Get an update on how the National Union Students National Conference 2021 is going.
Today (6th April) was the first day of the National Union Students National Conference 2021. We sent four representatives, as voted by you, to speak on behalf of all of the students at Canterbury Christ Church. Those representatives are:
Alice Lundy, BSc Sociology
Beth Elwood, CCSU President (Development)
Helen Ross, LLM International Business and Law Student
Natalie Moore, PGCE Secondary Education
The day began with a ‘guess that biscuit’ quiz, which ended in the battle of the bourbon vs custard cream. Our delegates then put this debate to the student body. It was a close result, but bourbons just snuck in the win.
The conference opened with a powerful and inspirational speech from NUS President Larissa Kennedy. Themes included fighting for change, empowering our students and making a real difference
“We collectively as a movement get to decide, what the history books say about this era” - Larissa Kennedy
We then had a panel talk from Larissa, Chanté Joseph and Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan around racial prejudice and the student movement.
After lunch, the delegates split up to attend different sessions. Beth and Alice attended a session around Campaigning on Campus.
“One thing that really stood out to me was the discussion around virtual life and how inclusive it has made our day to day activities. We had a really useful discussion around the positive impact of online learning and meetings for our disabled students, student parents, commuters and others. Whilst it is important to remember that the virtual environment does not benefit all students within those groups, keeping our events, learning and campaigns available online is the future”- Beth
“It was incredible to learn from people who have different life experiences. Learning the differing types of activism helped me see how I was already actively involved in improving the community at Christ Church”- Alice
Natalie attended a session on Decolonisation in Practice: Running Campaigns.
“By getting involved with the ‘Decolonisation in Practice: Running Campaigns as a student campaigner’ talk from campaign day one, I have learnt that there is so much that we can do as students to make our university surroundings feel safe and inclusive for all of us. All of us can seek to close the BAME attainment gap that is present by considering our personal thoughts about decolonisation, asking ourselves questions, trying to take the focus away from a Western, white point of view, and consider how we as students can elicit change and support those of BAME ethnicities.” -Natalie
That concludes day 1 of our conference. Our delegates will be back again tomorrow to discuss policies on: