Our platform for connecting the community in East Birmingham, which was launched by our SCCB Community Team earlier this year, has returned due to local demand!
Opportunities for Birmingham young people will flourish from the seeds planted tonight. There was a great energy from the possibility for new connections and growth. Let’s keep the important conversations going!
“A big thank you to all the people in the room,” said Mike Hopkins, Principal. “Our last Community Forum was intended to be a low-key event for local businesses and communities to network. We got an incredible amount of support, a lot came out of the last one. Local people actually working together, building links, and finding out what’s going on.”
The response was powerful again.
Representatives came to our Bordesley Green Campus from Parliament, Birmingham City FC, West Midlands Combined Authority, West Midlands Police, local businesses, careers and volunteer services, spiritual leaders, charities and trusts, education, leisure, media, health and more.
We were happy to welcome Liam Byrne (MP), Simon Foster (West Midlands Police & Crime Commissioner), Garry Cook (CEO of Birmingham City FC), Dele Adebola (Ex-Professional Footballer for Birmingham City, Coventry City), Tom Ross (Chairman for Help Harry Help Others Cancer Charity) and other champions of community growth.
Our students have seen the benefits of the last forum in action. Here’s some examples of our collaborative success stories since spring:
- Former Heavyweight title holder Richard Towers gave an inspiring talk at our ASPIRE event.
- Local community organisations have participated in our Fresher’s Fairs across college, including Ackers Trust, Ashiana Community Project, Avon, Barnardo’s, Birmingham Squash and Family Action.
- The “Round Table with Business Services” follow-up event provided local businesses with an insight in how to become Apprenticeship employers.
We want to thank everyone involved with our latest Forum, whether staff putting the event together, speaker, or guest. Thanks to West Midlands Catering for supplying tasty dishes as well.
The community talks! So what did the Community say of the night?
- “This has been an extraordinary evening. I hope that everybody over years to come looks back and remembers the conversations, the mental commitments, the feeling of excitement about the horizons and the possibilities that you can sense opening up. But above all, remember that no one gets to unlock this future on their own. Together we do stand a chance.” Liam Byrne, MP for Hodge Hill and Chair of the East Birmingham Inclusive Growth Taskforce
- “I really want to commend South & City College Birmingham for organising this event and the strength of the college. Events like this are so very important because we need to engage with, listen to and work with each other for the greater good of us all.” Simon Foster, West Midlands Police Crime Commissioner
- “We as a board at Birmingham City Football Club are committed to changing the landscape of this city. We’re here tonight to back in the community, to meet the esteemed guests and everybody here to ask the question: What can we do?” Garry Cook, CEO of Birmingham City FC
- “If events like this didn’t happen, what you tend to find is people work within silos. This just brings people coherence. There’s lots of things happening in and across the West Midlands and this hopefully will generate more opportunities for young people and opportunities for the businesses who live and work within these communities.” Dele Adebola, Professional Footballer Birmingham City + Coventry City.
- “This event tonight is a catalyst. It brings the community together, it charges them, enthuses them, and gives people a call to action. Sometimes, the communities that are fa and away the hardest to reach are the disadvantaged. This is making sure they’ve got a voice.” Shaun Hall, West Midlands Combined Authority Senior Delivery Manager – Construction and Pre-Employment
