Combatting Hate Crime
Combatting Hate Crime
It is always a great honour to be asked to give a keynote speech at a conference and since this one was organised by a great friend, I was more than happy to accept the invitation.
The Conference was held on campus at the Northampton University. A room had been booked in the campus hotel for my visit. The campus was quite beautiful to wander around and everywhere was spotlessly clean.
The first day of the conference was led by ‘real life stories’ and the positive effect that they have on our young people. My good friend Figen Murray spoke, as well as the most impressive Dr Neville Lawrence. Dr Lawrence is the father of Stephen Lawrence who was murdered in a hate crime 31 years ago. Dr Lawrence is a tall, distinguished gentleman who spoke with quiet dignity and gravitas. The pain of the loss of his son was etched onto his face and very being. That day, he and I shed tears; my tears for his son, his tears for my brother. I made a new friend.
I spoke about the importance of including our youth in any and all methods of combatting hate crime. As you all know, we at GAU have given workshops to over 130,000 students across the country, telling of the murder of my brother by ISIS in 2014. His murder was an act of hate designed to sow hate; an act of terrorism as well as a Hate Crime.
The inspiring Hope Not Hate team were represented by Joe, who spoke eloquently about their work, successes and the odd failure. Most of the speakers cannot be identified for security reasons, however law enforcement, legal, academic and industry were well represented at this superb conference.
Quite often it feels like some of these conferences can be a waste of time, however I can most definitely say that this conference was not one of those. I made some really good contacts and already have tentative invitations to the great city of Northampton. I met old friends and made new – what could be better.
As always Global Acts of Unity goes from strength to strength.
Mike Haines – Founder, Global Acts of Unity
Dr Lawrence speaking at the Combatting Hate Crime Conference with an image of his son Stephen in the background
Dr Lawrence speaking at the Combatting Hate Crime Conference