Community Executive Committee Updates from Your Commiunity Officer, Aparna:

As usual the community executive committee met on the last wednesday of the month and have voted to approve: 

• A new student-led campaign: “You don’t look disabled” for recognising and raising awareness of endometriosis and how it impacts individuals 

• A student-led music showcase event in February will take place for all communities to participate in

• A student-led model UN event proposal to host at Coventry University in the next few weeks. 

The committee also took time to discuss upcoming plans for SHAG week as well as methods to improve the community activity form for students to submit activities. 

Jack Craig , LGBTQIA+ Student Community Engagement Lead 

Hi everyone! It’s February, which means it’s LGBTQIA+ History Month. Here is an update to tell you all of the exciting events planned and some of the work I have been doing as your LGBTQIA+ Community Engagement Lead. 

To celebrate the month, Your Student’s Union and I have got the following events planned: 

• 9th of February: Writing Diversely Workshop with young adult author Wren James. You will need to book to attend this workshop, but it is free. 
• 14th of February: We have a crafternoon planned in the Hub; this would be an excellent opportunity to come along and get crafting with some other LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies, too! 
• 19th of February: Zine-making workshop where we plan on pulling themes that feel important to the LGBTQIA+ community and creating miniature magazines that explore these! If you want to engage in a collaborative project, this one is for you! 
• 23rd of February: Open exhibition and LGBTQIA+ History Month wrap-up event. We have invited local external organisations and groups in to engage with the students at Coventry University. We are also hoping to showcase some of the brilliant creative projects from the workshops above. We would love for students to come along and read some poetry or bring some artwork to the event and celebrate the end of the month. 

Go to the LGBT+ History Month page to view all the events and find out more.

An update on the work I have been carrying out:  

In October, I conducted and presented a report to the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Council about the Transgender Equality Policy, highlighting the gaps in the name change procedure. Since January, I have begun to deliver training across all teams and campuses – currently working with the Student Success Coach Team. This should help to address the gaps in staff knowledge and give staff the tools to support transgender and non-binary students effectively. 

Additionally, the university has agreed to the production of an external-facing webpage. This means that students should be able to access the information regarding the policy and name change procedures a lot easier. It will also mean that there is one place where students can go to find the relevant information. This is currently at the planning and discussion stage – content is beginning to be put together and projected to be complete before the next academic year. 

This has been an exciting few months helping to improve the provision in place for LGBTQIA+ students at Coventry University, and I hope that by the end of my term, these goals will be complete, and students will be better supported. 

If you have any ideas for a campaign or activity please feel free to reach out to community.su@coventry.ac.uk and we can help to make great changes and opportunities for LGBTQIA+ students. 

Sophie Horton, Women’s Student Community Engagement Lead 

As January kicked off the new year, the Women’s community has also started the new year strong! After the success we had last semester, hosting social and educational events for you, we’ve been working hard to plan for this semester and organise the best we can for International Women’s Day, and Women’s History Month.   

Some of you may remember our International AIDS day event, in which we tie-dyed our own tote bags whilst receiving vital information from the NHS. Or you might remember our Women’s Community jewellery and badge making session, which was very popular amongst freshers.   

Either way we have much more coming your way, and if you are yet to attend a Women’s Community event then you won’t miss out. We met so many new faces at the January Activities Fair, discussing your wants and needs- and of course trading Women’s Community stickers, and we can’t wait to meet even more in the upcoming months!  

If you want to get involved in upcoming socials, charity events craft events and International Women’s Day Celebrations, then please sign up to the women’s community through the SU communities page and you’ll never miss an update! 

Oduduabasi Umo-Odiong, International Students’ Community Engagement Lead

The International Community became functional last semester (September to December). So far, the community has organised some interesting activities. During the last semester, we had two Meet & Greet event in preparation for the International Festival. One of those events was done in collaboration with the Global Majority Community. We also had a table tennis pop-up event with Sport Coventry. Presently, the community is driving towards getting everyone involved in the International Festival so we will have a couple of events lined up before the festival. I am really looking forward to the festival and I hope to get more students, communities and societies involved in the planning and organising.

Momina Moin, Global Majority Students’ Community Engagement Lead 

As a global majority community lead, I have been dedicated to foster inclusiveness and diversity among the students. I have orchestrated various events and activities to incorporate a sense of community within the university. One major throwback in 2023 was the commemoration of Black History Month, under which we held a movie night, an open mic night and Networking Fair, with the presence of Black interns Program. I am thrilled to announce the upcoming initiative me and my team members are working on, a Model United Nations event. Through this platform, the students will be empowered to participate as delegates of their countries and advocate for crucial issues known to them. This event completely aligns with our mission to celebrate diversity and create an environment of inclusiveness. 

Lottie Cree, Disabled Students’ Community Engagement Lead 

This month, I’ve been working with the Disability Equality Council to help ensure a good environment for disabled people across Coventry University. I’ve also been working to plan events for upcoming awareness days and weeks, such as Endometriosis Awareness and International Wheelchair Day during March. I am also responding to student feedback surrounding what events and campaigns you would like to see, and working with my fellow Engagement Leads to bring your ideas into reality.