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Quiet Reflections Of The UK’s 2024 Summer Riots of Racism and Hatred

It has been devasting to watch the past week of horrific racial violence unfold here in the UK.  It sadly overshadowed the tragedy of Southport. We know that this type of hatred has no place in our society, and we should call it out for what it is: racism, Islamophobia, and bigotry.

 

The hatred shown on the streets has been vile and shocking. It also threatens to damage Britain’s international reputation. As it says something when countries such as Malaysia, India, and Nigeria caution their citizens about travelling to the UK. I am not going to delve into the reasons why everything combusted because it is complicated…from the role social media played to the right-wing media and politicians, to the language used by the mainstream media, to Musk inciting violence, and how successive governments have squandered people’s trust and failed to tackle the deep-rooted problems that are blighting our communities.
However, the peaceful community gatherings, where thousands of anti-racism protesters came out and stood together in different parts of the country on 7 August in response to the anti-immigration riots, was magnificent. It restored my faith, and I found it uplifting and hopeful. It also made front page news, and these were the headlines that we need to see – that good triumphed over evil; that together we can make the right difference, and that hate, or violence is never the answer,

 

Something else that I found uplifting, which helped to my make internal flame of hope shine even brighter was Tim Walz’s speech in Philadelphia on the 6 of August. Walz is the Minnesota governor and has been chosen by Kamala Harris to be her running mate in the US Presidential elections. Walz talked about community, values, commitment, working for a common good, and that one person can make a difference. A speech that was very relevant to what was happening here across the pond.

“He’s the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and then inspires them to dream big,” Harris said.

If you haven’t seen it yet, watch it, as Walz also gives a masterclass in speech delivery.

 

Photo Credit: Wiki Media

Get Legally Speaking Podcast – First UK Legal Consumer Podcast Tackling Issues People Want To Know About

It doesn’t matter for how long you have been working in PR, when you gain media success there’s nothing quite like that feeling, and it’s always sweeter when the project you are working on is purposeful – making a difference.

So, it is with great fanfare I can say that Serendipity PR & Media is delighted to be working with legal professional and entrepreneur Hatti Suvari on her new legal podcast, Get Legally Speaking, which launched on 4 November to great success!

Get Legally Speaking is Hatti’s brilliant creation and yet a simple idea. It’s the first UK legal consumer podcast tackling the issues that people want to know about, asking the questions that the public want answers to and stripping down to the facts. Hatti will be speaking to the best UK legal minds on Get Legally Speaking and will cover all issues from divorce, to family law, employee rights, customer rights and yes! Brexit rights of EU citizens.

The first episode is focused on divorce, a big topic for many as we go into Christmas. In this episode Hatti speaks with leading family law barrister Maria Scotland from 5 St Andrews Hill Chambers, London who is joint head of the family team at her chambers, finding out – how to get the divorce process started; how does it work; do both husband and wife have to agree to a divorce; how much will a divorce cost; and how long will the process take.

Hatti is passionate about making UK law easy for people to understand and says, “I come across people daily, who are confused about the legal matters that are affecting them and don’t know where to start. With the Citizens Advice Bureau’s around the country over-stretched, and with their outlets on the high-street reduced, I wanted to do something and Get Legally Speaking is the answer.”

Hatti will be covering a specific topic on each Get Legally Speaking podcast, chatting with the best legal experts, asking the questions that people need answers to in an easy way and speak. Get Legally Speaking is on Buzzsprout and can also be found on iTunes and Spotify.

Apart from running the media campaign for Get Legally Speaking, Serendipity PR & Media has helped shape the branding, the website and creative, including writing all the copy, ensuring brand alignment and the over-seeing of social media.

Last Month’s India Britain Trade Expo, Makes The News

Last month’s India Britain Trade Expo that took place at the Queen Elizabeth Centre was a hub of conversations, exchange of ideas and strong connections; and we were delighted to receive this coverage the next day in Asian Voice newspaper featured here. The bottom line from the Expo is that India is an important trading partner for the UK and there’s a lot of opportunities to explore. Businesses here and in India are ready to trade!

We were pleased to have not just our Deputy Mayor, Rajesh Agrawal at the event, but also Arlene Foster, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party and one of the most influential women in politics right now.

The ‘women in business’ session that I moderated with four other women – Penny Power, OBE; Kamel Hothi, OBE, Dr. Priya Virmani; and Shanu Hindhuja was powerful. Each of the panellists spoke about their own journey and experience. They were all exceptional storytellers, which is why this session was so powerful. Stories have the power to engage us, connect with us and inspire us. There is nothing like a good story.

One of the main points that all the panelists agreed upon and spoke about in detail – is that men are integral to the conversations to end gender inequality — and to do that we need everyone to be involved. This is the same premise of the “HeForShe” campaign launched by the United Nations in 2014 by the actress Emma Watson, who said at the time, “We want to try and galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for gender equality. And we don’t just want to talk about it, but make sure it is tangible.”

Image Credit: Asian Voice, Newspaper