In October 2011, Ubele contributed to an event hosted by LSx called Not Putting the Lid Back On. Londoners from all walks of life have played their part in prevention and clean-up of the August riots. Now there is an appetite from people across the city to address what needs to be done to ensure something similar doesn’t occur again. As part of our aim to improve the health and lives of Londoners LSx convened government, local authorities, private and voluntary sectors, the police and the community together to discuss how we could:
The conversation took place in the form of an open debate with workshops and break-out sessions to tease out ideas and inspiration from all sectors of society.
Ubele was featured as an initiative offering insights into some of the causes of the riots, and to provide a voice for the African and Caribbean community at the event. Yve Field was part of the facilitation team, with support from Stuart Taylor (Kyosei Institute) and Emily Wilkinson (Mindful Maps). We posed a series of questions to participants using a talking wall; a graffiti wall facilitated by Mindful Maps which we invited people to contribute to.
The questions we asked included:
• What’s happening now? After the riots, what do you now see emerging in the area where you work and/or live. What do you see happening across London?
• What questions are you still holding? Who are these questions directed towards e.g. local or central government, business leaders, third sector organisations, specific communities based on location, age, race, gender, etc.
• Who else would you like to invite into the ‘Not Putting the Lid back on’ conversation / action and why?
• What innovative ideas do you have for supporting London and its’ communities?
• What are you prepared to do to make it happen?
• What are able to offer in terms of resources?
• What’s your first step towards putting this idea into action and by when?
The event report is now available from LSx. Download the Not Putting the Lid Back On Report.
