An enforcement team targeting overcrowding, discovered twenty-six bunk beds in a four-bedroom house in Wembley. Those living there were mostly migrants. They say that despite the appalling conditions, it's the only way they can afford to live in the capital.
It’s a four-bedroom house, and a team of enforcement officers have arrived at dawn to look inside. What they find is shocking. There are 26 beds.
How many people live in this room, sir? 1, 2, 3 bunk beds, six sleeping spaces…
Another four more in this tiny room.
You pay £55…
65.
£65 per week each.
It was time for the enforcement team to do some maths. What might the landlord earn from this one property in Wembley?
We think there are up to 26 people living in this property, paying somewhere between £60 and £65 a week so we’re looking at an income on this property of around £1,500 a week, which is around £80,000 a year income.
But there was even more to come. Outside, inspectors found a shack, and inside, two more beds and a woman living here, who wasn’t happy with the conditions.
So you can’t stand the mice and the rats scurrying around midnight.
Dreadful, isn’t it, to think that somebody can be exploited to living in what isn’t even a shed, it’s a lean-to.
So how many people might be living in conditions like this across London? Well, Brent Council has a ready prosecuted 30 landlord in a year, and taking in other councils there have been at least 300 raids in 12 months. This house in Kingsbury has now been boarded up. Inside, inspectors found 17 beds. The men living here, thought to be Romanian, have now moved on. In Harrow, there's another four-bedroomed house, not quite so crowded. Until recently 13 people, mainly from Hungary, had been living here, but they are not happy. One of the tenants has armed himself with a baseball bat.
Because I’m gonna protect ourselves.
The tenants here claim their landlord gave them just two weeks’ notice to get out and when they objected, two strange men turned up outside the property.
Walking up and down, punching in the air.
Just jumping around, preparing to the fight.
Harrow Council has now warned the landlord to respect tenants rights. He’s declined to comment, saying it’s going to court. The tenants say they have no choice but to live in conditions like these.
I think because this is the cheapest where you can find a room.
And back at that Wembley house with 26 beds, Bagarald told us he lives here because his job as a carer for the elderly pays so little.
I’m paid twenty pounds per day.
Meish works as a casual builder and downs sixty to eighty pounds a day but says even living here his life is better than back home in India.
This country is money. Our conditions is money.
The landlord here now faces prosecution, but without alternative very cheap accommodation, many thousands of low-paid workers may continue to live in similar conditions.
Gareth Furby, BBC London News.
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Social issues. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta Social issues. Mostrar todas las entradas
viernes, 16 de junio de 2017
domingo, 4 de junio de 2017
Extensive listening: Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash
"Ideas can and do change the world," says historian Rutger Bregman, sharing his case for a provocative one: guaranteed basic income.
Learn more about the idea's 500-year history and a forgotten modern experiment where it actually worked — and imagine how much energy and talent we would unleash if we got rid of poverty once and for all.
Rutger Bregman is one of Europe’s most prominent young thinkers. The 28-year-old historian and author has published four books on history, philosophy and economics. His History of Progress was awarded the Belgian Liberales prize for best nonfiction book of 2013. The Dutch edition of Utopia for Realists became a national bestseller and will be translated in 16 languages this year. Bregman has twice been nominated for the prestigious European Press Prize for his journalism work at The Correspondent. His work has been featured in The Washington Post and The Guardian and on the BBC.
You can read a full transcript here.
Learn more about the idea's 500-year history and a forgotten modern experiment where it actually worked — and imagine how much energy and talent we would unleash if we got rid of poverty once and for all.
Rutger Bregman is one of Europe’s most prominent young thinkers. The 28-year-old historian and author has published four books on history, philosophy and economics. His History of Progress was awarded the Belgian Liberales prize for best nonfiction book of 2013. The Dutch edition of Utopia for Realists became a national bestseller and will be translated in 16 languages this year. Bregman has twice been nominated for the prestigious European Press Prize for his journalism work at The Correspondent. His work has been featured in The Washington Post and The Guardian and on the BBC.
You can read a full transcript here.
jueves, 11 de mayo de 2017
The pupils who went on strike for their teacher
Some years ago a teacher in Stepney was sacked from his school for encouraging pupils to write poems reflecting life in the East End. Now, he's back with another project.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. When did Chris Searle teach at Sir John Cass School in Stepney?
2. What were the poems about?
3. What did Chris do against the wishes of the head teacher?
4. How long did the students remain on strike?
5. According to Faridha Karim, what are the children not interested in?
6. How many schools did Chris do poetry workshops at?
Let if flow, Joe
Let your feelings speak for you
Let the people know what you know
They're the honest words of young EastEnders which got this former teacher the sack. Chris Searle taught English at Sir John Cass School in Stepney back in the 70s and encouraged pupils to write poetry about their lives.
They looked at their area and they saw what was good about it, but they also saw what was bad about it, and that's what came out in their poetry. Quite a lot of their poems talked about bad housing because at that time housing in this area was quite grim for some families.
Against the wishes of the head teacher he published a book of their revealing work. He was told to leave and hundreds of children walked out in support.
And I can remember, even as I came out here, there was one of the parents who I knew, who had been quite active in the postman’s strike, he was a postman, and he was teaching them how to picket at the school gates. I mean, this was very much a part of life in East London during that period.
The children went back after three days but it took Chris two years to be reinstated, so he set up a writers group for his students and other locals, some of whom were young Bengalis.
It's like a way for these young people who are quite dissociated from what was going on, not interested in education, not interested in… well, not… not feeling like they're involved or included in school and education, and then they kind of came out of their kind of comfort zone.
Chris has been back in East London working with young people again as part of a new Spoken Word Project.
The young people that I met in the four schools that I did the workshops in were tremendous, they were full of spirit and full of pride of being East London young people.
And this new anthology of young East End voices has been published without controversy.
Ayshea Buskh, BBC London News.
KEY:
1 in the 70’s
2 the good and bad things in the area / bad housing
3 he published a book with the poems
4 for three days
5 their education/school
6 four
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. When did Chris Searle teach at Sir John Cass School in Stepney?
2. What were the poems about?
3. What did Chris do against the wishes of the head teacher?
4. How long did the students remain on strike?
5. According to Faridha Karim, what are the children not interested in?
6. How many schools did Chris do poetry workshops at?
Let if flow, Joe
Let your feelings speak for you
Let the people know what you know
They're the honest words of young EastEnders which got this former teacher the sack. Chris Searle taught English at Sir John Cass School in Stepney back in the 70s and encouraged pupils to write poetry about their lives.
They looked at their area and they saw what was good about it, but they also saw what was bad about it, and that's what came out in their poetry. Quite a lot of their poems talked about bad housing because at that time housing in this area was quite grim for some families.
Against the wishes of the head teacher he published a book of their revealing work. He was told to leave and hundreds of children walked out in support.
And I can remember, even as I came out here, there was one of the parents who I knew, who had been quite active in the postman’s strike, he was a postman, and he was teaching them how to picket at the school gates. I mean, this was very much a part of life in East London during that period.
The children went back after three days but it took Chris two years to be reinstated, so he set up a writers group for his students and other locals, some of whom were young Bengalis.
It's like a way for these young people who are quite dissociated from what was going on, not interested in education, not interested in… well, not… not feeling like they're involved or included in school and education, and then they kind of came out of their kind of comfort zone.
Chris has been back in East London working with young people again as part of a new Spoken Word Project.
The young people that I met in the four schools that I did the workshops in were tremendous, they were full of spirit and full of pride of being East London young people.
And this new anthology of young East End voices has been published without controversy.
Ayshea Buskh, BBC London News.
KEY:
1 in the 70’s
2 the good and bad things in the area / bad housing
3 he published a book with the poems
4 for three days
5 their education/school
6 four
martes, 25 de abril de 2017
What makes me different from todays Syrian refugees? Just fate and timing
As a Syrian-American journalist who has covered Syria’s refugee crisis, Alia Malek understands where they are coming from and where they’re going.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1. Alia Malek arrived in the States in September 2015.
2. Alia was pregnant when she left Syria.
3. Alia’s dad was already in the States.
4. Alia’s parents didn’t intend to live in USA for ever.
5. Alia’s parents are American citizens.
6. Americans had a very good opinion of Arabs back in the 1970’s.
7. The Syrian mother Alia was travelling with came from a poor background in Syria.
8. The woman’s children found it very difficult to adapt to the hardships of the journey.
9. Many American citizens followed a similar path to that of Alia’s.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight: reflections on coming to the United States from author Alia Malek, who considers the various journeys Syrian refugees take on their many roads from Damascus.
ALIA MALEK, Journalist: In September 2015, I felt I had to drop everything and go to Turkey to report on Syrians as they hurriedly made their way to Europe, trying to beat the rapidly closing borders.
As a Syrian-American, their fate was one I had only accidentally been spared.
As I accompanied them on this journey, I couldn’t help thinking of how different their circumstances were from how my own Syrian family had ended up in the diaspora, of how my mother, pregnant with me, herself had left Damascus.
Unlike the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossings and the trek through the Balkans, her trip itself wasn’t treacherous, and it wasn’t undignified. She was traveling to Baltimore to join my father, a medical resident at the University of Maryland.
While emotionally painful, her journey couldn’t have been easier. She wasn’t facing imminent death or displacement, as people are today. In fact, both my parents meant to eventually return to their homeland.
But when it became clear what life would be like under the Assad regime, they gave up their dream to return. Years after all their children were born American, they too finally became naturalized Americans.
When my family arrived here in the ’70s, being Syrian wasn’t a barrier to becoming American. Even if Arabs weren’t well-perceived generally, Syrians specifically didn’t hold much of a place in the American imagination or consciousness.
In fact, I remember the best a schoolyard bully could do was tell me that, as a Syrian, I ate too much cereal. Oh, for those days.
In these past six years, as Syria has disintegrated, taken over the headlines, and as Syrians have become the foreign menace of the day, I have often thought about the vagaries of fate, of how accidental and unintended occurrences are what separate me from the Syrians unfairly maligned, banned, and banished today, how our lot depends on when we decided to leave, where we landed, and how we got there, whether we boarded flights with regular tickets and visas, or were piled on top of each other on flimsy rafts and left to drift across the sea unguided, how our future depends on what suffix happens to follow Syrian on arrival.
Is it refugee? Is it immigrant? Is it American? I’m lucky to be that last one.
A Syrian mother I was traveling with across Europe worried at each new border, what would happen to her children? In Syria, they had been comfortably working class. Her husband was a baker, and she was a stay-at-home mom.
At the beginning of the trip, her children were horrified to have to relieve themselves outdoors and in public. Within days, though, she was pained to see how they had quickly adjusted to their new reality.
I instead approached each crossing with a guilty confidence of a passport-carrying American. I was completely aware that my fortune was in large part by chance and circumstance.
But, rather than make me unique, I imagine that makes me like many other Americans whose families were also once upon the time among the lucky, favored by fate to have made it to these shores when and how we did.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And that’s a perspective we need to hear, Alia Malek.
KEY:
1F 2F 3T 4T 5T 6T 7F 8F 9T
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1. Alia Malek arrived in the States in September 2015.
2. Alia was pregnant when she left Syria.
3. Alia’s dad was already in the States.
4. Alia’s parents didn’t intend to live in USA for ever.
5. Alia’s parents are American citizens.
6. Americans had a very good opinion of Arabs back in the 1970’s.
7. The Syrian mother Alia was travelling with came from a poor background in Syria.
8. The woman’s children found it very difficult to adapt to the hardships of the journey.
9. Many American citizens followed a similar path to that of Alia’s.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight: reflections on coming to the United States from author Alia Malek, who considers the various journeys Syrian refugees take on their many roads from Damascus.
ALIA MALEK, Journalist: In September 2015, I felt I had to drop everything and go to Turkey to report on Syrians as they hurriedly made their way to Europe, trying to beat the rapidly closing borders.
As a Syrian-American, their fate was one I had only accidentally been spared.
As I accompanied them on this journey, I couldn’t help thinking of how different their circumstances were from how my own Syrian family had ended up in the diaspora, of how my mother, pregnant with me, herself had left Damascus.
Unlike the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossings and the trek through the Balkans, her trip itself wasn’t treacherous, and it wasn’t undignified. She was traveling to Baltimore to join my father, a medical resident at the University of Maryland.
While emotionally painful, her journey couldn’t have been easier. She wasn’t facing imminent death or displacement, as people are today. In fact, both my parents meant to eventually return to their homeland.
But when it became clear what life would be like under the Assad regime, they gave up their dream to return. Years after all their children were born American, they too finally became naturalized Americans.
When my family arrived here in the ’70s, being Syrian wasn’t a barrier to becoming American. Even if Arabs weren’t well-perceived generally, Syrians specifically didn’t hold much of a place in the American imagination or consciousness.
In fact, I remember the best a schoolyard bully could do was tell me that, as a Syrian, I ate too much cereal. Oh, for those days.
In these past six years, as Syria has disintegrated, taken over the headlines, and as Syrians have become the foreign menace of the day, I have often thought about the vagaries of fate, of how accidental and unintended occurrences are what separate me from the Syrians unfairly maligned, banned, and banished today, how our lot depends on when we decided to leave, where we landed, and how we got there, whether we boarded flights with regular tickets and visas, or were piled on top of each other on flimsy rafts and left to drift across the sea unguided, how our future depends on what suffix happens to follow Syrian on arrival.
Is it refugee? Is it immigrant? Is it American? I’m lucky to be that last one.
A Syrian mother I was traveling with across Europe worried at each new border, what would happen to her children? In Syria, they had been comfortably working class. Her husband was a baker, and she was a stay-at-home mom.
At the beginning of the trip, her children were horrified to have to relieve themselves outdoors and in public. Within days, though, she was pained to see how they had quickly adjusted to their new reality.
I instead approached each crossing with a guilty confidence of a passport-carrying American. I was completely aware that my fortune was in large part by chance and circumstance.
But, rather than make me unique, I imagine that makes me like many other Americans whose families were also once upon the time among the lucky, favored by fate to have made it to these shores when and how we did.
JUDY WOODRUFF: And that’s a perspective we need to hear, Alia Malek.
KEY:
1F 2F 3T 4T 5T 6T 7F 8F 9T
domingo, 23 de abril de 2017
Extensive listening: Know your worth, and then ask for it
Your boss probably isn't paying you what you're worth — instead, they're paying you what they think you're worth. Take the time to learn how to shape their thinking.
Pricing consultant Casey Brown shares helpful stories and learnings that can help you better communicate your value and get paid for your excellence.
Casey Brown is a pricing geek and professional speaker. She leads an organization that helps companies improve profits through better pricing. She speaks at conferences, trade associations and networking groups around the world. She is on a mission to correct the injustice of underpricing.
You can read the full transcript here.
Pricing consultant Casey Brown shares helpful stories and learnings that can help you better communicate your value and get paid for your excellence.
Casey Brown is a pricing geek and professional speaker. She leads an organization that helps companies improve profits through better pricing. She speaks at conferences, trade associations and networking groups around the world. She is on a mission to correct the injustice of underpricing.
You can read the full transcript here.
viernes, 21 de abril de 2017
China's Baby Boom
China has abandoned its controversial one-child policy because of concerns about its increasingly elderly population.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. How old is the woman who is about to have a child?
2. When did she have her first child?
3. What sex is the child?
4. Who was worried about the sex of the baby?
5. How many good embryos does Yemin have?
6. When did China’s one child policy change?
7. Which women are at an advantage with the new policy?
Heartbeat of an imminent arrival, a last ultrasound scan for a 48-year-old mother-to-be. She had her first child through fertility treatment 16 years ago. The hospital kept her frozen embryos, and now that China's one-child policy has become a two-child policy, she's about to have her second miracle baby. More good news for Fan-fun-nian, it’s a boy.
She tells me she’s thrilled. She's got a daughter already and would be happy with another, but the in-laws want a grandson. A two-child family is still a great novelty here, so a big fuss at the clinic for a special visitor, especially as this miracle was conceived here in a petri dish, and frozen as an embryo for years, until China's policy changed and she could become somebody's little sister.
As soon as I heard about the policy change, I was terribly excited. I ran to the hospital immediately. My second child had been frozen there for too long. I couldn’t wait to take her home.
Not everyone is so lucky. Yemin is desperate to have a second child, but there are questions over
whether her embryos are viable.
I only have three embryos left and the doctor says one is good, one is average and one is poor, but I'm staying optimistic. I hope heaven will give me this gift.
Blessings born from frozen embryos, many of them second children, after last year's policy change. Older mothers with fertility problems are now suddenly at an advantage, because they have frozen embryos to fall back on, where other older women don’t. Fan-fun-nian back home and getting ready
for the new arrival. Baby clothes from the first time round, 16 years ago. Hospital bag ready for the birth, and she's already decided if the two-child policy becomes a three-child policy, she’ll go for a third.
Carrie Gracie, BBC News.
KEY:
1 forty-eight years old
2 sixteen years ago
3 a boy
4 her in-laws
5 only one
6 last year
7 older women with fertility problems
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. How old is the woman who is about to have a child?
2. When did she have her first child?
3. What sex is the child?
4. Who was worried about the sex of the baby?
5. How many good embryos does Yemin have?
6. When did China’s one child policy change?
7. Which women are at an advantage with the new policy?
Heartbeat of an imminent arrival, a last ultrasound scan for a 48-year-old mother-to-be. She had her first child through fertility treatment 16 years ago. The hospital kept her frozen embryos, and now that China's one-child policy has become a two-child policy, she's about to have her second miracle baby. More good news for Fan-fun-nian, it’s a boy.
She tells me she’s thrilled. She's got a daughter already and would be happy with another, but the in-laws want a grandson. A two-child family is still a great novelty here, so a big fuss at the clinic for a special visitor, especially as this miracle was conceived here in a petri dish, and frozen as an embryo for years, until China's policy changed and she could become somebody's little sister.
As soon as I heard about the policy change, I was terribly excited. I ran to the hospital immediately. My second child had been frozen there for too long. I couldn’t wait to take her home.
Not everyone is so lucky. Yemin is desperate to have a second child, but there are questions over
whether her embryos are viable.
I only have three embryos left and the doctor says one is good, one is average and one is poor, but I'm staying optimistic. I hope heaven will give me this gift.
Blessings born from frozen embryos, many of them second children, after last year's policy change. Older mothers with fertility problems are now suddenly at an advantage, because they have frozen embryos to fall back on, where other older women don’t. Fan-fun-nian back home and getting ready
for the new arrival. Baby clothes from the first time round, 16 years ago. Hospital bag ready for the birth, and she's already decided if the two-child policy becomes a three-child policy, she’ll go for a third.
Carrie Gracie, BBC News.
KEY:
1 forty-eight years old
2 sixteen years ago
3 a boy
4 her in-laws
5 only one
6 last year
7 older women with fertility problems
domingo, 16 de abril de 2017
Extensive listening: Why we shouldn't trust markets with our civic life
In the past three decades, says Michael Sandel, the US has drifted from a market economy to a market society; it's fair to say that an American's experience of shared civic life depends on how much money they have.
(Three key examples: access to education, access to justice, political influence.)
In a talk and audience discussion, Sandel asks us to think honestly on this question: In our current democracy, is too much for sale?
Michael Sandel teaches political philosophy at Harvard, exploring some of the most hotly contested moral and political issues of our time.
You can read a full transcript here.
(Three key examples: access to education, access to justice, political influence.)
In a talk and audience discussion, Sandel asks us to think honestly on this question: In our current democracy, is too much for sale?
Michael Sandel teaches political philosophy at Harvard, exploring some of the most hotly contested moral and political issues of our time.
You can read a full transcript here.
jueves, 6 de abril de 2017
Juliane’s Story: A Journey from Zimbabwe
This is a short animated film for the BBC on migration which I learnt about through Film English.
Self-study activity:
Watch the film and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1. Juliane was three when her mother left her.
2. Sometimes she wouldn’t eat for a week.
3. The other children didn’t want to play with her.
4. Julianne was put in a lorry with 200 other people.
5. When she was in the lorry, her mother saw her and Julianne jumped out of the lorry.
6. At the school in Britain she used to have panic attacks.
7. Julianne is improving with the help she’s getting from the school.
8. Julianne feels optimistic about the future.
I was very young when my mum left me. I was three and a half. I don’t know why she left me, people trying to kill her or something. People from the church that we used to go to, took care of me and they brought me up. I just learnt to be my own mother, my own father. I thought that I had no father or a mother. But I knew that she was out there somewhere for me.
Like, you’d have, like, about 30 children eating from one plate and, like, it’s like a really big plate but you only have, like, a small amount of food, enough to feed, like, one person. And I didn’t have anything to eat for a week, the only thing I survived was water and that water wasn’t very clean. It had, like, snails and, like, all those dirty stuff right inside it but you had no choice but to drink it. You would watch other kids yeah, walk past you, they’d laugh at you. And they’re like saying, “oh yeah you’re dumb”. Like, when other people are playing I’d just be sitting there by myself so that I’d be reading my book or I’d be just sitting there crying and looking at others.
I left the orphanage, and then I got put in this big massive dark lorry with like about 200 other people. And they started driving me away but because I was the little one I was like right at the, like, end, like close to the door. And then I saw this lady, she had no shoes, all she was wearing was a pair of jogging bottoms and, like, a t-shirt, and she was running and she was screaming my name. So I looked at her and I thought I remember that face. That was my mum. I started crying, and I know it must sound, like, really strange, but I didn’t know how or where I got the power but I jumped from the back of the lorry onto her. And then me and her started holding each other, screaming. I could not believe it was surreal, like. And from that point on everything turned around in my life.
My mum, she went to the British embassy. And then the people at the end ended up giving me a visa and we boarded the plane and we arrived in Heathrow. My first day at school, it was really tough. I mumbled, like, a lot because I was afraid to speak to people and, like, I often got anxious and get panic attacks.There comes a time where I’m just sitting there in class, right, I don’t even understand what’s going on. There’s this, like, click in the back of my mind that says what if I get home and my mama’s not there. And, like, that’s the moment where, like, my heart starts pumping really fast, like, I start breathing really fast and then before you know it I just pass out.
In school they have created this special group, like, whenever, like, I’m feeling angry, sad or anxious, I just go there and there’ll like always be, someone I could talk to, like, who I could tell what’s going on. And they would try and fix it like as much as possible.
And I’m really improving on my socialising skills, but you know what, I’m a fighter and I’m a survivor. No matter how much you go through and no matter how much you suffer, you’re always going to be accepted for who you are. One day you’re going… you are going to be this, like, shining star, and at the end of every dark tunnel there’s always a rainbow.
Key:
All the statements are true.
Self-study activity:
Watch the film and say whether the statements below are true or false.
1. Juliane was three when her mother left her.
2. Sometimes she wouldn’t eat for a week.
3. The other children didn’t want to play with her.
4. Julianne was put in a lorry with 200 other people.
5. When she was in the lorry, her mother saw her and Julianne jumped out of the lorry.
6. At the school in Britain she used to have panic attacks.
7. Julianne is improving with the help she’s getting from the school.
8. Julianne feels optimistic about the future.
I was very young when my mum left me. I was three and a half. I don’t know why she left me, people trying to kill her or something. People from the church that we used to go to, took care of me and they brought me up. I just learnt to be my own mother, my own father. I thought that I had no father or a mother. But I knew that she was out there somewhere for me.
Like, you’d have, like, about 30 children eating from one plate and, like, it’s like a really big plate but you only have, like, a small amount of food, enough to feed, like, one person. And I didn’t have anything to eat for a week, the only thing I survived was water and that water wasn’t very clean. It had, like, snails and, like, all those dirty stuff right inside it but you had no choice but to drink it. You would watch other kids yeah, walk past you, they’d laugh at you. And they’re like saying, “oh yeah you’re dumb”. Like, when other people are playing I’d just be sitting there by myself so that I’d be reading my book or I’d be just sitting there crying and looking at others.
I left the orphanage, and then I got put in this big massive dark lorry with like about 200 other people. And they started driving me away but because I was the little one I was like right at the, like, end, like close to the door. And then I saw this lady, she had no shoes, all she was wearing was a pair of jogging bottoms and, like, a t-shirt, and she was running and she was screaming my name. So I looked at her and I thought I remember that face. That was my mum. I started crying, and I know it must sound, like, really strange, but I didn’t know how or where I got the power but I jumped from the back of the lorry onto her. And then me and her started holding each other, screaming. I could not believe it was surreal, like. And from that point on everything turned around in my life.
My mum, she went to the British embassy. And then the people at the end ended up giving me a visa and we boarded the plane and we arrived in Heathrow. My first day at school, it was really tough. I mumbled, like, a lot because I was afraid to speak to people and, like, I often got anxious and get panic attacks.There comes a time where I’m just sitting there in class, right, I don’t even understand what’s going on. There’s this, like, click in the back of my mind that says what if I get home and my mama’s not there. And, like, that’s the moment where, like, my heart starts pumping really fast, like, I start breathing really fast and then before you know it I just pass out.
In school they have created this special group, like, whenever, like, I’m feeling angry, sad or anxious, I just go there and there’ll like always be, someone I could talk to, like, who I could tell what’s going on. And they would try and fix it like as much as possible.
And I’m really improving on my socialising skills, but you know what, I’m a fighter and I’m a survivor. No matter how much you go through and no matter how much you suffer, you’re always going to be accepted for who you are. One day you’re going… you are going to be this, like, shining star, and at the end of every dark tunnel there’s always a rainbow.
Key:
All the statements are true.
domingo, 2 de abril de 2017
Extensive listening: Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness
We all go through challenges — some you can see, most you can't, says Michele L. Sullivan.
In a talk about perspective, Sullivan shares stories full of wit and wisdom and reminds us that we're all part of each other's support systems. "The only shoes you can walk in are your own," she says. "With compassion, courage and understanding, we can walk together, side by side."
Michele L. Sullivan is known for her sustainable and collaborative approach to philanthropic investing.
Sullivan strongly believes monumental and sustainable change in our largest global challenges can only happen through partnerships and collaboration between public, private and non-profit entities. This strategy resulted in the Caterpillar Foundation's transformation into one of the most influential corporate foundations and, ultimately, the launch of the Foundation's collaborative impact platform, Together.Stronger.
You can read a full transcript for the talk here.
In a talk about perspective, Sullivan shares stories full of wit and wisdom and reminds us that we're all part of each other's support systems. "The only shoes you can walk in are your own," she says. "With compassion, courage and understanding, we can walk together, side by side."
Michele L. Sullivan is known for her sustainable and collaborative approach to philanthropic investing.
Sullivan strongly believes monumental and sustainable change in our largest global challenges can only happen through partnerships and collaboration between public, private and non-profit entities. This strategy resulted in the Caterpillar Foundation's transformation into one of the most influential corporate foundations and, ultimately, the launch of the Foundation's collaborative impact platform, Together.Stronger.
You can read a full transcript for the talk here.
domingo, 12 de marzo de 2017
Extensive listening: The ethical dilemma of designer babies
Creating genetically modified people is no longer a science fiction fantasy; it's a likely future scenario.
Biologist Paul Knoepfler estimates that within fifteen years, scientists could use the gene editing technology CRISPR to make certain "upgrades" to human embryos — from altering physical appearances to eliminating the risk of auto-immune diseases.
In this thought-provoking talk, Knoepfler readies us for the coming designer baby revolution and its very personal, and unforeseeable, consequences.
Dr. Paul Knoepfler is working to figure out how we use safely stem cells to treat many diseases and how they sometimes turn to the dark side to cause cancer. Over the years he has made key discoveries about how stem cells and cancer are programmed. Now he is especially interested in how to hack these cells to control their behavior, including using powerful CRISPR genetic modification technology.
Knoepfler has also been a leading voice in the discussion about how CRISPR could be used to make designer babies and the risks of going down that path. He is a professor of cell biology and anatomy at UC Davis School of Medicine in California, where he both does research and teaches. In addition, he is a prolific writer including his popular science blog, The Niche, and two books: Stem Cells: An Insider's Guide and GMO Sapiens: The Life-Changing Science of Designer Babies. He is excited about contributing to efforts to build an innovative, global community of interconnected people with a shared passion for biomedical science and battling fake science. Knoepfler’s outspoken, approachable nature in tackling some of the most transformative questions in science has made him a go-to scientist for journalists and ordinary people across the globe.
You can read the full transcript here.
Biologist Paul Knoepfler estimates that within fifteen years, scientists could use the gene editing technology CRISPR to make certain "upgrades" to human embryos — from altering physical appearances to eliminating the risk of auto-immune diseases.
In this thought-provoking talk, Knoepfler readies us for the coming designer baby revolution and its very personal, and unforeseeable, consequences.
Dr. Paul Knoepfler is working to figure out how we use safely stem cells to treat many diseases and how they sometimes turn to the dark side to cause cancer. Over the years he has made key discoveries about how stem cells and cancer are programmed. Now he is especially interested in how to hack these cells to control their behavior, including using powerful CRISPR genetic modification technology.
Knoepfler has also been a leading voice in the discussion about how CRISPR could be used to make designer babies and the risks of going down that path. He is a professor of cell biology and anatomy at UC Davis School of Medicine in California, where he both does research and teaches. In addition, he is a prolific writer including his popular science blog, The Niche, and two books: Stem Cells: An Insider's Guide and GMO Sapiens: The Life-Changing Science of Designer Babies. He is excited about contributing to efforts to build an innovative, global community of interconnected people with a shared passion for biomedical science and battling fake science. Knoepfler’s outspoken, approachable nature in tackling some of the most transformative questions in science has made him a go-to scientist for journalists and ordinary people across the globe.
You can read the full transcript here.
jueves, 9 de marzo de 2017
South Sudan First famine declared since 2011
A famine has been declared in parts of South Sudan, the first to be announced in any part of the world in six years. The government and the United Nations report that some 100,000 people are facing starvation, with a million more on the brink of famine.
A combination of civil war and an economic collapse have been blamed. There have been warnings of famine in Yemen, Somalia and north-eastern Nigeria, but South Sudan is the first to declare one.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What are some of the symptoms of malnourishment in children?
2. How many people live in Unity State?
3. What is the real tragedy of the situation?
4. How long has the fighting been going on in the country?
5. How many people have been forced out of their homes by the fighting?
6. How many people have left the country?
7. How many people have escaped to Uganda in six months?
When famine hits, the smallest suffer. In a hospital ward in the capital city, children are severely malnourished. A distended belly and a painful skin condition are obvious symptoms of hunger.
Malnutrition is really bad, because it has increased here for some years, but this year, it has really increased. The rate it has increased.
This is Unity State, where 100,000 people are now feeling the effects of famine. Some aid has been delivered to this worst affected region, but people are dying of starvation every day. Civil war means many are out of reach, and aren’t getting this type of help.
The real tragedy is that this is largely man-made. We do have famine and food insecurity, and it has
worsened in many parts of this country, largely because of this unfortunate conflict. It’s really because of the fighting, it’s also because of access challenges that humanitarians have indeed had in parts of this
country.
A clash between former Vice President, Riek Machar, and President, Salva Kiir, in the hat, sparked civil War. For more than three years, there’s been fighting across the country, largely along ethnic lines. Last year, a peace deal dramatically collapsed, bringing violence to a wider area. Economic crisis and hyperinflation has priced food beyond the reach of most.
Well over 3 million people have been forced from their homes by the fighting. Hundreds of thousands of them are in camps set up by the United Nations across the country for their own protection. 1.5 million have fled to neighbouring countries, creating one of the worst refugees crises in the world.
Towns like this have emptied as the violence has spread to the food growing south of the country. In just six
months, 450,000 people have fled to Uganda. Thousands still cross the border every day, and describe atrocities, rape and murder, by soldiers from both sides along ethnic lines. The UN has warned of the potential for genocide, and now a deepening famine, unless the war is stopped.
Key:
1 a distended belly and a painful skin condition
2 100,000
3 it is man-made
4 for more than three years
5 over three million
6 1.5 million
7 450,000
A combination of civil war and an economic collapse have been blamed. There have been warnings of famine in Yemen, Somalia and north-eastern Nigeria, but South Sudan is the first to declare one.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. What are some of the symptoms of malnourishment in children?
2. How many people live in Unity State?
3. What is the real tragedy of the situation?
4. How long has the fighting been going on in the country?
5. How many people have been forced out of their homes by the fighting?
6. How many people have left the country?
7. How many people have escaped to Uganda in six months?
When famine hits, the smallest suffer. In a hospital ward in the capital city, children are severely malnourished. A distended belly and a painful skin condition are obvious symptoms of hunger.
Malnutrition is really bad, because it has increased here for some years, but this year, it has really increased. The rate it has increased.
This is Unity State, where 100,000 people are now feeling the effects of famine. Some aid has been delivered to this worst affected region, but people are dying of starvation every day. Civil war means many are out of reach, and aren’t getting this type of help.
The real tragedy is that this is largely man-made. We do have famine and food insecurity, and it has
worsened in many parts of this country, largely because of this unfortunate conflict. It’s really because of the fighting, it’s also because of access challenges that humanitarians have indeed had in parts of this
country.
A clash between former Vice President, Riek Machar, and President, Salva Kiir, in the hat, sparked civil War. For more than three years, there’s been fighting across the country, largely along ethnic lines. Last year, a peace deal dramatically collapsed, bringing violence to a wider area. Economic crisis and hyperinflation has priced food beyond the reach of most.
Well over 3 million people have been forced from their homes by the fighting. Hundreds of thousands of them are in camps set up by the United Nations across the country for their own protection. 1.5 million have fled to neighbouring countries, creating one of the worst refugees crises in the world.
Towns like this have emptied as the violence has spread to the food growing south of the country. In just six
months, 450,000 people have fled to Uganda. Thousands still cross the border every day, and describe atrocities, rape and murder, by soldiers from both sides along ethnic lines. The UN has warned of the potential for genocide, and now a deepening famine, unless the war is stopped.
Key:
1 a distended belly and a painful skin condition
2 100,000
3 it is man-made
4 for more than three years
5 over three million
6 1.5 million
7 450,000
lunes, 6 de marzo de 2017
Listening test: Smoking
Listen to a report on smoking and complete the blanks in the sentences below with up to THREE WORDS. 0 is an example.
0 Example:
Switzerland is behind some countries in the west in relation to smoking.
1 The Swiss think that stopping people smoking is a restriction on ______________________ .
2 In the UK, a packet of 20 cigarettes cost almost ______________________ .
3 The new anti-smoking campaign in May this year will not allow brands to show ___________________ on cigarette packets.
4 In Australia, all the cigarettes come in ___________________ packets, which is the ugliest colour.
5 Australians can only smoke in designated ___________________ .
6 The rate of Australians who smoke have decreased up to ___________________ , compared to a global average of about 20%.
7 Three-quarters of UK smokers sometimes ___________________ .
Switzerland is in many ways a very health-conscious country, but in one respect it’s always been a bit behind other countries in the west, and that’s in relation to smoking. I remember having an interesting talk once with somebody from the Federal Office of Public Health about this. He gave me the impression that while the Swiss think that stopping people smoking may be good for public health they also think that it’s a restriction on personal freedom. They don’t like authorities telling them what to do. They’re against the “nanny state”, a term for a government that interferes too much in the private lives of its citizens.
In Britain, however, when it comes to smoking, public health concerns have generally won the argument against personal freedom supporters. Tobacco is heavily taxed. 20 cigarettes will cost you nearly £10 in the UK now. Advertising is banned. There are big health warnings on cigarette packets. Shops are not allowed to display tobacco products. And so on. And in May this year, we’re going to see the next step in the campaign to stop people smoking. Cigarettes will be sold in plain packaging. Cigarette packets will only show health warnings and the name of the brand in a neutral typeface. No colours, no logos, nothing to distinguish one brand from another apart from the name.
The UK will not be the first country to introduce this. I was reading an article about Australia where life has been made even more difficult for smokers. They’ve had plain packaging now for five years. All cigarettes come in dark brown packets – it’s supposed to be the ugliest colour - with no logos, only graphic health warnings. There are massive restrictions on where you’re allowed to smoke. No smoking indoors, and only in specially designated areas outdoors. There are also advertising campaigns and other measures to help people give up. And perhaps most effective of all, the Australian government is systematically raising the price of cigarettes through taxation. By 2020 a packet of cigarettes in Australia will cost AUD$40.00. So what effect have these measures had on smoking in Australia? Smoking rates for adults have almost halved since 1980 and are now at about 13%, compared to a global average of about 20%. There’s also been a decrease of almost 23% in the rate of hospital admissions caused by smoking.
I don’t think that anybody can argue against the fact that smoking is extremely harmful to health, and for that reason it costs society a lot in terms of health care, premature death and so on. But there are perhaps a few problems with the sort of drastic anti-smoking measures we’re seeing. Some reports say that three-quarters of UK smokers sometimes buy illegal cigarettes. And secondly, it’s generally speaking the poor who make up the biggest number of smokers. The campaign is increasingly targeting people who are already marginalised.
KEY:
1 personal freedom
2 ten pounds
3 colours or/and logos
4 dark brown
5 areas outdoors
6 thirteen per cent (13%)
7 buy illegal cigarettes
Source: Gerry's News Digest
0 Example:
Switzerland is behind some countries in the west in relation to smoking.
1 The Swiss think that stopping people smoking is a restriction on ______________________ .
2 In the UK, a packet of 20 cigarettes cost almost ______________________ .
3 The new anti-smoking campaign in May this year will not allow brands to show ___________________ on cigarette packets.
4 In Australia, all the cigarettes come in ___________________ packets, which is the ugliest colour.
5 Australians can only smoke in designated ___________________ .
6 The rate of Australians who smoke have decreased up to ___________________ , compared to a global average of about 20%.
7 Three-quarters of UK smokers sometimes ___________________ .
Switzerland is in many ways a very health-conscious country, but in one respect it’s always been a bit behind other countries in the west, and that’s in relation to smoking. I remember having an interesting talk once with somebody from the Federal Office of Public Health about this. He gave me the impression that while the Swiss think that stopping people smoking may be good for public health they also think that it’s a restriction on personal freedom. They don’t like authorities telling them what to do. They’re against the “nanny state”, a term for a government that interferes too much in the private lives of its citizens.
In Britain, however, when it comes to smoking, public health concerns have generally won the argument against personal freedom supporters. Tobacco is heavily taxed. 20 cigarettes will cost you nearly £10 in the UK now. Advertising is banned. There are big health warnings on cigarette packets. Shops are not allowed to display tobacco products. And so on. And in May this year, we’re going to see the next step in the campaign to stop people smoking. Cigarettes will be sold in plain packaging. Cigarette packets will only show health warnings and the name of the brand in a neutral typeface. No colours, no logos, nothing to distinguish one brand from another apart from the name.
The UK will not be the first country to introduce this. I was reading an article about Australia where life has been made even more difficult for smokers. They’ve had plain packaging now for five years. All cigarettes come in dark brown packets – it’s supposed to be the ugliest colour - with no logos, only graphic health warnings. There are massive restrictions on where you’re allowed to smoke. No smoking indoors, and only in specially designated areas outdoors. There are also advertising campaigns and other measures to help people give up. And perhaps most effective of all, the Australian government is systematically raising the price of cigarettes through taxation. By 2020 a packet of cigarettes in Australia will cost AUD$40.00. So what effect have these measures had on smoking in Australia? Smoking rates for adults have almost halved since 1980 and are now at about 13%, compared to a global average of about 20%. There’s also been a decrease of almost 23% in the rate of hospital admissions caused by smoking.
I don’t think that anybody can argue against the fact that smoking is extremely harmful to health, and for that reason it costs society a lot in terms of health care, premature death and so on. But there are perhaps a few problems with the sort of drastic anti-smoking measures we’re seeing. Some reports say that three-quarters of UK smokers sometimes buy illegal cigarettes. And secondly, it’s generally speaking the poor who make up the biggest number of smokers. The campaign is increasingly targeting people who are already marginalised.
KEY:
1 personal freedom
2 ten pounds
3 colours or/and logos
4 dark brown
5 areas outdoors
6 thirteen per cent (13%)
7 buy illegal cigarettes
domingo, 5 de febrero de 2017
Extensive listening: How to have better political conversations
Robb Willer studies the forces that unite and divide us. As a social psychologist, he researches how moral values — typically a source of division — can also be used to bring people together.
Willer shares compelling insights on how we might bridge the ideological divide and offers some intuitive advice on ways to be more persuasive when talking politics.
Robb Willer is a professor of sociology, psychology and organizational behavior at Stanford University. He studies the role of morality in politics. His research shows how moral values, typically a source of ideological division, can also be used to bring people together. His political research has investigated various topics, including economic inequality, racial prejudice, masculine overcompensation and Americans' views of climate change.
You can read a full transcript for the talk here.
Willer shares compelling insights on how we might bridge the ideological divide and offers some intuitive advice on ways to be more persuasive when talking politics.
Robb Willer is a professor of sociology, psychology and organizational behavior at Stanford University. He studies the role of morality in politics. His research shows how moral values, typically a source of ideological division, can also be used to bring people together. His political research has investigated various topics, including economic inequality, racial prejudice, masculine overcompensation and Americans' views of climate change.
You can read a full transcript for the talk here.
viernes, 20 de enero de 2017
Meeting the child brides of Ethiopia
A major report by Save the Children has found that one girl under the age of 15 is married every seven seconds. The study says girls as young as 10 are forced to marry much older men in countries including Afghanistan, Yemen, India and Ethiopia. Model Poppy Delevingne has been to Ethiopia to talk to some young girls about their experiences.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. Why is the reporter in Ethiopia?
2. How old was Selam when she was propositioned to get married?
3. What position is she at her school now?
4. How old was she when she married?
5. When did she get pregnant for the first time?
6. Why didn't Selam go to school after she got married?
We are here in beautiful Ethiopia, somewhere that I’ve always wanted to travel to since I was a little girl. And here we’re going to be investigating child marriage and female genital mutilation and the issues that concern us around these topics.
So, we've just arrived in …, which is a small village in Lalibela. This is where they run the Save the Children programme Keep It Real, and I'm going to be speaking to some young girls about child marriage.
Pleased to meet you, how are you?
Hi.
OK, so right now I am with the beautiful Selam. We are at her school, and she's just been telling me all about her stories about child marriage. She was 11 years old when she was propositioned to be married. And with the help of Save the Children's Keep it Real programme, she learned about all the problems within child marriage, and with the help of her brother and sister, they managed to persuade her parents that child marriage was not a good thing.
She is now at school, and is number one, number one in her class and she even told me that I should ask the teacher if that was true, and it was true.
Selam, I hear that you were married as a child. Would it be OK for me to come to your home and hear all about it?
So, I spent my afternoon with the lovely Selam, who was a victim of child marriage. When she was just 13 years old, she was married. By the time she was 14, she was pregnant with her first child, but when she was nine months pregnant, she left her husband as he was physically abusive, and moved back in with her family. But not only that, when she was engaged to him, he promised her that she would still have an opportunity to have an education, something he totally went back on, and instead, she did house chores and had to work unbearable hours, something a 13-year-old really shouldn't have to do. I have a 13-year-old cousin, and the idea of her getting married and then even next year having a baby, to me, is just... totally incomprehensible, and something that I can't believe
is happening in this world today still. Lovely Selam has got a bright future ahead of her, and it was truly an honour that she shared her story with me.
Key:
1 to investigate child marriage and female genital mutilation
2 eleven years old
3 number one
4 thirteen
5 at fourteen
6 she had to do house chores and worked very long hours
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. Why is the reporter in Ethiopia?
2. How old was Selam when she was propositioned to get married?
3. What position is she at her school now?
4. How old was she when she married?
5. When did she get pregnant for the first time?
6. Why didn't Selam go to school after she got married?
We are here in beautiful Ethiopia, somewhere that I’ve always wanted to travel to since I was a little girl. And here we’re going to be investigating child marriage and female genital mutilation and the issues that concern us around these topics.
So, we've just arrived in …, which is a small village in Lalibela. This is where they run the Save the Children programme Keep It Real, and I'm going to be speaking to some young girls about child marriage.
Pleased to meet you, how are you?
Hi.
OK, so right now I am with the beautiful Selam. We are at her school, and she's just been telling me all about her stories about child marriage. She was 11 years old when she was propositioned to be married. And with the help of Save the Children's Keep it Real programme, she learned about all the problems within child marriage, and with the help of her brother and sister, they managed to persuade her parents that child marriage was not a good thing.
She is now at school, and is number one, number one in her class and she even told me that I should ask the teacher if that was true, and it was true.
Selam, I hear that you were married as a child. Would it be OK for me to come to your home and hear all about it?
So, I spent my afternoon with the lovely Selam, who was a victim of child marriage. When she was just 13 years old, she was married. By the time she was 14, she was pregnant with her first child, but when she was nine months pregnant, she left her husband as he was physically abusive, and moved back in with her family. But not only that, when she was engaged to him, he promised her that she would still have an opportunity to have an education, something he totally went back on, and instead, she did house chores and had to work unbearable hours, something a 13-year-old really shouldn't have to do. I have a 13-year-old cousin, and the idea of her getting married and then even next year having a baby, to me, is just... totally incomprehensible, and something that I can't believe
is happening in this world today still. Lovely Selam has got a bright future ahead of her, and it was truly an honour that she shared her story with me.
Key:
1 to investigate child marriage and female genital mutilation
2 eleven years old
3 number one
4 thirteen
5 at fourteen
6 she had to do house chores and worked very long hours
viernes, 30 de diciembre de 2016
London coffee shop gives the homeless a second shot at life
From pastry chef to heroin addict and now trainee barista, Ecevit Tihsinhatga is rebuilding his life, through his job at Second Shot Coffee shop.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 When did Julius Ibrahim move to London?
2 What passions does he mention?
3 How did Ecevit Tahsin end up living in the street?
4 What did he start using while he was on the streets?
5 How long has he been working at Second Shot?
6 What’s Emilio’s responsibility at Second Shot?
7 What does Second Shot also give to the homeless, apart from training people?
8 What was the increase in the number of people living on the streets in England last year?
We take people here at face value, we don’t judge, whoever you are, whatever you need, if we can help, we will.
In East London, a coffee shop has opened, employing people who have experienced homelessness in the past. Second Shot was founded by Julius Ibrahim. He dropped out of university and started a crowd fund campaign to get the social enterprise off the ground.
I moved to London in 2013 and I was just kind of surprised that there wasn’t anything more being done to alleviate the problem. So, I just wanted to kind of do something and the raise the profile of the issue, really and yeah, I just had a passion for coffee and passion for the industry.
Ecevit Tahsin, also known as Edge, works at Second Shot.
My own experience of homelessness is a very dark, very cold place. I used to be a pastry chef. I was with a partner at the time. I came home one night from work to find that she was messing about with someone in the house. We split up and because everything was in her name, I ended up on the streets. If you can imagine winter, freezing cold in a sleeping bag, trying to keep warm, trying to sleep.
During his time on the streets, Edge started using heroin.
Being on the drugs, I’m not gonna say it helped me, but it makes you numb, so you don’t feel what’s going on around you. But once my family found out I was on drugs, they kind of pushed me away. Nobody really understood me, what I was going through, what I was feeling and I was very isolated.
Edge managed to get himself off heroin and after living in hostels and temporary accommodation, he’s now being given his own flat. He’s been working at Second Shot since it opened in May 2016.
Being here has really given me a sense of purpose and helping me to re-establish my life.
Emilio is the head of coffee at Second Shot. He’s been training the homeless employees working at the café.
We started the training two weeks before we open. The idea of working with people who have been under a lot of like disadvantages, and they don’t trust people, you see, they don’t, they have a lot of issues in terms of like they don’t think that they are good enough for anything. We are trying to get the best coffee we can and at the same time helping the community around here.
As well as training people who’ve lived on the streets, Second Shot also gives free food and drink to the homeless.
With our loyalty card, after six times, each customer can get a free coffee but if they want to after three, what you can do is rip it half and hand it to someone on the street, that they can use to come in and get a free coffee. Our ‘pay it forward’ system is where our customers pre-pay for something, so that later someone off the streets can get it for free. Our customers have really embraced the idea and got behind it. We’ve given away almost 300 meals.
I’m a homeless person at the moment. I come in here every day and to get a free coffee and every time I come in here I always get a big ‘hello’. In fact, these people, sometimes wouldn’t have anywhere to get anything to eat.
The average person in the UK is only two paycheques away from becoming homeless. So, literally it can happen to anyone, and breaking down that social stigma, and getting people to understand, and getting people to give you a second shot is really challenging.
Last year there was a 30% increase in the number of people living on the streets in England. Lack of work is a major cause and consequence of homelessness.
The most rewarding part for me is doing what I love the most and also having it, making it for a good reason. Every day our customers come here and they are really happy with us, they love what we do.
I’ve been given a lot of responsibility. There is not many places like this where someone from the street can come in and feel like a part of the community. That for me really hits it home.
Key:
1 In 2013
2 Passion for coffee and for the industry
3 He split up with her partner.
4 He was on drugs, on heroin.
5 Since May 2016.
6 Training new staff.
7 Free food and coffee.
8 30%.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 When did Julius Ibrahim move to London?
2 What passions does he mention?
3 How did Ecevit Tahsin end up living in the street?
4 What did he start using while he was on the streets?
5 How long has he been working at Second Shot?
6 What’s Emilio’s responsibility at Second Shot?
7 What does Second Shot also give to the homeless, apart from training people?
8 What was the increase in the number of people living on the streets in England last year?
We take people here at face value, we don’t judge, whoever you are, whatever you need, if we can help, we will.
In East London, a coffee shop has opened, employing people who have experienced homelessness in the past. Second Shot was founded by Julius Ibrahim. He dropped out of university and started a crowd fund campaign to get the social enterprise off the ground.
I moved to London in 2013 and I was just kind of surprised that there wasn’t anything more being done to alleviate the problem. So, I just wanted to kind of do something and the raise the profile of the issue, really and yeah, I just had a passion for coffee and passion for the industry.
Ecevit Tahsin, also known as Edge, works at Second Shot.
My own experience of homelessness is a very dark, very cold place. I used to be a pastry chef. I was with a partner at the time. I came home one night from work to find that she was messing about with someone in the house. We split up and because everything was in her name, I ended up on the streets. If you can imagine winter, freezing cold in a sleeping bag, trying to keep warm, trying to sleep.
During his time on the streets, Edge started using heroin.
Being on the drugs, I’m not gonna say it helped me, but it makes you numb, so you don’t feel what’s going on around you. But once my family found out I was on drugs, they kind of pushed me away. Nobody really understood me, what I was going through, what I was feeling and I was very isolated.
Edge managed to get himself off heroin and after living in hostels and temporary accommodation, he’s now being given his own flat. He’s been working at Second Shot since it opened in May 2016.
Being here has really given me a sense of purpose and helping me to re-establish my life.
Emilio is the head of coffee at Second Shot. He’s been training the homeless employees working at the café.
We started the training two weeks before we open. The idea of working with people who have been under a lot of like disadvantages, and they don’t trust people, you see, they don’t, they have a lot of issues in terms of like they don’t think that they are good enough for anything. We are trying to get the best coffee we can and at the same time helping the community around here.
As well as training people who’ve lived on the streets, Second Shot also gives free food and drink to the homeless.
With our loyalty card, after six times, each customer can get a free coffee but if they want to after three, what you can do is rip it half and hand it to someone on the street, that they can use to come in and get a free coffee. Our ‘pay it forward’ system is where our customers pre-pay for something, so that later someone off the streets can get it for free. Our customers have really embraced the idea and got behind it. We’ve given away almost 300 meals.
I’m a homeless person at the moment. I come in here every day and to get a free coffee and every time I come in here I always get a big ‘hello’. In fact, these people, sometimes wouldn’t have anywhere to get anything to eat.
The average person in the UK is only two paycheques away from becoming homeless. So, literally it can happen to anyone, and breaking down that social stigma, and getting people to understand, and getting people to give you a second shot is really challenging.
Last year there was a 30% increase in the number of people living on the streets in England. Lack of work is a major cause and consequence of homelessness.
The most rewarding part for me is doing what I love the most and also having it, making it for a good reason. Every day our customers come here and they are really happy with us, they love what we do.
I’ve been given a lot of responsibility. There is not many places like this where someone from the street can come in and feel like a part of the community. That for me really hits it home.
Key:
1 In 2013
2 Passion for coffee and for the industry
3 He split up with her partner.
4 He was on drugs, on heroin.
5 Since May 2016.
6 Training new staff.
7 Free food and coffee.
8 30%.
martes, 27 de diciembre de 2016
Alice Keys -BBC's 100 Women season
US singer and songwriter Alicia Keys talks to Babita Sharma for the BBC's 100 Women season about why she is sad that girls are still fighting to be themselves, and why she is very disappointed that Donald Trump has won the US election.
No task on the video. Just watch it, enjoy it and try to understand as much as you can.
Alicia Keys, welcome to Women 100.
Thank you.
What happened with you, with the decision that you had, very publicly saying I’m not going to wear make-up anymore?
I was becoming very, very overly concerned with other people’s opinions of me, to the point where I was, you know, I would be freaked out because I was leaving the house and didn’t have make-up on. I was just realising there was so much that I had learned and that I think we all learn as, especially as women, you know, and girls from the second we’re born, from before we even come out, there’s all of these images and these expectations and all of these, you know, particular pressures that are made us to think this is what beauty is, this is what a woman is, this is what a successful woman is, or this is what a famous woman is.
What do you think we, as women, can do to push against that? I mean, what should we be telling our daughters?
I, you know, I’m one just for variety, that’s my thing. I just want myself and my daughter, if I had one, and my sons, you know, to see a variety of what people look like. Here’s what people look like, you know what I mean? And we look a vast array of ways and it’s really not about make-up or no make-up or anything like that. It’s about what makes you comfortable and it’s about also being able to explore different versions of what makes you comfortable and seeing what happens and you should be able to without your dad, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your husband saying… Shhh! Everybody! Quiet! Just give me a second to have my own experience. It’s all you regardless. And even for myself, when I want to wear make-up, that’s my choice, I can totally wear make-up and no one should be able to say, oh didn’t you say you would never gonna… No! That’s not what I was saying.
It’s a conversation you have on your new album. Congratulations, by the way, here.
Thank you.
Superbly written and performed by yourself.
Thank you.
But one track in particular that stood out for me, Girl Can’t Be Herself, it’s a beautiful song, and everything we’ve been talking about now, there’s bits of the lyric, I’m not going to do it justice by saying it out loud, but I’m wondering if… can you sing it for me?
The chorus, which is my favourite part, says:
When a girl can't be herself no more
I just wanna cry, I just wanna cry for the world
When a girl can't be herself no more
I just wanna cry, I just wanna cry for the world
It’s so beautiful. It’s also quite sad for me, sad that even has to be out there, the message has to be given to girls.
Yeah, it is sad actually, it is sad that girls can’t be themselves, it’s sad that, you know, it is sad that through this whole election process in America that, you know, because Hillary was so strong and clear and tough, you know, how much unnecessary things were said about her being a woman, you know. We, as women, we can be anyway. We can be many ways. And it is sad when you can’t be yourself, you know, whoever that self is, whatever it is, and that’s a problem with girls all over the world, you know. And there’s so much oppression for women, and there’s so much oppression for girls. There’s so many, you know, unequal opportunities for girls and for women. And it is sad.
We’ve gone through one of the most bitterly fought elections in America’s history. You said in the past about Donald Trump that you don’t listen to anything that he says and you said you don’t care about what he says about women. He’s going to be your next president, the 45th president of the United States of American. How do you feel about that?
I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed that such, so much hateful rhetoric and sexism and bigotry and racial slurs and intolerance would be rewarded with the presidency.
Alicia Keys, thank you for being part of our 100 Women season here on the BBC. Thank you very much.
My pleasure.
No task on the video. Just watch it, enjoy it and try to understand as much as you can.
Alicia Keys, welcome to Women 100.
Thank you.
What happened with you, with the decision that you had, very publicly saying I’m not going to wear make-up anymore?
I was becoming very, very overly concerned with other people’s opinions of me, to the point where I was, you know, I would be freaked out because I was leaving the house and didn’t have make-up on. I was just realising there was so much that I had learned and that I think we all learn as, especially as women, you know, and girls from the second we’re born, from before we even come out, there’s all of these images and these expectations and all of these, you know, particular pressures that are made us to think this is what beauty is, this is what a woman is, this is what a successful woman is, or this is what a famous woman is.
What do you think we, as women, can do to push against that? I mean, what should we be telling our daughters?
I, you know, I’m one just for variety, that’s my thing. I just want myself and my daughter, if I had one, and my sons, you know, to see a variety of what people look like. Here’s what people look like, you know what I mean? And we look a vast array of ways and it’s really not about make-up or no make-up or anything like that. It’s about what makes you comfortable and it’s about also being able to explore different versions of what makes you comfortable and seeing what happens and you should be able to without your dad, your girlfriend, your boyfriend, your husband saying… Shhh! Everybody! Quiet! Just give me a second to have my own experience. It’s all you regardless. And even for myself, when I want to wear make-up, that’s my choice, I can totally wear make-up and no one should be able to say, oh didn’t you say you would never gonna… No! That’s not what I was saying.
It’s a conversation you have on your new album. Congratulations, by the way, here.
Thank you.
Superbly written and performed by yourself.
Thank you.
But one track in particular that stood out for me, Girl Can’t Be Herself, it’s a beautiful song, and everything we’ve been talking about now, there’s bits of the lyric, I’m not going to do it justice by saying it out loud, but I’m wondering if… can you sing it for me?
The chorus, which is my favourite part, says:
When a girl can't be herself no more
I just wanna cry, I just wanna cry for the world
When a girl can't be herself no more
I just wanna cry, I just wanna cry for the world
It’s so beautiful. It’s also quite sad for me, sad that even has to be out there, the message has to be given to girls.
Yeah, it is sad actually, it is sad that girls can’t be themselves, it’s sad that, you know, it is sad that through this whole election process in America that, you know, because Hillary was so strong and clear and tough, you know, how much unnecessary things were said about her being a woman, you know. We, as women, we can be anyway. We can be many ways. And it is sad when you can’t be yourself, you know, whoever that self is, whatever it is, and that’s a problem with girls all over the world, you know. And there’s so much oppression for women, and there’s so much oppression for girls. There’s so many, you know, unequal opportunities for girls and for women. And it is sad.
We’ve gone through one of the most bitterly fought elections in America’s history. You said in the past about Donald Trump that you don’t listen to anything that he says and you said you don’t care about what he says about women. He’s going to be your next president, the 45th president of the United States of American. How do you feel about that?
I’m disappointed. I’m disappointed that such, so much hateful rhetoric and sexism and bigotry and racial slurs and intolerance would be rewarded with the presidency.
Alicia Keys, thank you for being part of our 100 Women season here on the BBC. Thank you very much.
My pleasure.
sábado, 17 de diciembre de 2016
Reading test: The death of saving
For this week's reading test we are going to practice the multiple choice task. Read The Daily Mail article The death of saving: With pitiful interest rates, a third of us are not longer putting a penny aside and choose the option A, B or C which best completes each sentence. 0 is an example.
Britain is no longer a nation of savers – with a third us not putting aside a single penny at the end of each month. A report into social mobility in the UK warns that families can no longer afford to put money aside for a rainy day or to save for a holiday or home. Some 31 per cent have nothing left to put in the bank when the month is over, while 4 per cent save less than £10. Overall, half of the population save £100 or less. Only 23 per cent save £200 or more.
The Social Mobility Commission, which will today launch its annual State of the Nation report, said Britain was now a country of ‘haves and have nots’. People have also been given less incentive to save by rock bottom interest rates in recent years.
In addition, banks and building societies have been accused of exploiting savers by slashing hundreds of savings rates since the Bank of England cut the official interest rate in August from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent. Some accounts have been chopped to zero, or to 0.01 per cent. Britons are currently saving only 5.1 per cent of their disposable income. This compares to 7.4 per cent only two years ago, according to official figures.
The Social Mobility Commission findings are also a damning criticism of successive governments – led by the Tony Blair regime – which have failed to improve social mobility. In 2004, the then Labour prime minister promised to make the spread of greater social mobility the cornerstone of his third term. Gordon Brown and David Cameron also promised to do more to improve the life chances of the less well-off. Yet, the public remains deeply pessimistic, despite hundreds of millions of pounds being spent and a number of high-profile initiatives being launched.
Nearly half of people – 45 per cent – believe that, in Britain today, where you end up in society is mainly determined by your background and who your parents were, according to a YouGov poll of 1,655 adults carried out for the commission. In contrast, only 29 per cent feel that Britain is a country where everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and their hard work will take them. A majority of adults – 55 per cent – believe that children from privileged backgrounds are more likely to secure a place at university than those from less well-off backgrounds. Exactly half say they are also given more opportunities to get a foot in the workplace by securing work experience or unpaid internships.
Social mobility tsar Alan Milburn, a former Labour Cabinet minister, said: ‘Britain has a deep social mobility problem and the growing sense that we have become an “us and them” society – where a few unfairly have power and wealth – is deeply corrosive of our cohesion as a nation. ‘It is no surprise that populism of Right and of Left is on the march when a growing number of people feel like they are losing out unfairly.’
The study found the most sought-after professions have become even less representative than the most selective universities. Only 4 per cent of doctors, 6 per cent of barristers and 12 per cent of solicitors have working-class origins.
In July, Mrs May pledged in Downing Street: ‘If you’re from an ordinary working class family, life is much harder than many people in Westminster realise… The government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours.’
0 Example:
According to a report into social mobility
A. around 25% of the population can save at least £200.
B. families can’t go on holiday any more.
C. families spend all their money before the end of the month.
1 The Social Mobility Commission has said
A. the country is divided between those with economic means and those without.
B. people are being encouraged to save.
C. interest rates are getting higher.
2 Britons
A. are not saving at all.
B. are saving well over 5% of their income.
C. sometimes get no interest on their accounts.
3 The Social Mobility Commission has also concluded
A. people not having so much money improved their standard of living with David Cameron.
B. popular campaigns to improve the living conditions have failed.
C. Tony Blair’s governments fulfilled his promises.
4 In today’s Britain
A. half of the population believes talent is a key factor for a person’s future.
B. hard work has no use to improve in life.
C. the social position determines a person’s future.
5 The YouGov poll also found
A. only the rich manage to secure a place at university.
B. people from privileged backgrounds find work easily.
C. work experience will get you a better chance of getting a job.
6 In Alan Milburn’s opinion
A. British society is getting more and more extremist.
B. populist political parties are taking control.
C. power and wealth corrupt people.
7 The study also found
A. British universities are more democratic than it was thought.
B. selective universities are offering less popular degrees.
C. the social class divide is obvious in some professions.
KEY:
1A 2C 3B 4C 5C 6A 7C
Britain is no longer a nation of savers – with a third us not putting aside a single penny at the end of each month. A report into social mobility in the UK warns that families can no longer afford to put money aside for a rainy day or to save for a holiday or home. Some 31 per cent have nothing left to put in the bank when the month is over, while 4 per cent save less than £10. Overall, half of the population save £100 or less. Only 23 per cent save £200 or more.
The Social Mobility Commission, which will today launch its annual State of the Nation report, said Britain was now a country of ‘haves and have nots’. People have also been given less incentive to save by rock bottom interest rates in recent years.
In addition, banks and building societies have been accused of exploiting savers by slashing hundreds of savings rates since the Bank of England cut the official interest rate in August from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent. Some accounts have been chopped to zero, or to 0.01 per cent. Britons are currently saving only 5.1 per cent of their disposable income. This compares to 7.4 per cent only two years ago, according to official figures.
The Social Mobility Commission findings are also a damning criticism of successive governments – led by the Tony Blair regime – which have failed to improve social mobility. In 2004, the then Labour prime minister promised to make the spread of greater social mobility the cornerstone of his third term. Gordon Brown and David Cameron also promised to do more to improve the life chances of the less well-off. Yet, the public remains deeply pessimistic, despite hundreds of millions of pounds being spent and a number of high-profile initiatives being launched.
Nearly half of people – 45 per cent – believe that, in Britain today, where you end up in society is mainly determined by your background and who your parents were, according to a YouGov poll of 1,655 adults carried out for the commission. In contrast, only 29 per cent feel that Britain is a country where everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and their hard work will take them. A majority of adults – 55 per cent – believe that children from privileged backgrounds are more likely to secure a place at university than those from less well-off backgrounds. Exactly half say they are also given more opportunities to get a foot in the workplace by securing work experience or unpaid internships.
Social mobility tsar Alan Milburn, a former Labour Cabinet minister, said: ‘Britain has a deep social mobility problem and the growing sense that we have become an “us and them” society – where a few unfairly have power and wealth – is deeply corrosive of our cohesion as a nation. ‘It is no surprise that populism of Right and of Left is on the march when a growing number of people feel like they are losing out unfairly.’
The study found the most sought-after professions have become even less representative than the most selective universities. Only 4 per cent of doctors, 6 per cent of barristers and 12 per cent of solicitors have working-class origins.
In July, Mrs May pledged in Downing Street: ‘If you’re from an ordinary working class family, life is much harder than many people in Westminster realise… The government I lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours.’
0 Example:
According to a report into social mobility
A. around 25% of the population can save at least £200.
B. families can’t go on holiday any more.
C. families spend all their money before the end of the month.
1 The Social Mobility Commission has said
A. the country is divided between those with economic means and those without.
B. people are being encouraged to save.
C. interest rates are getting higher.
2 Britons
A. are not saving at all.
B. are saving well over 5% of their income.
C. sometimes get no interest on their accounts.
3 The Social Mobility Commission has also concluded
A. people not having so much money improved their standard of living with David Cameron.
B. popular campaigns to improve the living conditions have failed.
C. Tony Blair’s governments fulfilled his promises.
4 In today’s Britain
A. half of the population believes talent is a key factor for a person’s future.
B. hard work has no use to improve in life.
C. the social position determines a person’s future.
5 The YouGov poll also found
A. only the rich manage to secure a place at university.
B. people from privileged backgrounds find work easily.
C. work experience will get you a better chance of getting a job.
6 In Alan Milburn’s opinion
A. British society is getting more and more extremist.
B. populist political parties are taking control.
C. power and wealth corrupt people.
7 The study also found
A. British universities are more democratic than it was thought.
B. selective universities are offering less popular degrees.
C. the social class divide is obvious in some professions.
KEY:
1A 2C 3B 4C 5C 6A 7C
domingo, 4 de diciembre de 2016
Extensive listening: Your smartphone is a civil rights issue
The smartphone you use reflects more than just personal taste ... it could determine how closely you can be tracked, too.
Privacy expert and TED Fellow Christopher Soghoian details a glaring difference between the encryption used on Apple and Android devices and urges us to pay attention to a growing digital security divide.
"If the only people who can protect themselves from the gaze of the government are the rich and powerful, that's a problem," he says. "It's not just a cybersecurity problem — it's a civil rights problem."
Christopher Soghoian researches and exposes the high-tech surveillance tools that governments use to spy on their own citizens, and he is a champion of digital privacy rights.
You can read a full transcript here.
Privacy expert and TED Fellow Christopher Soghoian details a glaring difference between the encryption used on Apple and Android devices and urges us to pay attention to a growing digital security divide.
"If the only people who can protect themselves from the gaze of the government are the rich and powerful, that's a problem," he says. "It's not just a cybersecurity problem — it's a civil rights problem."
Christopher Soghoian researches and exposes the high-tech surveillance tools that governments use to spy on their own citizens, and he is a champion of digital privacy rights.
You can read a full transcript here.
domingo, 27 de noviembre de 2016
Extensive listening: Why open a school? To close a prison
Our kids are our future, and it's crucial they believe it themselves. That's why TED Fellow Nadia Lopez opened an academic oasis in Brownsville, Brooklyn, one of the most underserved and violent neighborhoods in all of New York City — because she believes in every child's brilliance and capabilities.
In this short, energizing talk, the founding principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy, and a star of Humans of New York, shares how she helps her scholars envision a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Nadia Lopez is the founding principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy, where she is showing the world how underprivileged communities can beat the odds and create positive institutions that have a global impact.
You can read the transcript here.
In this short, energizing talk, the founding principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy, and a star of Humans of New York, shares how she helps her scholars envision a brighter future for themselves and their families.
Nadia Lopez is the founding principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy, where she is showing the world how underprivileged communities can beat the odds and create positive institutions that have a global impact.
You can read the transcript here.
viernes, 30 de septiembre de 2016
Nicola Thorp high heels at work row
A London receptionist was sent home from work after refusing to wear high heels, it has emerged.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 What job was the woman supposed to do?
2 What shoes was she wearing on the day she was sent home?
3 What option did the company give her before sending her home?
4 What did the employment hotline say to Nicola?
5 Why don't many companies follow the dress code laws?
6 What was she supposed to do in the job?
7 What's Nicola's opinion of female workers who want to wear high heels?
8 What were high heels originally designed for?
9 When was Price Waterhouse Coopers, the company that hired Nicola, aware of the controversy?
Now a woman who says she was sent home from a receptionist job because she refused to wear high heels is petitioning Parliament to change the law. Nicola Thorp was employed by an agency who then sent her to work at a management consultancy in London. The agency that employed her, Portico, has said to us their personal appearance guidelines are in line with standard industry practice. Well, I've been speaking to Nicola Thorp. She said that she was laughed at when she pointed out that male colleagues weren’t subjected to the same demands when it came to how they dress.
That day I was wearing flat black shoes and they gave me a dress to wear, and a jacket which I put on and the supervisor said, well, you know, you're not going to wear those, we only have women in heels in reception. And I said, well, I think that's ridiculous. I pointed to a male colleague, I said, he's wearing flat shoes, why can’t I? And, of course, that’s laughed at and I understand because that’s a much bigger issue for people to get their heads around. They then said to me, you can go and buy a pair of heels if you like, we’ll let you work. I refused and was sent home.
Without pay.No pay.
Without pay, no. I'm told I can’t work for them so…
So the agency said you, you can't work for us again.
The agency actually really understood. They said, yeah, unfortunately this is what the client requires so I called an employment hotline, and said you know, this is what happened to me, this can't be legal, you know, this is, this is my fundamental right as a woman and they said, well, I'm sorry actually dress codes laws state that an employer can make employees wear a formal dress code, which I agree with, and they can distinguish between male and female. As it stands, flat shoes are not considered to be formal or smart for a woman to wear, and I think that's unfair.
And that still stands, and so were you surprised to discover that that is.
Really, really surprised. Many companies obviously don't take that on board, they’re forward-thinking and think, you know, this is a really outdated, quite sexist dress code, but there are some companies who think that the way a woman should look in a corporate environment is to be two to four inches taller and to change the way, I suppose, they carry themselves.
And there's no doubt in your mind that, that the flat shoes you were wearing were in keeping in terms of they were smart, they were neat, they allowed you… the point is, I think, that potentially you were gonna be on your feet for a nine hour shift because you're walking around the offices showing clients around… I mean… what… Nicole, I’m sorry… I didn’t know that was the law either…
Exactly!
…or that it was written in that way…
It’s so wonderful, it sparked this debate, the only difference is… I mean, I'm wearing pretty much the same shoes now. I would just.. you couldn't tell from the front I would have just been two inches taller.
And what about a woman who might say, oh but I, I actually feel better in heels, I feel stronger, I…
Brilliant! I would… I would encourage women to… this is my point, it's my heels, it’s my choice, I should be able to choose whether to wear heels or not. If a woman wants to, then absolutely fine, that's up to her. If a company wants to have everyone wearing the same, I think it really needs to listen to the women who are saying this is uncomfortable and you're not really treating us very fairly.
And part of the point is that this is a ruling that was probably set in stone many, many, many years ago.
Many years ago, many, many years ago. High heels were originally designed for men so that they could keep their feet in stirrups whilst riding a horse. Now they're not still wearing heels because fashion changes and moves forward so I think it's about time that corporate fashion followed suit.
That was Nicola Thorp in the last hour. Now we did ask the various people involved for a comment. We heard first from PwC, that is the company that the agency sent Nicola to work for. PwC, Price Waterhouse Coopers, says it outsources its front of house and reception services to a third party supplier. We first became aware of this matter on the 10th of May, some five months after the issue arose and the dress code referenced is not, in fact, a PWC policy. We also spoke to the recruitment agency who directly employed Nicola, that’s Portico. Portico said in line with industry standard practice we have personal appearance guidelines across many of our corporate locations. These policies include recommendations for appropriate style of footwear for the role. We will now be reviewing our guidelines in consultation with both our clients and our team members.
Key:
1 receptionist
2 flat black shoes
3 buying a pair of heels
4 what the company had done was legal
5 because they are outdated and sexist
6 walking around the offices showing clients around
7 she doesn't object to that, that's their choice
8 for men to ride horses
9 on 10th of May, some five months after the issue arose
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1 What job was the woman supposed to do?
2 What shoes was she wearing on the day she was sent home?
3 What option did the company give her before sending her home?
4 What did the employment hotline say to Nicola?
5 Why don't many companies follow the dress code laws?
6 What was she supposed to do in the job?
7 What's Nicola's opinion of female workers who want to wear high heels?
8 What were high heels originally designed for?
9 When was Price Waterhouse Coopers, the company that hired Nicola, aware of the controversy?
Now a woman who says she was sent home from a receptionist job because she refused to wear high heels is petitioning Parliament to change the law. Nicola Thorp was employed by an agency who then sent her to work at a management consultancy in London. The agency that employed her, Portico, has said to us their personal appearance guidelines are in line with standard industry practice. Well, I've been speaking to Nicola Thorp. She said that she was laughed at when she pointed out that male colleagues weren’t subjected to the same demands when it came to how they dress.
That day I was wearing flat black shoes and they gave me a dress to wear, and a jacket which I put on and the supervisor said, well, you know, you're not going to wear those, we only have women in heels in reception. And I said, well, I think that's ridiculous. I pointed to a male colleague, I said, he's wearing flat shoes, why can’t I? And, of course, that’s laughed at and I understand because that’s a much bigger issue for people to get their heads around. They then said to me, you can go and buy a pair of heels if you like, we’ll let you work. I refused and was sent home.
Without pay.No pay.
Without pay, no. I'm told I can’t work for them so…
So the agency said you, you can't work for us again.
The agency actually really understood. They said, yeah, unfortunately this is what the client requires so I called an employment hotline, and said you know, this is what happened to me, this can't be legal, you know, this is, this is my fundamental right as a woman and they said, well, I'm sorry actually dress codes laws state that an employer can make employees wear a formal dress code, which I agree with, and they can distinguish between male and female. As it stands, flat shoes are not considered to be formal or smart for a woman to wear, and I think that's unfair.
And that still stands, and so were you surprised to discover that that is.
Really, really surprised. Many companies obviously don't take that on board, they’re forward-thinking and think, you know, this is a really outdated, quite sexist dress code, but there are some companies who think that the way a woman should look in a corporate environment is to be two to four inches taller and to change the way, I suppose, they carry themselves.
And there's no doubt in your mind that, that the flat shoes you were wearing were in keeping in terms of they were smart, they were neat, they allowed you… the point is, I think, that potentially you were gonna be on your feet for a nine hour shift because you're walking around the offices showing clients around… I mean… what… Nicole, I’m sorry… I didn’t know that was the law either…
Exactly!
…or that it was written in that way…
It’s so wonderful, it sparked this debate, the only difference is… I mean, I'm wearing pretty much the same shoes now. I would just.. you couldn't tell from the front I would have just been two inches taller.
And what about a woman who might say, oh but I, I actually feel better in heels, I feel stronger, I…
Brilliant! I would… I would encourage women to… this is my point, it's my heels, it’s my choice, I should be able to choose whether to wear heels or not. If a woman wants to, then absolutely fine, that's up to her. If a company wants to have everyone wearing the same, I think it really needs to listen to the women who are saying this is uncomfortable and you're not really treating us very fairly.
And part of the point is that this is a ruling that was probably set in stone many, many, many years ago.
Many years ago, many, many years ago. High heels were originally designed for men so that they could keep their feet in stirrups whilst riding a horse. Now they're not still wearing heels because fashion changes and moves forward so I think it's about time that corporate fashion followed suit.
That was Nicola Thorp in the last hour. Now we did ask the various people involved for a comment. We heard first from PwC, that is the company that the agency sent Nicola to work for. PwC, Price Waterhouse Coopers, says it outsources its front of house and reception services to a third party supplier. We first became aware of this matter on the 10th of May, some five months after the issue arose and the dress code referenced is not, in fact, a PWC policy. We also spoke to the recruitment agency who directly employed Nicola, that’s Portico. Portico said in line with industry standard practice we have personal appearance guidelines across many of our corporate locations. These policies include recommendations for appropriate style of footwear for the role. We will now be reviewing our guidelines in consultation with both our clients and our team members.
Key:
1 receptionist
2 flat black shoes
3 buying a pair of heels
4 what the company had done was legal
5 because they are outdated and sexist
6 walking around the offices showing clients around
7 she doesn't object to that, that's their choice
8 for men to ride horses
9 on 10th of May, some five months after the issue arose
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