British Embassy Prague: Ambassador for a Day essay competition 2022

The “Ambassador for a Day Competition 2022: Freedom and Democracy“ is a joint initiative by the Embassies of Canada, United Kingdom and United States to the Czech Republic.

Objectives

The theme of this year’s competition is freedom and democracy. Currently, the importance of our shared values of freedom and democracy are top of the international news agenda. Two years of restrictions in response to COVID have also impacted some people’s attitudes to what freedom and democracy mean. In international relations and conflict resolution, women’s voices are often absent or sidelined, yet research shows they can make a difference to how issues are approached and managed, and the resilience of responses.

How to participate

Submit an essay of 500-700 words in English that responds to the following questions:

Why more women’s voices need to be heard in international affairs, conflict resolution, and policymaking more generally;
Why women’s engagement and participation in decision-making processes is important;
What difference women’s voices can make in this field;
What freedom and democracy mean to you in the Czech Republic in 2022.

  • Your essay should be submitted via this form or via ukinczechrepublic@fco.gov.uk. Applicants are required to submit: surname, name, email, nationality, age, present occupation, where they learnt about this contest, and indicate their presence on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn).

  • The Contest is open to females, aged 16-25, who are resident in the Czech Republic and are able to communicate in both English and Czech.

  • The essay must be submitted by midnight, 31st March 2022 via the above-mentioned form or email.

  • Once submitted, the essay cannot be edited, updated, or resubmitted. Only one entry per person.
  • Participation in the Contest is understood as acceptance of all the rules of the Contest.

Platforms

The information about the essay Contest, including the selection process, announcement of the winner, as well as activities engaging the winners will be communicated on social media platforms of all the sponsors, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Communication between the sponsors and participants will take place via email or phone. Announcement of the competition winners will be communicated on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube, however, none of these platforms are partners or sponsors of the Contest.

Submissions of essays – format

Please, submit your essays in doc, docx, or pdf format. Each submission should include the name of the contestant.

Content

Submissions must be original pieces, must not include text protected by intellectual property rights or third party’s ownership rights.

Eligibility

The Contest is open to females aged 16 to 25 who are residents of the Czech Republic and are able to communicate in both English and Czech.

Only the person who submits the essay will be considered as the Contest participant. To participate in the Contest, the participant must submit all the requested information, which will be strictly used only for the purpose of the Contest and will not be shared with third parties.

The Contest is not open to employees and interns of any of the sponsors, nor it is open to family members of such employees and interns.

After submission of the essay, the Contest participants may be publicly identified.

Selection of winners

The sponsors reserve the right to discount all entries to the Contest that do not fulfill the requirements of the competition.

The winners will be selected by representatives of all three Embassies. Each Embassy will choose one winner (three in total).

Winners

Each participating embassy will choose a winning essay whose author will win the opportunity to work shadow the American, British or Canadian Ambassador (or Chargé) for the day to experience first hand a “day at the office” of a senior diplomat. Winners will be announced on 25th April 2022. Our aim is to inspire young women to think about what freedom and democracy means to them, and how women can contribute to international affairs. The winners will gain insight into the work of our Embassies on the issues, and perhaps inspire young women to consider a career in diplomacy.

Although the competition will launch on International Women’s Day (8 March), the actual work shadowing day will take place later in the summer months, when the COVID-19 situation allows and through mutual agreement with the winners. It will cover a day’s worth of meetings and activities on the subject of freedom, democracy and foreign affairs.

The winners will also have the opportunity to work on our respective Embassies’ social media feeds for a day to share their experiences.

Awards

Each of the three winners may expect: * To spend a day at the Embassy with Embassy staff, shadowing the Ambassador and/or other Embassy representatives. * Program of meetings with stakeholders, selected and planned by the Embassy * Social media take-over for a day * Small gifts from the Sponsors

The sponsors reserve the right to make the winning essay available online on either Embassy website and/or on social media.

The winners must respond to Embassy’s email within a week. If the winner does not accept the selection, the sponsors reserve the right to reach out to the runner-up.

The fulfilment of the awards cannot be passed on a third person, cannot be exchanged for a different activity, and cannot be reimbursed in monetary value.

Rights and responsibilities

  1. The sponsors’ selection does not automatically mean endorsement of the ideas in the essays.
  2. The Contest and the sponsors will not support any activity violating intellectual property rights and therefore reserve the right to disqualify any submission in the Contest that would be in violation with these rules. 3 Contest participants will retain all the rights to their work. At the same time, participants explicitly agree to sponsors’ use of any material related to the Contest (essay, photos etc. ).
  3. Sponsors reserve the right to check the authenticity of the submissions and remove anyone who violates the above-mentioned rules from the Contest.
  4. The sponsors reserve the right to disqualify any contestant who violates the rules of the Contest
  5. The sponsors reserve the right to change the awarded prize in case of outside circumstances prohibiting the execution of the afore-mentioned program at each of the Embassies.
  6. The sponsors reserve the right to disqualify a person from the Contest if they deem the person violated the rules of the Contest, violated rules of an online platform involved in the promotion of the Contest, or otherwise acted in bad faith.
  7. The sponsors reserve the right to change the process of the Contest or cancel the Contest. Participants agree to protect the good name of the sponsors, their parent, subsidiary and affiliates, officials, directors, employees, trainees and agents. In case of damaging their interests, the participants in the Contest will be responsible for all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debts; and expenses (including but not limited to legal fees) arising from (i) breaches of these official Contest rules; (ii) infringement of a third party’s right, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, intellectual property, right to privacy, right of publication or other proprietary right in connection with the Contest; or (iii) any claim that the Contest entry has caused any harm to a third party, including financial loss. These compensation and protection obligations remain in force permanently even after the end of the Contest.
  8. Sponsors will take all precautions to protect PII of the participants in the Contest.
  9. The Sponsors of the Contest do not accept any liability or liability for any damage or injury resulting from the participation of any user in the Contest or the attempt to participate in the Contest or the ability or inability to upload, download or otherwise obtain information related to the Contest.
  10. The sponsors of the Contest do not accept any responsibility or liability for technical problems or technical failures arising in connection with the operation of the Contest, including: hardware or software errors; defective computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or internet connection or other problems with online communication; errors or limitations of any ISPs, servers, hosting providers or providers; distorted, disordered or erroneous data transmission; failure to send or receive e-mail transmissions; lost, delayed, delayed or withheld electronic mail transmissions; complete or partial inaccessibility of the Contest site for any reason; congestion of the internet network or Contest site; unauthorized human intervention or other interference with the course of the Contest, including but not limited to tampering, unauthorized access, theft, virus, software bugs and worms; or the destruction of any aspect of the Contest or the loss, miscalculation, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of the e-mail account used in connection with the Contest.
  11. Use of the Contest website is at the user’s own risk. The sponsors of the Contest are not liable for personal injury, property damage or loss of any kind possibly suffered on the computer equipment because of participating in the Contest, using the Contest website or downloading information from the Contest website. By participating in the Contest, the competitor relieves the sponsors of the Contest of all claims arising directly or indirectly as a result of or in connection with the participation of the competitor in the Contest.
  12. Sponsors are not held liable for any delay in the Contest proceedings caused by external factors, such as weather, fire, strike, public health or other unforeseen circumstances.


Charity Commission takes regulatory action against trustees who mismanaged Newark charity

Press release

The Charity Commission has secured voluntary undertakings from three trustees of Hope House School.

The Charity Commission has secured voluntary undertakings from 3 trustees of Hope House School, ensuring that they will not act as charity trustees for a period of at least 8 years. The regulator’s action follows investigations into the trustees’ misconduct and/or mismanagement of the Newark-based charity.

Hope House School is a charity-run independent school, catering for approximately 25 pupils with special educational needs. The charity aims to advance the education of children between the ages of 5 and 19 years old who suffer from neurological and psychological conditions such as, but not limited to, Opltz syndrome, Autistic Spectrum Disorders and Dyspraxia.

The Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Hope House School in October 2017. This inquiry followed a compliance case opened in 2016 to assess anonymous complaints that a trustee (trustee A), was receiving personal benefit from the charity. This benefit included designer handbags and holidays to New York and Belgium. Trustee A was also the school’s founder and Principal.

In an assessment of the charity’s banking information, the Commission also identified suspicious payments made to trustee A’s husband, as well as wider concerns about how spending was in line with the charity’s purposes. This prompted a statutory inquiry, which was concluded today.

The inquiry found multiple instances of misconduct and/or mismanagement, including that:

  • trustee A was able to breach internal financial controls and make payments to her husband
  • the payment of the rent and utility bills of a flat for a former beneficiary were not in furtherance of the charity’s objects, and constituted a misapplication of charity funds
  • trips to New York and Belgium, made by trustee A’s family members to accompany pupils, and the purchase of personal luxury items, constituted personal benefit
  • the current trustees did not act to adequately address concerns identified by Ofsted, and did not take all of the appropriate steps to improve the school’s safeguarding practices and training, risk assessments, or health and safety

Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations at the Charity Commission, said:

Cases like this demonstrate the importance of good governance, robust internal financial controls and responsible trustee oversight. Trustee A abused their position and other trustees’ neglect of their duties allowed this misconduct to continue unchecked, to the detriment of the charity and its beneficiaries.

The public expects trustees to deliver the charity’s objects and ensure it makes a tangible and positive impact in the community. It is disappointing that these trustees did not take that duty and their responsibilities seriously.

As part of the inquiry, the regulator appointed an interim manager who improved the charity’s financial position and helped ensure it could continue in its work to provide an education for children with special needs.

The Commission worked with Ofsted and the Department for Education to ensure trustees were taking seriously their responsibilities to rectify concerns raised by Ofsted on the safeguarding of beneficiaries and the effective ongoing operation of the charity.

Notes to Editors

  1. The Charity Commission is the independent, non-ministerial government department that registers and regulates charities in England and Wales. Its purpose is to ensure charity can thrive and inspire trust so that people can improve lives and strengthen society.
  2. The voluntary undertaking made by the former trustees commenced in 2019.
  3. The full report can be viewed here.

Published 7 March 2022



The Avenue Landscaping and Remediation Project – one of the UK’s most significant brownfield projects

In 1992 the Avenue Coking Works closed its doors. For nearly forty years the Coking Works had produced coal and gas and processed tar and sulphuric acid. By the end of its life, the site was a mess of leaky tanks, pipelines, waste tips, lagoons filled with tar and soil poisoned with cyanide and arsenic.

The 98-hectare site had polluted the River Rother and was so contaminated that it breached regulations in place to protect against serious damage to people and the environment.

The ambition for the site was to prevent additional environmental damage and restore the Avenue to a condition in which it would be suitable for other uses.

Picture: BEIS/Coal Authority

Picture: BEIS/Coal Authority

Picture: BEIS/Coal Authority

Homes England took ownership of the site in 1999 and demolition work began, dismantling the conveyor gantries, coke oven chimneys, concrete cooling towers, the boiler house and powerhouse.

Numerous site investigations, surveys, assessments and trials were undertaken, and a strategy was developed to bring the site back into use, alongside an Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposed development, with full planning permission secured in 2007.

The scale of the remediation works was unprecedented in size and complexity, with remediation trials in Rotterdam and detailed scientific assessments in Manchester helping to inform the approach.

Beyond the structures themselves, over two million cubic metres of soil were processed through a £6.5m soil treatment plant, which operated 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, heating the soil to up to 1,000°C, removing the contaminants.

The discharge in the 300,000 cubic metre waste tip was processed through a sorting station which sorted the waste by particle size. Once the contaminants were separated from the soil, they were stored separately prior to being effectively treated or recycled.

Homes England worked to find unique solutions to ensure that the ecology of the area was protected during the works. Prior to the works starting, an estimated 8,000 newts, 50 grass snakes and 250 water voles were translocated or otherwise protected. The final design of the project includes provision of a newt reserve as well as a vole retreat.

Working in partnership with the Environment Agency, a flood alleviation scheme was built to reduce the risk of flooding to properties in Chesterfield. This included construction of a flood storage reservoir at the site, capable of storing up to 245,000 cubic meters of flood water and controlling its flow down the river.

The project received several awards, notably the CEEQUAL Outstanding Achievement Award.

CEEQUAL is the world’s leading sustainability rating scheme for infrastructure, engineering and public realm projects. The site was praised for its extensive ecological design and management, sustainability of the remediation works and effective stakeholder consultation.

The works took almost ten years to complete, finishing in 2018.

Picture: BEIS/Coal Authority

Picture: Commission Air Aerial Photography

New beginnings

Having completed the ambitious remediation works, the site was ready to be put to a new use. A masterplan was developed to provide nearly 500 homes supported by a sustainable drainage scheme, significant recreational space, a primary school and hectares of employment land.

The 70 hectares of open space contains some of the highest standard public sports pitches in the county, as well as fishing facilities, a remarkable fact given the former state of the site. The site connects to the local cycle network and provides an off-road link from the south of Chesterfield to the town centre, railway station and beyond via the Trans Pennine Trail.

The work to bring the former Avenue Coking Works site back into use spanned over two decades and required the experience, ingenuity and collaboration of a range of partners including Turner & Townsend, Jacobs UK Ltd, VSD Avenue, CA Blackwell, The Land Trust and a broad range of public bodies including the Environment Agency and North East Derbyshire District Council, Derbyshire County Council and Kier Living (now Tilia Homes).

The results of the project are clear to see. One of the most ambitious regeneration projects in UK history, the regeneration of Avenue Coking Works has taken an environmental and social hazard and transformed it into a safe place where people can live, work and play, and take pride in their community.

The Avenue – transformed

Video credit: Killingley, matthew.killingley@killingley.co.uk



SLC celebrates Scottish Apprenticeship Week

News story

SLC has planned a week of activity to celebrate Scottish Apprenticeship Week

Apprenticeships Work, that’s the message from SLC as it celebrates Scottish Apprenticeship Week.

The organisation has activities planned throughout this week (7-11 March) to showcase the achievements of its apprentices and inspire the apprentices of the future.

On Monday, the Leadership Team will meet virtually with some of the current cohort of modern and graduate apprentices, to discuss their experience at SLC and hear their ideas about developing the apprenticeship programme.

On Wednesday, Paula Sussex, CEO, will go back to school and talk to S4 pupils at Springburn Academy in the outskirts of Glasgow, about apprenticeship opportunities within SLC. She will be joined by graduate apprentices who will share their experiences and answer any questions the students have about exploring an apprenticeship.

And to end the week, Kaukab Stewart, MSP for Glasgow Kelvin will visit the Glasgow Office, on Friday, to meet with CIO, Stephen Campbell, and apprentices Hazel Fulton, Aidan McCrae, Cairn Foster and Jamie Law. This will be an opportunity for her to find out more about SLC’s approach to apprenticeships, and how they benefit people at different stages of their careers.

In addition, the organisation has also been nominated for a Scottish Apprenticeship Week Award in the Large Employer, Promoting Diversity category. The award recognises the commitment of large organisations to supporting diversity through apprenticeships and the winner will be announced at a virtual award ceremony on Wednesday night.

Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn for more information and updates throughout the week.

Published 7 March 2022



The Student Loans Company urges people to apply for 150 new roles in the North East

The organisation, which is based at Lingfield Point, has Customer Service roles available, supporting customers at various stages of their student finance journeys.

Based within SLC’s Operations team, the jobs are central to processing maintenance loan applications for two million students each year and paying tuition fees to more than 600 higher education institutions.

Successful candidates will receive a reward package including flexible working, access to the civil service pension scheme and a generous holiday entitlement. They will also benefit from SLC’s routes for progression, with opportunities to learn, develop and upskill.

SLC has a blended approach to work, with colleagues spending time in the office and at home, so applications are being encouraged from across the North East.

Chris Larmer, SLC Executive Director, Operations said: “As we strive to transform the customer experience and work with the Government on enabling higher education reform, there really has never been a more exciting time to join us. We have 150 frontline operational roles available in Darlington and we believe it’s an excellent opportunity for local talent to find meaningful, secure and rewarding employment.

“We are committed to unlocking the potential of our workforce – we want people to develop a successful career with SLC so it’s vital that we invest in them and their futures.”

Peter Gibson, Member of Parliament for Darlington, said: “SLC is a major employer in Darlington, providing exciting careers with huge prospects for development advancement and progression. I’m pleased to support SLC in its continuing expansion In Darlington and I am keen to help highlight the opportunities to our community to ensure that many more here can stay local AND go far”

For more information and to apply please visit Customer Service Opportunities – Civil Service Jobs – GOV.UK