Hi guys this is what I’ve been up to recently, This blog is a lot longer than usual as I took the feedback from the last council meeting and incorporated more details into what I’ve been doing!

One World Essex

Finalising the event

One World Essex is approaching, and I have been working diligently to finalise all remaining aspects of the event to ensure a seamless and engaging experience for students. One of the key highlights of the event is the flag parade, where students from different nationalities will have the opportunity to proudly represent their home countries. This will be accompanied by cultural performances, showcasing a diverse range of artistic expressions, including traditional dances, music, and spoken word performances. However if a student wants to represent another flag that is not their they can also do that!

Ensuring the smooth execution of these activities has involved coordinating with various cultural  student societies, confirming performers, and organising it with the engagement department to make sure everything runs smoothly. I also want to say a big thank you to Rob from engagement as he started working with us quite recently but has been helping me with this project since the start and giving me ideas to incorporate into this project.

Fashion Show Collaboration

In collaboration with the Fashion Society and Sairah (International Students Rep), we are currently in the early stages of planning a large-scale cultural fashion event, scheduled to take place in Sub Zero in May. The vision for this event is to provide an inclusive platform for students from various cultural backgrounds to showcase their traditional and modern fashion styles, celebrating diversity through creativity.

Right now, we are focusing on laying the groundwork, which includes:

• Budget Planning – Working out how much funding we will require for venue costs, lighting, decorations, promotional materials, and any additional logistical expenses. And other things that come with hosting a fashion show
• Sponsorship and Partnerships – Exploring potential collaborations with local businesses, student societies, and external fashion brands to enhance the event’s scale and impact.
• Participant Recruitment – Engaging with students who would like to model, design, or contribute behind the scenes.
• Marketing Strategy – Planning a promotional campaign to maximize attendance and engagement from the student community.

Iv had a meeting with them last week however, we are having another meeting this Friday with all the fashion society execs present. To further expand on points and create deadlines.

One World Essex Football Tournament

One of the most exciting initiatives within One World Essex is the international football tournament, which I am organizing alongside Ian (VP of Activities). The idea behind this event is to foster a spirit of friendly competition while celebrating cultural diversity through sport. Teams will have the opportunity to represent their home countries, creating a World Cup style atmosphere where students can cheer for their nations.

To make the event more engaging, we are working on securing prizes for the winning teams to encourage participation and bring an added level of competitiveness. This involves reaching out to potential sponsors, the SU, and external businesses for support. Additionally, we are looking into hiring referees and match officials to maintain fairness throughout the tournament if we can’t hire them, we plan on using students as referees taking inspiration from the Italian society when they have hosted this event. I attend one last year and had a blast so a big thank you to the Italian society and Elena for putting them on so frequently.

Cultural Food Market Challenges

Initially, I aimed to organise a Cultural Food Market, where student societies could prepare and sell authentic dishes from their home countries, allowing students to experience a wide range of international foods. However, due to low engagement from societies, with fewer than five societies signing up, the event has unfortunately been cancelled that is not to say it can’t take place later during the year

One of the primary obstacles appears to be the requirement for food hygiene certificates, which may have discouraged societies from participating. While the SU has a dedicated page providing guidance on obtaining these certificates, it seems that many societies are still unsure about the process or lack the resources to comply with these regulations.

To address this, I am planning to:

• Reach out to societies individually to understand their concerns and offer direct support.
• Work with the SU to simplify the certification process or provide clearer guidance.
• Explore alternative options, such as partnering societies with certified caterers to allow them to still showcase their cultural food.

My goal is to ensure that every cultural society has the opportunity to share their culture with other students, even if the food market itself does not happen this year.

World Kindness Day

For World Kindness Day, I worked alongside Lilly and other student leaders and also other students also want to thank them for their help as the event would of not taken place without their help . My involvement included assisting with the event’s logistics , helping set up the stool and other things, also engaging with students during the day, for them to write kind notes.

Some of the activities we helped facilitate included:

• Encouraging students to write kindness notes, which would go along side the plants that we gave out which a student could keep for themselves or pass it on to other students.
• Handing out plants as gestures of world kindness day

By the end of the day, the event had successfully created a warm and welcoming atmosphere across campus, and I was proud to have been a part of it. And I want to thank Lily may for giving me the opportunity to be involved with this event

Shag Week

During Shag Week, which focuses on raising awareness about sexual health and healthy relationships, I supported Nifemi in ensuring that all planned activities ran smoothly. My responsibilities involved assisting with event setup and being available to step in wherever extra support was needed.

This event is particularly important as it helps destigmatise conversations around sexual health and wellbeing, encouraging students to engage in discussions in a safe and educational environment. But also, to create a fun and educational space for the events thanks to Nifemi.

Campus Cat Scavenger Hunt

One of the more interactive and engaging activities I supported recently was the Campus Cat Scavenger Hunt. My role involved:

• Replenishing the hidden cat figurines across campus daily to ensure the event remained fun and challenging.
• Keeping inventory records, tracking the locations and availability of the figurines.
• Monitoring student participation and adjusting where necessary to keep the event engaging.

This was a fantastic way to encourage students to explore campus, build community spirit, and take part in a light hearted activity during busy academic weeks. I often saw students in groups searching for cats which was fun to see.

Southern Unions Conference

Attending the Southern Unions Conference was an eye-opening experience that provided me with the opportunity to:

• Engage with other sabbatical officers from universities across the region, sharing best practices and learning from each other’s experiences.
• Gain insights from industry experts on student engagement, leadership, and policy-making.
• Discuss innovative event ideas, some of which I hope to implement at Essex in the future.

This conference reinforced the importance of collaboration and knowledge-sharing among student unions, and I walked away with new perspectives on how we can enhance student life at our university.

Student Priorities Paper

I have also been contributing to the development of the Student Priorities Paper, which will be presented to key university decision makers, including the new Vice Chancellor, University Council, and Senate. This document aims to highlight the most pressing student concerns, such as academic support, cost-of-living challenges, mental health resources, and student experience improvements.

By ensuring that this paper is comprehensive and well researched and student focused , we aim to create real institutional change that benefits students both now and in the future. Moreover these are points which the university can act on when their financial situation gets better in the near future.

Rebellion – Spill Your Guts Charity Event

As part of a fundraising initiative, I took part in a live  Spill Your Guts challenge, an event inspired by other shows online that students are familiar with. Alongside other student leaders, I participated in hilarious and often challenging food related dares to encourage donations for charity.

The event was not only a fun experience but also a great way to engage students, even though we had to suffer eating questionable foods I’m glad certain students got a laugh out of it.

Other Contributions

• Supporting the Engagement Team with event planning, advertising, and social media promotions.
• Assisting with Student Elections, helping with different aspects whenever I was needed.
• Attending university committees, reviewing policies, and advocating for student interests.