| Lisa Smith (Co-chair) | Apologies |
| Candace Thomas (Co-chair) | Present |
| Esther Stubbs (Vice-chair) | Apologies |
| Marie Bowers (Vice-chair) | Present |
| Anne Walker (Treasurer) | Present |
| Hazel Marsh | Apologies |
| Colin Clark | Present |
| Brian Foster | Present |
| Margaret Wood | Present |
| Aluna Lepadatu | Apologies |
| Thomas Acton | Present |
Agenda
- Apologies
- Minutes of previous Meeting
- Matters Arising
- Finance Update
- Correspondence
- Priorities for 2o25
- AOB
Minutes of previous meeting
Matters arising
Candace has contacted Chelsea McDonagh about her potential reinvolvement with ACERT. She is interested but hasn’t much time. We could explore the possibility of focusing on specific activities like podcasts rather than full involvement.
Agreed/Amended
Agreed to ask Chelsea if she’d like to attend the next meeting.
Finance
Discussion
- CAFbank £7288
- Paypal £700
- TOTAL £7988
Action
Correspondence
Summary
- Supportive response by Sue Mutter to our Thank You letter. She wishes to remain a member.
- Margaret mentioned that Cambridge City Council’s midsummer fair won’t proceed as planned. We need to offer support Jolene, who is being made redundant in August and had her fair cancelled.
- Thomas reported on a successful traveler-friendly churches event attended by 70-80 people.
Actions
- Margaret to contact Jolene personally regarding the cancellation of the Cambridge Midsummer Fair event.
Social Media
Discussion
The group discussed a recent Facebook post featuring an updated logo, which was well-received.
EC members haven’t yet been asked to record self-introduction videos for social media content. Marie suggested recording short voice notes or videos for social media to introduce EC members
Action
Higher Education Forum
Discussion
Marie reported progress on organising the Higher Education Forum meeting having reached out to academic colleagues in Glasgow and Eire. Margaret has contacted Owen Ward and Michael Barber for potential input.
Action
Future Conferences
Discussion
The group discussed finding speakers for future conferences, with Margaret recalling Helen Snelson from York University who emphasized the importance of discussing topics beyond the Holocaust. They explored potential contacts, including a former secondary school teaching assistant in Pembrokeshire who worked with Traveller pupils, and discussed reaching out to pledge schools to understand their experiences. Marie offered to contact her old primary school in Glasgow for potential speakers, while ACERT might organise gatherings for pledge schools to share their experiences and insights.
Lisa Smith’s film about Welsh Gypsies will be broadcast at New Voices from Wales, Series 8: 3. Romany: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002f5vb via bbciplayer, with a week-long series celebrating Romany culture, including live programmes following caravan journeys and folk dancing events in various Welsh locations. We would like to build on Lisa’s work but are somewhat frustrated by the difficulties contacting her.
Action
GRT History Month Events
Discussion
Luna shared some of the difficulties she had had trying to arrange a showing of her short film encouraging Roma young people to apply for Higher Education. She believes it is now sorted out but would welcome the support of London EC members.
Marie’s is participating in the House of Lords event for Gypsy Roma Traveler History Month, where she will record content for both a podcast and social media.
Action
Esther, Thomas and Brian will join Luna at City Hall on Friday 27th June
Education Support Network
Network agenda
Marie has agreed to make the presentation she has prepared for a meeting of librarians highlighting GRTSB scientists and extending the month’s activities beyond schools. We have no other speakers so it may need to be a shortened meeting. We need to make a plan for 2025-6.
One idea would be to ask a different Network member to host each meeting, talking about the local issues they face, role models, exemplary practice etc. Members could share updates from their schools or communities, with Margaret noting they would need help identifying suitable contacts for this initiative. ACERT has the opportunity to build on contacts across the UK.
Action
Agreed to suggest the new format to the forum on 11th June.
Next meeting
12th July 2025 17:30 via Zoom.
Plan to schedule a face-to-face EC meeting in January, as a conference would be too difficult to organize in the current timeframe.
