GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017
is a phenomenon I also found when I was running the programming at Classic
FM. People who could enjoy classical music were intimidated by the
paraphernalia around it and once you strip that away and treat it like any other
music then it is accessible for anyone and that is why it was written.
In a moment Michael is going to talk about the importance of storytelling in the
Labour Movement and in that context I think the GFTU’s Educational Trust
work is more important than ever. My take on intimidation is this. Those who
wield power today fortify their position through intimidation. That process of
intimidation is applied sometimes overtly, but more often it is applied covertly.
Sometimes intimidation is with force and sometimes it is via sugar coated
words of reasonableness, strong and stable leadership, and to stand up to
intimidation requires similarly varied tactics, but the strategic core of any
resistance to intimidation can only be based on ideas, on our powers of
imagination, on creativity and if you do not have a coherent ideology and a
confidence that what we represent is right, then in the face of intimidation you
will back down. In the current political context I believe the work of the
Educational Trust is more important than ever and it has to be delivered in a
creative way and in a way which people understand and can relate to, because
that is what will give them the confidence to stand up to intimidation.
The development plans around Quorn Grange and the nursery are designed to
ensure, as we have just heard, that the organisation has a viable future, whilst
at the same time creating an asset, both for the GFTU, but also the wider
movement. Acquiring those assets certainly was a brave call, but I absolutely
believe it was the right call. You will see in the Educational Trust’s report there
are five principles underpinning the educational strategy. These principles are
about developing understanding of political and economic contexts, both
current and historical, but they are also about increasing confidence of activists
via information, via knowledge and via skills and, finally, about the values of our
movement, the values of the Labour Movement. In these courses you will see
there is more interaction, there is drama, there is art, there is music and there
are festivals and there are also now inputs designed to help trade unions to
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