With Peter Kearney and Tommy McKearny, chaired by Bela Arora

Speakers from London Gypsies and Travellers will talk about their experiences and
the work they are currently doing to challenge prejudice and negative stereotypes,
support community activism and use participatory mapping to gather better
evidence.

ILINCA DIACONESCU
Policy Officer
“I coordinate LGT’s strategic policy work, seeking to increase opportunities for
Gypsies and Travellers in London to have a say in decisions that affect
them –particularly in terms of housing, planning and health inequalities. My work
aims to gain recognition of the community’s knowledge and expertise, which is
essential in order to achieve fair and inclusive policies.”

MENA MONGAN
Community Engagement Officer
“I’m an Irish Traveller from London and I came into my job after volunteering for my
community. I challenge everyday discrimination against my people. My job involves
encouraging Travellers to speak out for their rights and get involved in LGT
campaigns and programmes.”

BETSY MOBEY
Youth Engagement and Campaign Support Worker
“I am a proud English Romany from nomadic roots, with a background in
performance and specialist makeup, advocacy and activism. I know too well the
deprivation many of us face on a day to day basis. I’m at LGT to strengthen the
Gypsy, Romany and Traveller voice, countering ignorance and injustice through
campaigning work, community workshops, one to one mentoring and policy
implementation.”
 

Who was really behind the car bomb that killed the heroic journalist Daphne a year ago? Her sister Corrinne Vella joins Juliette Garside (Guardian) and Stephen Grey (Thomson Reuters) who are investigating the various murky threads around the assassination. Chaired by Catrin Nye 

In partnership with the Pavement Magazine

Mat Amp . A spirit forged in the DIY English cultures of punk, reggae and acid house and formative years spent in Nigeria (the other country I’m from). My lived experience of homelessness included stints sofa surfing, squats, shooting galleries, the street and finally hostels. Now a writer for the Pavement as well as working for Groundswell.
 

 

Chaired by Nicola Baird is an environmental journalist who also teaches journalism. She started editing the Pavement in 2018 and has also written/edited 10 books (most recently Why Women Will Save the Planetfor Friends of the Earth/C40)

Anne Cooper has worked on creative writing projects including at the V&A, The South London and Maudsley Hospital and St Mungos Recovery College. She was writer-in-residence at Cressingham Gardens, a council estate facing demolition and working with residents produced the book 306: Living Under the Shadow of Regeneration. She is the author of Touched and the antiwar poem 21st Century Guernica, She has performed widely including at the Bowery Poetry Club NYC.

Denise Collins I became homeless when my relationship broke down and that lead to a domino effect of everything falling down in and around my life...

and 

Rosie Sparklepants

The three women on the panel have all taken part in the From the Ground Up project the Pavement runs with Groundswell. Funded by Comic Relief the project teaches peer journalism skills to people with lived experience of homelessness. This year we are going to focus the problems faced by women who find themselves homeless. 

With Caroline Orr, James Patrick, Zarina Zabrisky and chaired by Peter York