operating in the capital in order for them to provide educational programmes, funding for start-ups and to help fund public awareness campaigns on important topics that affect communities in the London area. It has committed to a ten-year plan for the Festival.

Contact

MEDIA CONTACT: Rebecca Appleton

EMAIL: media@thelondonfestival.com

UK TEL: 01623 428996

US TEL: 1 917-720-3025

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