Tunis is a slightly strange choice of location for the conference – barely three weeks ago Reporters Without Borders issued an open letter highlighting a crackdown on protesters that saw 16 journalists assaulted, including two foreign reporters.

Still, here are five reasons a day dedicated to press freedom is still sorely needed:

1. Vietnam: Bloggers have been repeatedly harassed and detained after reporting on wildcat strikes and other topics the authorities would prefer to keep away from the public attention. In mid-April, Human Rights Watch called for the immediate release of Nguyen Van Hai, Phan Thanh Hai, and Ta Phong Tan, all members of the Club for Free Journalists, which HRW says was set up to ‘promote freedom of expression and independent journalism’. The three are currently facing criminal charges for conducting propaganda against the state.
2. Russia: In the run-up to the elections earlier this year, Reporters Without Bordershighlighted a series of attempts to intimidate journalists, stemming from both the government and from other sources. Eight reporters were arrested covering the protests that followed Putin’s re-election and two were beaten, according to Reporters Without Borders.
3. Thailand: Chiranuch Premchaiporn faces up to 20 years in jail under Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws, which criminalise comments that are critical of the King. Chiranuch is not accused of making the comments herself: instead, she is an online editor at Thai news website Pracithai. A number of anonymous online commenters had posted negative messages about the Thai royalty; Chiranuch is being held liable. Earlier this week a court delayed its verdict on her case.
4. Ethiopia: The government has employed anti-terror laws to crack down on journalists. Last summer, as the Bureau reported, reporter Martin Schibbye and photographer Johan Persson were arrested attempting to cross into the troubled Ogaden region, while Ethiopian journalists Eskinder Nega and Sileshi Hago were arrested for plotting terrorist attacks. Two further Ethiopian journalists were arrested after writing critical articles about the government. Last week, a prominent independent news website was blocked for at least five days, according to Reporters Without Borders.
5. UK: Although super-injunctions have dropped out of the headlines, thanks in part to the ongoing phone-hacking scandal, they are a key tool for the rich and powerful to silence press scrutiny. Despite a number of high-profile backfires last year, super-injunctions remain in favour among some of the UK’s more ill-behaved high-flyers. This week Private Eye cheekily suggested that two individuals in the top 10 of the Sunday Times Rich List are currently enjoying this particularly British status symbol.

Unfortunately, this list could have been 10, 25 or 50 examples long. Whether through incarceration, violence, intimidation, web blocking or lawyers’ letters, the threats to press freedom are plentiful, widespread and show no sign of subsiding.

Click here for more about World Press Freedom Day.

The Crooked Book is run by Jamie at 725 Christchurch Road. It sells vintage bric-à-brac as well as high quality second-hand books. Customers can also sit and have a tea and coffee and cake.

Brian Jenner was the founder of BoMoCreatives. He has written two books, Men & Collections and I’m Just Phoning To Chase My Invoice.

“I arrived in Bournemouth from London eight years ago. I didn’t realise that it was the ‘recovery’ capital of Britain. I ran a group for people who were arty and I became interested in why creative types were often temperamental.” says Brian. “I studied the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and I discovered that addicts had a few things in common with artists. The purpose of the talk is to show how people with gifts can accept their weaknesses and become disciplined to fulfil their potential.”

“If Bournemouth were to attract the C21st equivalent of Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald and Getrude Stein, they would definitely hang out at the Crooked Book.”

Tickets are £10 and they can be purchased by calling 01202 551257 or going to http://artaddiction.eventbrite.co.uk

Danni, 18, designed the winning logo for the proposed Navitus Bay Wind Park, located off the coasts of Dorset and Hampshire, and to the West of the Isle of Wight, after the developers asked for local teenagers to help design a visual identity for the Project.

The logo submitted by Danni, a budding graphic designer, was the clear winner in the eyes of the judges, who thought that her entry was not only highly creative, but also reflected the brief submitted to entrants beforehand.

The new logo will not only be the visual identity of Navitus Bay throughout the development period and beyond, but Danni will also receive £500 spending money, and can add the design to her portfolio of work for the future.

Danni, who is studying toward a Graphic Design Foundation course at the College, said:

“I’m delighted that my design has been chosen as the new logo for Navitus Bay. I love the look of wind farms and actually based my design on the shape and movement of the turbines.”

“Currently I’m doing a project on my course designing a poster to promote the benefits of wind farms, which is what led me to the Navitus Bay website, and why I entered the competition. I firmly believe in renewable energy and feel that wind farms can be very beneficial to the region and the UK.”

Chris Sherrington, Project Director, said, “The whole team was unanimous in selecting Danni’s design as the winning logo and we were very impressed with the creativity and thought given to it. The new logo is another important milestone in the lifetime of the project and we look forward to it being used throughout the development period and beyond.”

The new logo marks the start of the 50/50 joint venture partnership between Eneco and EDF Energy on the proposed Navitus Bay Wind Park, which was announced last Thursday.

For further information please contact the Navitus Bay Press Office on 0845 604 6730 or
navitusbay@mistral-pr.co.uk.

]]> http://the-mouth.co.uk/2012/05/03/new-logo-for-the-navitus-bay-wind-park-created-by-local-student/feed/ 0 http://the-mouth.co.uk/2012/04/26/new-partnership-to-hold-rights-to-navitus-bay-offshore-wind-project/ http://the-mouth.co.uk/2012/04/26/new-partnership-to-hold-rights-to-navitus-bay-offshore-wind-project/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:24:48 +0000 lisanova http://the-mouth.co.uk/?p=468 The exclusive development rights for the proposed Navitus Bay Offshore Wind project, located off the Dorset and Hampshire coasts, and to the west of the Isle of Wight, will now be held by a 50-50 joint venture partnership between Eneco and EDF Energy.

Eneco has chosen to partner with EDF Energy as both companies share a commitment to investing in the UK renewables market and the view that renewable projects of this nature are vital to obtaining a secure, affordable and sustainable future energy supply. In addition, EDF Energy has a strong track record of delivering nationally significant energy projects in the UK, which will complement Eneco’s expertise in developing renewables projects in both the Netherlands and the UK.

To date, Eneco has identified that an offshore wind project of between 900MW and 1200MW of capacity could be located in the northern part of the awarded area, a site which covers 76 square miles and is 8.2 miles away from Peveril Point, Swanage, and 10.2 miles away from the Bournemouth coastline. This would provide enough power to supply between 615,000 and 820,000 homes and will offset approximately 1,186,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions each year.

Eneco and EDF Energy will now work together to continue the outlined programme of onshore and offshore consultation with the local community. This will last until the end of 2013 when a Development Consent Order (the wind farm’s planning application) will be submitted to the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC).

Chris Sherrington, Project Director for Navitus Bay, comments: “We welcome EDF Energy to the Navitus Bay project. They bring solid credentials in developing large renewable projects in the UK and their skills will complement those of the existing Eneco team. We now look forward to working together in consulting with key stakeholders and members of the public about the proposed development programme.”

The first steps for the newly formed partnership will be analysing feedback from the public exhibitions in February and March and identifying an onshore underground cable route to connect the wind park with the National Grid. The partnership will also work together on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) which commences this Summer.

The grant fund was announced as a way of the Council celebrating the two great events happening in this country this year.

The events ranges from an indoor Jubilee ‘street party’ for older people attending Christchurch Day Care Centre to an Olympics Carnival Celebration by Twynham Rangers have received the grant.  As well as other street parties, picnics, lunches and afternoon teas, events also include a water sports ‘mini-olympics’ by the Community Partnership and a ‘Sporting Glory’ exhibition at the Red House Museum.

The 20 organisations to which the Grants have been awarded  are: Red House Museum, Winkton Residents’ Association, Christchurch Community Partnership, Christchurch Community Partnership, Highcliffe St Mark’s Primary School, Christchurch Day Centre, Burecourt Residents’ Association, Mudeford Wood Community Trust, Twynham School , FROGS, Twynham Rangers Football Club, Christchurch Radio Club, Friends of Red House Museum, Christchurch Infant School, Burton Parish Council, Christchurch and District Arts Council, Stanpit Village Hall, Richmond Fellowship, Flambard Avenue Social Club, Friends of Christchurch Junior School.

The QR codes can be scanned by smartphones to automatically access online information related to an item or location. The project has been secured £10,000 of funding from the Arts Council and it will initially be piloted at Bournemouth Library from the end of April with codes attached to literature collections around the library.

Vicki Goldie, the Area Manager South of Bournemouth Library, said: “It is to showcase what we do in libraries, reading groups and reader development, heritage, culture and learning, and hopefully reach new audiences through the use of Smartphone technology. It will also continue the work we do in closing the digital divide.”

Following the pilot, the QR Codes will be rolled out across the town, including at public art locations, the Russell-Cotes Museum, street name signs with links to the ‘Streets of Bournemouth’ virtual museum as well as the seafront and featured at the Arts by the Sea Festival taking place later in the year.

Councillor Lawrence Williams, Cabinet Member for Corporate Policy Implementation, said: “By using QR codes we will be able to showcase local authors, literary and arts events, works of art and heritage sites, and it is a new way to reach people and for them to find all that Bournemouth has to offer.”

The project is expected to be completed on March 2013. Free training will be provided from July 2012 to the public on how this new technology can be used. The QR codes service will be entirely free.

Four mobile CCTV cameras were introduced in April 2011. £46,000 has been invested in them as a part of the Bournemouth Council’s Safer Communities campaign. They can be positioned in any public space within the borough and linked up to the town’s central CCTV control room at Dorset Police Headquarters in Bournemouth. These four cameras have been positioned in 29 different locations across Bournemouth to capture offences including assault, public disorder and burglary resulting in 124 arrests  in last 12 months.

Councillor David Smith, Cabinet Member for Planning and Environment, believes it is a cost effective solution. He said: “The mobile CCTV cameras have proven to be a huge success and are extremely effective. They have enabled the Council to tackle anti-social behaviour hotspots where there currently isn’t any coverage from the town’s fixed CCTV cameras.”

Sergeant Steve Lyne, Dorset Police, said: “The mobile CCTV cameras have been a great tool in reducing crime and anti-social behaviour across the borough making Bournemouth safer.”

Besides these cameras, which will be kept in use, a wireless hub in Moordown to help extend the range of the wirelss cameras will be built up to make sure cameras can be used more effectively in West Howe, Kinson and Muscliffe areas.

Taking place outside the store, barbeques will be fired up and burgers and vegetarian options will be served along with free soft drinks and a Happy Sundaes ice-cream bar.

There will be fun and games for children with a toy area featuring remote control cars, Lego, Duplo, an Easter egg hunt and a colouring competition with prizes for the best entry.

Beales CEO, Tony brown, said: “We wanted to offer Bournemouth shoppers a fun event for the bank holiday weekend and at the same time raise money for charity. We will be donating 50 per cent of all profits made from the barbeque to Help the Heroes.”

Famous Dorset festival, The Dorset Knob Throwing & Food Festival, is holding a Bake Sale on May 6 to mark the start of the week-long event that is hoping to achieve over 100 bake sales and coffee mornings, across Dorset between 7 and 13 May. To date a third of this figure has been reached and the charity is continuing to appeal for businesses, schools, clubs, families and individuals to sign up.

The idea behind The Great Dorset Bake Sale follows on from the charity’s recipe book,Scrumptious Home Baking, which includes recipes from chefs, celebrities and key supporters of Diverse Abilities Plus. Sadie Smith, a fundraiser for the charity and a parent of a child with disabilities, is the driving force behind the initiative.

Sadie Smith said:” The Great Dorset Bake Sale is a fantastic opportunity to raise vital funds for a local charity, especially for those keen bakers out there. We just need you to get baking and then hold a bake sale or coffee morning. Anyone can get involved – businesses, schools, clubs, families or even individuals.  We are asking anyone who enjoys baking to please help us raise some much needed funds to continue to provide round the clock care and support.  And we know you’ll have a super time baking, selling and eating cakes too!”

Children’s television presenter Chris Jarvis, who contributed a recipe to Scrumptious Home Baking, was among those present at the launch last week at Julia’s Kitchen in Poole to enjoy a slice of cake and promote the benefits of baking.

To take part in the Great Dorset Bake Sale and receive a fundraising pack with useful hints and tips for the perfect bake sale, please visit the charity’s website - www.diverseabilitiesplus.org, email sadie.smith@diverseabilitiesplus.org.uk or call 01202 718266.