Welcome 2017

I started my event list blogs at the end of 2015. The posts snowballed in 2016 in response to popular demand. I moved from an annual post to monthly posts. As London gained its first Muslim major in Sadiq Khan in 2016, I noted how it was possible to make my event lists an example of cultural diversity and inclusion.

Original intention

My original intention was simply to bring together a wide range of sources for my own diary. I could see the benefits of sharing my efforts with others. I was amazed at how many events take place within the translation industry. I was also conscious that many were not keen to promote the activities of rival organisations.

Active, Energised Sector

I saw the benefits of promoting an active and energised translation sector to potential clients and the outside world. It is not possible to attend every event. We can consult the programmes and gain an awareness of what is happening in our industry. Good ideas are shared by other colleagues and countries.

Change

When I started out as a freelancer many within the translation industry regarded marketing and social media somewhat dubiously. It has been interesting to see others actively promote themselves and their organisations in similar ways.

Cultural Diversity and Inclusion

As cultural competence is so important to good translation, I started including more and more cultural events. Along the way, it has become a labour of love motivated by my firm beliefs in cultural diversity and inclusion.

Remaining Connected

Brexit came as a huge shock. It became more important to stress a desire to remain European and globally connected.

Access to Multicultural Events

My modest contribution has simply been to include events from varied cultural backgrounds beside each other. My London base gives me access to a wide range of free multicultural events. I have shared my experiences on Twitter or in blogs.

Shared Customs

When we respect another culture’s festivals, we realise that have a lot in common and much to admire. The Bonfire Night firework display at Alexandra Palace mixed celebrations from different cultures. I noted how many festivals have their roots in customs adopted from earlier civilisations. Sometimes the true origin of a custom is disputed, confused or claimed by another country.

Merry Christmas again

Britain is traditionally a Christian country. It was interesting to note that this year, we could say ‘Merry Christmas’ more easily - rather than the PC ‘Season’s Greetings’ or ‘Happy Holidays’. 

British religious tolerance was very hard to win over centuries. It is a pity that there is no short-cut for other nations. We should all guard against any deterioration in British religious tolerance.

Inclusive Celebrations

London celebrates a wide variety of festivals for its multicultural communities.  I remember Chinese New Year, Easter, Eid, Diwali, Holi Festival of Colours, the Sikh festival of Vaisakhi and Hanukah. We had the Irish St Patrick’s Day Parade, Days of Poland, Hungarian Culture Day, a Malaysian day and the Japanese Matsuri festival. There was the Pride parade too. I have also deliberately highlighted events that consider accessibility for the visually impaired, deaf and disabled. I fear that I may have left many excellent events out.

Closer Communities

My 2017 wish is for London’s various communities to mix more readily. 2016 has been a worrying year for terrorism and extremism. The terrorists are a minority. I believe that allied with increased security to protect honest, law-abiding citizens, London has a good recipe for bringing its diverse communities closer together.

I share my hope for peaceful, inclusive communities in London with Paris, Nice, Brussels, Berlin and the world in 2017. Let's welcome 2017 with renewed hope.

I wrote the above before the terrible events in Turkey. My condolences to all the bereaved and injured. My hopes for 2017 remain and are redoubled.

Hillary’s Glass Cliff

The French Ambassador to the UK is a woman. The President and Managing Director of the French Chamber of Great Britain are both women. The main speaker at the French Résidence was a woman. There was a record turnout of aspirational women at the French Chamber’s Women, Inspiration and Leadership event. It was the eve of the American elections. There was a huge air of anticipation that we would wake up in the morning to the first woman President of the United States. It was not to be.

The glass cliff was debated. Why is it that women often only get the chance at leadership in times of crisis? Is it because they are more likely to succeed at such times? The odds of failure are higher. Or are women better at calming a storm?

The vile Brexit referendum and vitriolic US election campaign are enough to put women off politics for good. Both results have revealed huge divisions in modern-day society and a clamour for change. While some of us struggle up the stairs to the top floor; others get to take the lift or elevator.

I greatly admired Hillary Clinton’s magnanimous speech in what must been an utterly heart-breaking day in her life: the end of her dream.

Many women pull up the ladder once they reach the top. It seems extraordinary that many white women voted for Trump. Undoubtedly, Hillary Clinton made mistakes. You never get to high office without making mistakes. The standards by which men and women’s actions and words are judged are unequal. Even women were prepared to excuse Donald Trump’s utterances as merely locker room talk.

A woman in business or politics walks a thin line between sounding too bossy one minute and too weak the next. She feels pushed

• to work harder than anyone else for recognition and promotion;
• be comfortable with every element of the job specification in advance; 
• be three times as good as any man in the same role.

Childcare costs may swallow all or most of her salary. She learns to dodge the largely female daggers out for her dress, shoes, hairstyle, voice or accent. Developing a very thick skin is a pre-requisite for survival.

As often in business, the best qualified, most experienced candidate for the job didn’t get the job. It was hardly about policies. It was character assassination. Hilary Clinton was on the absolute last step before pushing through that highest and hardest of glass ceilings: the American Presidency.

Even in her most painful moment, she sought to inspire others to push on through the setbacks in their careers ahead. She urged all to:

“Never stop believing that fighting for what is right is worth it.”

Not only did Hilary Clinton calm rather than stoke a storm, she took the time to send the elevator back down:

“To every little girl in the world: never doubt that you are valuable, powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity.”

Hillary Clinton failed to shatter the glass ceiling. She did amazingly well in the face of the glass cliff.

More on the Glass cliff:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/glass-cliff.asp

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/world/europe/glass-cliff-uk-women-politics.html

https://mic.com/articles/112016/women-forget-ceilings-beware-of-the-glass-cliff#.CJqnD3XYV