Petition Tag - equality

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

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"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

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The CBS has enforced an “indefinite deferral” for male donors who have had sex with men.

However, deferrals range from 6 to 12 months for people who have paid money or drugs for sex (sex workers), had sex with someone who was paid money or drugs for sex (sex workers), used drugs or steroids via needles, and have had sex with someone whose sexual history/background is unknown to them.

The above-mentioned activities leave a person at risk for HIV and STIs and yet they are allowed to donate blood after the deferral period has passed, from which they began engaging in these risky behaviours/activities.

The MSM indefinite deferral also applies to MSM who are in a monogamous or long-term relationship.

The Coalition of Justice for Gay Rights finds the actions taken by the Canadian Blood Services to be unfair because it deems all sexual activity by MSM risky, but give considerations and shorter deferral times to heterosexual people engaged in sexual activities that carry risks.

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On August 29, Henry Velandia and Josh Vandiver were married in Montville, Connecticut. But unlike most newlyweds, Henry and Josh aren't spending the fall sending out thank you cards or taking the honeymoon of their dreams. Instead, Henry and Josh are fighting to save their marriage.

Because of the so-called “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA), passed by Congress in 1996, the federal government does not recognize the legal marriages of same-sex couples. As a result, Henry, who was born in Venezuela and moved to the U.S. in 2002, is facing deportation instead of settling down to build a future with his husband. If DOMA did not exist, Josh, a U.S. citizen born in Colorado, would be able to sponsor Henry for a "green card." As an American citizen, Josh is being denied the right to sponsor his spouse only because he is gay.

With Henry in deportation proceedings before an Immigration Court in New Jersey, the couple is now faced with the terrifying reality of being torn apart. Every day they fight to keep their family together, and they are not alone. Tens of thousands of gay and lesbian bi-national couples are in urgent need of assistance as they face the threat of separation, deportation or exile because of DOMA. The U.S. government discriminates against legally married same-sex couples, excluding them from more than one thousand laws, important public policies that provide protection to families including Social Security survivor benefits, provisions in the tax code, and the ability of a U.S. citizen to sponsor his/her spouse for residency. Gay and lesbian couples deserve the same protections provided for all families under federal law.

To learn more: www.stopthedeportations.com

Loving, committed, and legally married couples like Henry and Josh shouldn't have to fight against the U.S. government for the right to be together.

Tell Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to end the deportations of spouses of gay and lesbian Americans and protect married couples like Henry and Josh.

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Enforce the Equality Act and the Supreme Court ruling:

On 8 April 2010, United Kingdom Parliament passed the Equality Act 2010. This was a recognition that Britain’s Black, Asian, Muslim, ethnic minority, immigrant and Lesbian/Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) communities are a permanent, growing and dynamic force in the life of this nation. The right to equality and respect that lies at the heart of this Act must be the right of everyone who lives, works or studies here: it is divisive, discriminatory and inhumane to deny equal treatment to anyone based on their country of origin.

Around the world LGBTI communities are waging a mounting struggle for liberation and for fundamental democratic and civil rights. In many of the world’s poorest and most oppressed countries, LGBT communities, encouraged and inspired by the victories and rights won by sisters and brothers in western Europe and north America, are bravely and proudly refusing to be invisible any more, often in the face of fierce persecution. This is a global movement that crosses national boundaries.

Many LGBT people have had to come to Britain to seek asylum or as immigrants, in order to continue being open as the people they are and to continue the struggle. It is completely unacceptable that for years they have been denied the benefit of the rights secured by the LGBT communities in Britain, because of racist persecution by Britain’s immigration and asylum system.

It is unacceptable that the immigration authorities routinely isolate asylum seekers from society by holding them in detention, and accuse asylum seekers of falsely claiming to be LGBT. It is unacceptable that a country that has just adopted an Equality Act, guaranteeing LGBT people equal rights to be open as who they are without facing discrimination, has been deporting LGBT refugees to the countries they have fled from and telling them to pretend to be someone they are not, by hiding their lesbian, gay male, bisexual or transgender identity.

Now the fight for LGBT asylum rights has scored a major victory. On 7 July the UK Supreme Court overturned this policy. The court ruled that it is a contravention of the 1951 Refugee Convention to return LGBT asylum seekers to their home countries on the basis that they could live ‘discreetly’ – i.e. conceal their identities.

This strengthens the earlier victory that was won on 19 May when Britain’s Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition pledged that “We will stop the deportation of asylum seekers who have had to leave particular countries because their sexual orientation or gender identification puts them at proven risk of imprisonment, torture or execution.”

At the same time, however, the Government is cynically cutting the availability of legal aid to immigrants and asylum seekers. Unless we fight to reverse this decision immigrants and asylum seekers will be unable to avail themselves of the Supreme Court decision and the Government’s promise: they will be at the mercy of the immigration authorities because they can’t afford a lawyer. Only a united, collective struggle against racism and homophobia can defeat this policy and ensure the enforcement of the words and spirit of the Equality Act and the Supreme Court decision.

To that end we pledge to look for cases and conduct campaigns that set examples of using the Equality Act and the Supreme Court decision to the full and mobilising to implement them – e.g. by speaking the plain truth about racism and homophobia, demonstrating at tribunal and court hearings, opposing immigration raids on campuses or in workplaces, stopping deportations, and organising speak-outs to expose discrimination and empower our communities.

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The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple (one of the four Inns of Court) is considering a proposal to use part of its premises, formerly home to a wine bar, as a site for a nursery. This would be available for use by all barristers and staff of the four Inns, and would be paid for by the parents using it. It is unlikely that another suitable site will come up in the foreseeable future.

Middle Temple's Executive Committee have agreed to oppose this idea, on the grounds that they may be able to earn more rental income if the space is used in other ways. The Benchers of the Inn will meet to decide on the proposal on June 22nd 2010.

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In the new Conservative-Liberal Democrat cabinet Theresa May has been appointed as Minister for Women and Equality.

Prior to this appointment her voting record on gay rights has included:

- Voting against further discussion on the repeal of section 28, preferring to let it stand;

- Voting against lowering the age of consent in homosexual relationships to 16;

- Voting against gay adoption rights; as well as numerous other votes that have offended both homosexual and heterosexual communities. For these reasons we do not feel she is appropriate for the post of Minister for Equality.

We would like to make it clear that this campaign is not politically motivated, and is in no way a campaign against any political party.

Furthermore it is campaigning only for Theresa May's removal from this specific post, and not from any other position that she holds.

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To my friends and global family,

It is time to join together to declare a new vision for our world. My intention is to have ten million people add their signature and energy to help transform human consciousness.

If you feel moved to help in this endeavor, please share the following declaration with others.

Thank you.

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The Commonwealth has been silence on the issues of Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual & Trangendered (LGBT) people's persecutions and discrimination going on in many of its member-countries. Gay people in these countries are being denied access to healthcare, arrested and jailed, sentenced to death, exposed to public and state homophobia and denied state protection.

In the last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM 2009) held in Trinadad and Tobago on November 27-29 2009, it was disappointing and appalling that the Commonwealth turned blind eyes to the Ugandan Anti-Homosexual Bill proposing death penalty to gay people and did not issue a statement nor discuss it even when that bill was top of the agenda for HUman Rights through out the world at that time.

Also, on the case of 2 young men arrested and detained in Malawi, charged on accusation of homosexuality since December 29 2009, the Commonwealth has kept mute and made no official statement. This means that some citizens of the Commonwealth can be denied their right just because they are gay or lesbians.

This continued silence of the Commonwealth therefore sends the wrong message to these countries and the general public that the Commonwealth supports these injustice and discrimination.

Of the 53 Commonwealth member-countries, 40 still criminalise same-sex relations, mostly under anti-gay laws that were originally imposed by the British colonial government in the nineteenth century. This is disgraceful to the Commonwealth when its core principles includes equality, non-discrimination, opportunity for all, liberty of the individual and human dignity.

If the Commonwealth continue in this silence, it is not only living short of its own principles, but it is assuring these countries that they can also ignore these pillars of justice.

Please sign this petition with us.

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Currently in Canada a woman makes $0.705 for every $1.00 a man makes. This needs to be addressed! We are currently ranked 25th in the world on the gender gap index. Do we want to be known for this?

Steven Harper recently tried to change the Canadian National anthem to be Gender Neutral. This is a lame response to a serious problem. I think it is insulting that Harper has concentrated on such a backward fruitless task. We need to make sure that he does something substantial in its place!

I think it is about time something real was done. The average pay for women in each and every company needs to be on par with the average pay for men of that same company. Also these companies need to be held responsible for this requirement. Any Companies found violating this law should be fined and a portion of the fine paid to each of the effected female employees. Age, ethnicity, and religious background need to be brought into play as well.

As well a regular audit of a company’s payroll should be made to ensure that a company is being compliant. Possibly done once every 2 or 3 years for each company.

For anyone wanting to see articles about this problem I'm including some links below:

http://www2.macleans.ca/2009/02/21/is-this-the-quiet-end-to-pay-equity/

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/the-nightmare-gender-gap/article1488609/

http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2010/02/08/HarperWomensRights/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=080210

Feel free to leave additional web based sources in your comments and I’ll do my best to add them when I have time

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During the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics, Canadians from all ethnicities and genders sang O Canada to celebrate our athletes and our successes. We are indeed, an "experiment gone right for a change."

The recent Federal Government Throne Speech advocated the need to examine the lyrics of O Canada to make it inclusive of all genders. That goal was prematurely abandoned by the Conservative Government; after only two days of limited dialogue.

Let it be said, all the people of Canada, stand on guard for thee, and not just thy sons command.

The 2010 Olympics were the people's Olympics because we the people of Canada stood in the streets to celebrate our athletes and our country. Now is the time to make O Canada the people's anthem. Now is the time to ensure all Canadian children see themselves as valuable citizens of Canada.

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The "Honourable" Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration removed all references to Same-sex marriage, and gay equality, from the new guide for New Canadians. This was done against the repeated explicit advice of his officials.

The bigotry has been exposed by dozens of newspapers and news programs in Canada -- here are two of them:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/774193--jason-kenney-excludes-gay-rights-from-guide

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/immigration-minister-pulled-gay-rights-from-citizenship-guide-documents-show/article1486935/

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Same-sex marriages are currently not permitted under Australian federal law. Since 2004, the Marriage Act 1961 has defined marriage as "the union of a man and a woman". In addition, Australian law expressly declares that unions between same-sex couples entered into outside the country are not to be recognised as marriage in Australia.

In all states and territories, cohabiting same-sex couples are recognised as de facto couples, and have the same rights as cohabiting heterosexual couples under state law. Furthermore, same-sex couples have access to domestic partnership registries in Tasmania and Victoria. Civil partnerships are performed in the Australian Capital Territory.

In November 2008, the Australian Parliament passed laws that recognised same-sex couples in federal law, offering them the same rights as unmarried heterosexual couples in areas such as taxation, social security and health, aged care and employment. This means that same-sex couples who can prove they are in a de facto relationship have most of the rights of married couples since 1 July 2009. Nevertheless, despite equality of rights, Australia does not have a national registered partnership or civil union scheme.

In August 2009, a same-sex marriage bill was introduced by a member of the Australian Greens who pleaded with the government to take into mind that the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage and thereby pass such legislation. The Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee is currently reviewing the bill.

The majority of Australians do support same sex marriage. At the present time, the only argument against same sex marriage is religion which claims that marriage is a sacred union between man and woman. The majority of Australians are no longer married in a church, nor blessed by a religious body, but more often in more contemporary venues by celebrants etc.

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Educate Together is a recognised patron body and the fastest growing provider of primary school education in Ireland today. It operates schools based on the delivery of equality of access and esteem to children irrespective of their social, cultural or religious backgrounds.

Set up in the 1970s by volunteers and educationalists, it now operates 58 schools throughout the country and has applied to open 45 primary and its first secondary schools in the next few years. It is an independent educational charity that is supported by small government grants and extensive private fundraising. See www.educatetogether.ie for further information.

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In 1983, the United States Food and Drug Administration began to require all blood to be screened. One such required screening was for what we now know as Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Very little was known about the disease and at the time it was known as "gay related immune deficiency." Science has now shown that HIV is not a "gay disease."

The American Red Cross, the naiton's leader in blood collection, has criticized the FDA's policy as "medically and scientifically unwarranted."

All blood that is collected is screened for the HIV virus.

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Humans have always oppressed other species, whether they are animals, or non-human humanoids. It's particularly hard on non-human humanoids, as we are forced to pretend to be human, sometimes even by our own families.

We can only walk around freely if other people believe we're human. Why can't we use our supernatural powers in public, if we have them? Or be acknowledged as whichever species we are? Or freely talk about any spirit friends we may have? Or acknowledge pets and spirits as family members? And why have only 'Human Rights'? I'm also angry about animals not being referred to as people, when they clearly are. And when they are murdered, it's called 'unnecessary suffering', which is ridiculous, and their murderer gets a slap on the wrist. I'm fed up about all of this.

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BUILD THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT TO WIN EQUALITY,
DIGNITY, RESPECT AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOR ALL.

Britain’s black, Asian, Muslim, ethnic minority and immigrant communities are a permanent, growing and dynamic force in the life of this nation. Our vital contribution to this society and our struggles for justice, equality and dignity are shaping the new Britain, our Britain - a nation that can only thrive and progress as an integrated, multiracial and multicultural society that is united on the basis of equality and respect.

The Government’s Equality Bill, which is now before Parliament, is a long overdue response to the growing power and certain permanence of our communities. Passage of the Equality Bill will provide us with an important new weapon in our fight to make Britain a society where equality is a reality for everyone who lives, works or studies here, whatever our race, culture, religion, national origin etc.

The Equality Bill will put into law the most far-reaching anti-discrimination measures of any British equality legislation so far. It is an essential measure to overcome long-standing institutional and individual racism, sexism and anti-gay bigotry. The Bill will give our communities the power to make employers and public bodies open up the doors of opportunity through the implementation of Positive Action policies. For the first time Employment Tribunals will be given the power to find that employers are discriminating against a whole class of people and to shape a remedy to end that institutional and systematic discrimination.

Our ability to speak the plain truth about racism and to stop the alarming rise of physical attacks against individuals and the Mosques will be strengthened simply by the passage of the Equality Bill. Enactment of the Bill would constitute a strong rejection of the racist right wing’s attempts, in anticipation of the upcoming elections, to increase sentiment for the defence of white English privilege, to discourage Muslim and other ethnic minority and immigrant community participation in the political process, and to move the whole political discourse on race, ethnicity, immigration and foreign policy to the right.

It is essential that the Equality Bill is passed before the forthcoming General Election and that the passage of the Bill is accompanied by a high profile campaign to popularise its provisions and potential. Such a campaign is vital to preparing the ground for implementation of the Equality Bill and ensuring that is enforced in practice. The stronger that campaign is and the sooner the Bill is passed, the quicker the racist and fascist organisations that aim at getting the Conservative Party to adopt an openly racist and nationalist platform will get the message that they are isolated and weak.

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Campaign:

There has been a Black presence in Britain since Roman times. Seventeenth Century London was home to more than 10,000 Black residents. However it was the 492 Caribbean men and women and those that followed from other parts of the Commonwealth such as Africa, India and Pakistan that played such a significant role in creating modern Britain. However, it has to be recognised that the seeds of modern migration started with 10,000 Caribbean service men and women who volunteered during World War II.

One of the key contributions of the Windrush Generation is making Britain more open and reflective based on the shared acknowledgment of social injustice and the values of hard work, tolerance and respect. The long history and campaigns for racial equality from the 1950s to the 1970s was the British equivalent of the American civil rights movement. Race relations and subsequent human rights legislation on gender, disability, age, religion and belief, and sexual orientation have made Britain more humane and socially aware.

This was reinforced by cultural dialogue on musical taste, food, life style and fashion, and the relationships by which Black, White, Asian and other communities created the multicultural nature, ethos and lifestyle which are now an accepted part of mainstream thinking and society.

This generation of people born between 1910-1930 will have passed away which means that the next Windrush celebrations in 2018 will be an empty and hollow affair. We will regret this as a nation for not taking individual and collective responsibility in systematically documenting their history as part of a legacy for the young people of all races and nationality regarding our contribution to Britain and beyond.

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ACUNSA believes that all students should have equal rights and opportunities, regardless of where they're from, or what they study. It is fact that if you are an international student, a postgraduate student, or a student studying part time or off-campus you just cannot get a concession card in NSW or Victoria. ACUNSA will campaign for equality in 2009. Concession cards in Victoria & NSW are just not fair!

Full Fare is Not Fair!

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Dear friends,

We are writing to draw your attention to the Equal Opportunities Commission, Bill to be introduced by the Government, shortly. An important recommendation of the Sachar Committee Report (Report on Social, Economic and Educational Status of the Muslim Community of India), 2006 was the setting up of an Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) in India. The Ministry of Minority Affairs set up a committee under the chairmanship of Dr. Menon to examine and determine the structure of an Equal Opportunity Commission. The Committee submitted its report in 2008, which proposed a draft Equal Opportunity Commission Bill (EOC Bill). The Government also set up an expert committee headed by Dr. Kundu to recommend an appropriate diversity index in living, education and work spaces.

We have drafted an open letter to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, highlighting some of the key concerns with the draft bill and demanding a wider public debate before it is introduced in Parliament. Once, endorsed, we will mail copies of the letter to the Ministry of Minority Affairs and the Prime Minister. We also hope to publish the text of the Open letter in atleast two national newspapers.

Do forward it to other organisations and individuals who would wish to sign the petition.

In Solidarity,

Centre for Study of Social Exclusion,
National Law School of India, Bangalore

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Relate North Kent provide relationship counselling for the residents of the Bexley, Dartford, Gravesend, Medway and Swale Council areas. As part of the redevelopment of Medway, the Charity has been asked to vacate the premises kindly provided by the local authority for a number of years.

The Medway Centre is the administrative base for the Charity and each year appointments are arranged for many hundreds of people seeking help and support through difficult times in their relationships. In addition we provide counselling and support to children and young people that may be profoundly affected by the breakdown in adult relationships in the home.

At a time when there is greater stress on couples and the family with anxiety over the prevailing economic climate, fear of redundancy, negative equity concerns etc. now might be the wrong time to disrupt the delivery of a support service that exists to help address those concerns.

This petition aims to secure support from those within Medway and the surrounding areas in encouraging Medway Council to see the benefit to the community of sustaining the support to the Charity. In addition, to secure a building to allow the continued and uninterupted delivery of the services across North Kent.

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The Vote for Equality campaign seeks to establish a single set of universal principles on equality and non-discrimination.

While some individual minorities have successfully opposed discrimination, for many people, in many parts of the world, fair and equal treatment is far from a reality. Many minority groups remain disadvantaged and the growth of identity politics risks undermining the universal nature of equal rights. The Declaration of Principles on Equality aims to address this. The Declaration:

• Defines equality as a basic human right
• Calls on governments to take positive action to redress inequality
• Creates a consistent, integrated notion of equality and non-discrimination

The Equal Rights Trust is asking people to support the campaign to get governments and international institutions, including the UN, to endorse the Declaration of Principles on Equality.

By signing our petition and supporting the Declaration, you will help to send a signal to the world's leaders that equal rights must never be off their agenda.

To find out more about the Declaration of Principles on Equality, or about the work of the Equal Rights Trust, visit: www.equalrightstrust.org.

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HB 444 HD1 is a bill to enact civil unions in Hawaii extending rights and benefits to same sex couples.

HB 444, Hawaii's Civil Union Bill, does not "take away" the rights of the majority, but extends them to a minority whose relationships and children deserve the same assurances, rights, protections, and opportunities our state is committed to giving all of its citizens.

Time is running out and your support is critical now. There's still time for you to make a difference for the families we value in our hearts, our homes, and our communities.

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Support SouthEast Vancouver Seniors in their right to equal services. We have suffered 12 years of promises to build a dedicated Senior Centre for the 25,000 or 1/3 of Vancouver seniors 65+; not including 55+ stats. The 3 levels of government agree a seniors centre is needed in SouthEast Vancouver.

There are 9 Seniors Centres on Vancouver's Westside. Vancouver Park Board has tentatively agreed to provided the land. NOW is the time to build the SouthEast Vancouver Seniors Centre, enough with the continual motions to approve it.

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On Thursday, March 26, 2009 the New Hampshire House will vote on two very important House Bills;

HB436 will grant marriage equality to gays and lesbians. Civil unions are a legal status created solely for gay/lesbian couples. Even if there were not the significant inequities in the way the law treats marriages and civil unions, the fact that a civil union remains a separate status for gay people represents real and powerful discrimination. Our constitution requires legal equality for all.

Excluding gay/lesbian couples from marriage or segregating them with separate institutions, like civil unions -- marks them, and the thousands of children raised by them in NH, as less worthy than other citizens.

(It is also worth noting that HB436 upholds freedom of religion. This bill is about civil marriage, and leaves decisions about religious ceremonies to faith leaders.)

HB415 is the anti-discrimination act for gender identity and expression. This bill defines gender identity and expression and will add it to the list of classes of people protected from discrimination. No one should ever be fired from their job or targeted for a "Hate Crime" due to any discriminating factor, which includes gender identity or expression. Thirteen states and Washington DC already have transgender inclusive laws in place. It is important to send the message that discrimination is ALWAYS wrong!

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We live in a country that is surposed to be full of dreams, ours have yet to come! We do not yet have the legal right to same sex marriage in Australia. Gay and lesbian aussies deserve repect and rights and we love just as heterosexuals love.

We want to get married just like heterosexuals want to get married. So please sign this petition in hoping same sex marriage! .. or even civil unions will become legal in the near future! The closest thing we have is a relationship registry in only 2 states!

Come on Australia, we can do better than that! This petition will be forwarded on to the PM and all head of states! Human Rights = Equal Rights!

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Dear Friend,

We, the Study Group from Asia on Dalit Issues at Coady International Institute, Antigonish, NS, Canada came across during our group research on the subject, the gross discriminations faced by the Dalit Christians in Indian Church. Though the Dalit Christians form 65% of total Catholic population in India, we are pained to learn that they are treated unequally in the places of worship, burial grounds, decision making bodies and in the hierarchy. While appreciating the services of the Church in the field of education we also note that only 7.8% SCs and 5.22% STs benefit out of 271 Church run colleges, according to the survey by AICHE in 2001. According to the survey by Fr. Antony Raj in 1989 45% of Dalit Christians in Tamil Nadu are Below Poverty Line.

The study group thinks that if the future Priests and Nuns in the church are sensitized on Dalit problems, the Dalit Christian issues could be addressed to in an effective manner.
So we request you to join this e-signature campaign to petition the Catholic Bishops Conference of India to ensure that the ‘Dalit Studies’ is made a mandatory subject during the theological studies and novitiate formation.

We express our feelings of gratitude for your understanding and solidarity.

Gratefully Yours,

Ms. Sylvia Mondal, Sr. Daphne D'Souza SRA, Mr. Bishnu Lohani , Mr. Patrick Soosainathan, Mr. Birendra Sthapit, Fr. Paulson Muthipeedika CMI and Fr. Devasagayaraj.

Study Group Members on Dalit Issues

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We call on International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, to combine the Olympics and Paralympics in to one event.

According all athletes (regardless of the current separation) the same recognition, respect and acknowledgement of their achievement and commitment to their chosen sport.

If you would like to comment on the petition please email at info@disabilitydirect.org and check out my website, www.disabilitydirect.org

Thank you.

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The Minister of Education established a Post Primary review Body to bring forward recommendations on the future organization of schools. The Review Body Report, usually known as the Burns Report, was published in 2001 (Post Primary Review Body, 2001). Its main recommendations were that:

· The use of the 11+ transfer tests should cease and the system of academic selection in the transfer from primary to post-primary school should end.

· A system of formative assessment, through a Pupil Profile, should be established to provide real educational information to teachers, parents and pupils.

· Post primary schools should be organized into collaborative networks of diverse schools called Collegiates.

Equality must be at the heart of education. The reality is that academic selection for some means academic rejection for the majority of our children. It is a system, which is fundamentally unfair.

A system, which designates any 11-year-old child, "a failure" is fundamentally flawed and must be replaced.

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Prime Minister Gordon Brown, our government and schools are organising a national discussion on what it means to be British. This discussion is aimed at determining whether we, an increasingly multi-racial and multi-cultural society, can unite on the basis of a common identity, a common vision of who we are and what political principles bind us together.

The views of prominent politicians, religious leaders and professors will be featured in the media and in mandatory school classes on community- cohesion/citizenship. But at the end of the day, what will matter most are the aspirations, beliefs and actions of the youth - the future of Britain.

Our sights are set on the future and not on the past. We alone possess the will, energy and optimism to strive to turn this nation, which is our home, into a place that our families, our communities and our neighbours will be proud to declare is their Britain, our Britain.

The youth of the Asian, black, African, Caribbean, Muslim, immigrant and other historically discriminated against communities must play a leading role in defining what it means to be British.

Our success in turning equality, freedom, justice, community, fairness, dignity and mutual respect from ideals into reality will determine whether we move forward together as one nation providing hope and prosperity to all or fracture into a deeply divided, pessimistic society at war with itself.

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