Latest news with #EDI
Hamilton Spectator
16 hours ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
B United to wrap up program with youth-focused events
One final event is planned for the month of June as part of the 'B United: Advancing Inclusion and Empowerment in Brantford' project. Last year, the City of Brantford teamed up with WAKING THE unCONSCIOUS (WtC) to connect with community organizations that engage with youth anywhere from the ages of zero to 14. WtC is a Toronto-based equity and social impact consulting firm that collaborates with its clients to customize solutions that respond to unique organizational needs and helps to tackle critical issues. By using data-driven insights and extensive community engagement, the firm works to create effective and inclusive solutions to address various challenges and to drive meaningful social impact. The B United initiative was designed to train and support Brantford's child and youth serving organizations in addressing systemic racism more effectively. 'This contract was focused around Equity, Diversity and Inclusion [EDI ]and the challenges around diversity and the growth of the city, the influx of new immigrants coming to the city, the historical history of those such as the African Canadians that have lived in the city, and the lack of unification of all those groups working together as our world changes,' said Nicole McKinney, Founder of WtC. 'We are in a global reckoning of change and so the ways of the old world are not the same as our world today.' With the support of the City's Health Kids, All Kids program, WtC worked with the Corporation of the City of Brantford to do two things; one being to offer free, introductory EDI training to those child serving organizations, and two, to create seven non-traditional activity-based events for children. Activities started back in October of 2024, kicking off with a free robotics event at the Brantford Public Library, followed by a Brantford Newcomers event; a Healthy Kids, Happy Families event; a B United Learn About Yourselves Kahoot event; and a B United Ball Hockey event. 'We've really tried to focus on a range of things that kids and people can get involved with within the city and be exposed to,' said McKinney. She said that in order to put all of this together, she was proud to have teamed up with equity-deserving communities within the city to create an advisory committee and gain input on what they wanted to see.' 'That advisory group was selected to make sure that we heard the voices of leaders from these equity-deserving communities in the city, and to help understand the concerns they had, the kinds of activities they felt were most important for children to engage in; activities that were psychologically safe, and that were representative of who they were and also representative of how they want to see their kids engage with other kids,' she said. 'There's been some amazing people within the city that have been so supportive, and those advisory group members need all the credit because they have really stepped up so much.' As far as what community members can expect from the B United initiative during the month of June, there will be free inclusion and empowerment training sessions, intended for child-serving organizations throughout the city, taking place throughout the month. 'If anybody's interested or has questions, they can reach out to us and sign up for training by emailing nicole@ ' The initiative's last event, the B United Sports Clinic, will take place on Friday, June 6, at Waterworks Park from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. While there, children ages six to 14 will have a chance to learn soccer, cricket and lacrosse with accredited coaches. Pre-registration is required, and the link can be found here: 'The idea is to give the kids who are participating some exposure to those activities and to learn from people that maybe don't look like them or that they haven't been exposed to; of course, soccer is more of a universal sport but with lacrosse being a historically Indigenous sport, and cricket being a Southeast Asian sport, it gives them the chance to explore some activities and get to know other kids that they may not have been exposed to before,' said McKinney. 'If the children have a nice time, if they learn something new, and if they sign up to cricket or lacrosse after that, then that is the benefit of doing something like this.' Overall McKinney said that B United has been a good initiative and an overall good starting place, but that naturally, there is still a lot of work to be done. 'I think it's going to take a lot of time to get everybody on board, but I think that we definitely made a start in getting people engaged with the people that make up their community,' she said. Kimberly De Jong's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Civil Service spends £27m on diversity in a year
Whitehall spent £27 million on diversity in a single year, the first ever audit of bureaucracy 'wokery' has revealed. An internal report from the Cabinet Office, commissioned by the last Conservative government, reveals there are 380 'equality, diversity and inclusion' (EDI) staff in the Civil Service. They are paid £53,000 a year on average and their salaries cost taxpayers £20 million overall. EDI staff in departments have been criticised for promoting contested theories such as that there is a spectrum of genders and that people can be guilty of microaggressions towards other people based on their race, gender or sexuality. Gender-critical feminists have also claimed it can make them reluctant to speak openly about their views but proponents claim they ensure minority communities are treated fairly. The cost of activities, including learning and development sessions, added up to £4.9 million in departments and £700,000 cross-government. Another £800,000 was spent on 'external benchmarking' and membership of EDI organisations such as the controversial LGBT charity Stonewall. And £700,000 went towards diversity and inclusion staff networks. This comes to a total of £27.1 million in just one year. This amount would pay for the winter fuel payments of 135,000 pensioners, or would fund the employment of more than 1,000 nurses. The report found that the equivalent of 350 people within departments worked full time in EDI roles, along with 30 in cross-governmental functions. It also said there are 570 'diversity staff networks' in government departments. These networks, with 2,965 committee members, represent different minority groups, and some Civil Service members spend half their weeks running them. The report came as it emerged the Government is planning to get rid of around 50,000 Civil Service posts – one in 10 – to get the size of Whitehall down to pre-Brexit levels. Last night, one Right-leaning think tank called on Labour to go further and sack a half of human resources staff and two in three communications roles to help save £5 billion a year. Meanwhile, Reform UK has made slashing diversity and inclusion roles a key part of its policy platform. The document, Civil Service EDI Expenditure Review Data, appeared on the Cabinet Office website on Thursday afternoon. A total of 19 ministerial departments and 45 arm's-length bodies responded to the government review. The research also looked at how much was spent on EDI in the big five departments – Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office, HM Revenue and Customs, Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice. In 2023-24, the total spent in these five departments was £12.8 million. A government spokesman said the £27 million equated to 0.006 per cent of Civil Service spend. 'This spending took place under the previous government,' she said. 'We are absolutely focused on ensuring every pound spent of taxpayer money delivers for the public – ending hospital backlogs, putting police back on the beat and securing our borders.' Meanwhile, the Policy Exchange think tank called on the Government to go further and reduce the Civil Service by 80,000. Within this, the report proposes halving the size of the senior Civil Service, the policy profession and the HR profession and a 70 per cent reduction in communications staff. Commenting on the report, a former Treasury second permanent secretary said: 'Whether you believe in a big or a small state, we should all want one that is efficient and effective. 'An over-resourced administrative machine inevitably generates ever more process for itself and slows itself down.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Co-op diverts supplies to rural areas as cyber attack triggers shortages
The Co-op is diverting food and drink supplies to remote countryside shops as it battles to avoid shortages in isolated communities following a cyber attack. The retailer, which runs around 2,500 stores across the UK, is understood to be prioritising the supply of essential items to shops on islands and in isolated towns. It follows reports that some of its stores across the Scottish isles have been running increasingly low on food supplies in the wake of the cyber attack, which has forced it to switch off crucial systems and left the business struggling to manage deliveries from its suppliers. Food and drink companies that sell goods to the Co-op said they had been told to cancel deliveries to warehouses in recent days because of problems with its Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system, which is used to maintain and manage stock levels. The issue has led to empty shelves and shortages of goods in some stores, including loo roll, milk and some vegetables. Co-op has been left with empty shelves and shortages of goods in some stores The decision to prioritise stock in more remote stores raises the likelihood of empty shelves in urban centres, it is understood. Co-op is prioritising rural and island outposts because there are some areas where it is the only shop in town, meaning communities could be cut off from essentials or forced to travel long distances to buy supplies. The Co-op declined to comment. The funerals-to-supermarket group has been hit by a devastating cyber attack that has seen data on members stolen and left it unable to use key systems. The Co-op was forced to admit last Friday that the cyber attack was much more serious than it had initially claimed, confessing that customers' data had been stolen, including names and addresses. Some of its shops were also forced to limit payments to cash only earlier this week, though issues with card payments were fixed by Wednesday. Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-op's chief executive, told members in a letter on Monday: 'This is obviously extremely distressing for our colleagues and members, and I am very sorry this happened.' Marks & Spencer and Harrods have been similarly targeted in a string of cyber attacks aimed at British retail companies over recent weeks. The attacks have been linked to groups of teenage hackers and a collective called DragonForce, which has claimed responsibility. DragonForce told the BBC it had stolen data on 20m Co-op customers, though the retailer has not confirmed the number. The Co-op has drafted in government cyber security experts to help as it battles the attack. Staff have also been told they must keep their cameras on in virtual meetings amid fears that hackers could be using internal communication systems to pose as staff. A leading cyber security expert warned over the weekend that the attack on Co-op and the theft of its data could leave millions of members at risk of scams and identity fraud for years. Alan Woodward, of the Surrey Centre for Cyber Security at the University of Surrey, said stolen details could end up being sold on the dark web to scammers. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Techday NZ
07-05-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Jitterbit unveils Harmony upgrade with layered accountable AI agents
Jitterbit has announced the expansion of its Harmony platform with accountable, layered AI technology and the addition of enterprise-ready AI agents to its product portfolio. The company's approach centres on providing not merely AI assistants to assist users, but AI agents capable of autonomously performing complex tasks on behalf of enterprises. A layered AI architecture underpins Harmony, which allows customers to engage with "agentic AI" in three distinct ways: creating their own agents using low-code or natural language, accessing pre-built agents from a curated marketplace, or working with Jitterbit's Professional Services team to develop custom agents according to their requirements. Jitterbit President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Conner said, "We're not just automating; we're transforming how enterprises operate. Jitterbit is delivering the first layered AI and low-code architecture to democratise end-to-end automation with a focus on power, efficiency, and AI accountability. This isn't just about automating tasks; it's about architecting intelligent, autonomous agents with a unified platform that eliminates the 'data divide' between enterprise data and applications." The Harmony platform, which includes integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS), App Builder, API Manager, and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) solutions, is designed to bring together line-of-business leaders and IT or Information Systems experts. This collaborative environment enables both groups to develop AI agents that can be integrated with existing enterprise architecture, thereby seeking to enhance operational efficiency while ensuring control, transparency, and accountability across business processes. CTO Manoj Chaudhary highlighted the flexibility of the platform's layered AI capabilities. "The beauty of our layered AI approach is that our customers can use their current investments to design and implement AI agents, or have Jitterbit do it for them," he said. "We're not isolating AI to a particular product or feature; customers have full control to use low-code or natural language to take their existing implementations and quickly design new AI agents to accelerate their current systems and processes in ways they've never imagined." Jitterbit's solution is designed with security, governance and accountability at its core. The platform allows organisations to create agents with natural language or low-code instructions, access a growing marketplace of vetted AI agents (including third-party offerings), or fully outsource custom agent development to Jitterbit's professional services team. This service will be available to customers from May 2025. Chaudhary stated, "Regardless of how AI agents are built and deployed, trust and accountability are Jitterbit's core tenets. We're empowering organisations with the 'checks and balances' to ensure agents are not only making correct logical decisions, but also providing guardrails to mitigate issues like toxicity and AI hallucination. And, as always, we're providing mechanisms for human oversight and verification for extra layers of accountability." Jitterbit's recent study, 'The 2025 Automation Benchmark Report: Insights from IT Leaders on Enterprise Automation & the Future of AI-Driven Businesses', reported that 99% of surveyed enterprises have already integrated AI into their operations. The survey also found that 31% of enterprises are planning for agentic AI, which points to growing interest in more autonomous decision-making solutions and the need for layered AI alongside comprehensive end-to-end automation. Richard Guest, EMEA Delivery Director at Jeld-Wen, commented on the importance of the new technology. "Accountability is no longer a 'nice-to-have' but a critical driver of business value in the age of agentic AI. A focus on layered and accountable AI enables organisations to confidently scale their automation initiatives, knowing they have the control and visibility needed to achieve strategic outcomes." Potential applications of agentic AI include customer service agents, supply-chain automation, HR onboarding, planning for sales accounts, legal research, and financial analysis. The technology is intended for adoption across a range of sectors, reflecting the growing role of autonomous AI agents in streamlining business processes. In addition to launching the layered AI architecture, Jitterbit announced the general availability of AI assistants for its App Builder and API Manager from June 2025. The App Builder AI Assistant will allow users to build or modify applications through natural language interactions and an interface that can be customised by uploading reference images. The API Manager AI Assistant is intended to reduce API development times by enabling users to build APIs more efficiently with the support of AI integration.
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Engineering students protest at 'LGBT device' challenge but diversity staff escalate row by branding them 'homophobic'
Engineering students at one of Britain's leading universities protested after being asked to design a device to 'improve the life of the LGBT community', it has emerged. Students taking the engineering design module project at King's College London (KCL) previously built prototypes such as Mars rovers, robot drones and a mechanical car. However the most recent assignment reportedly required undergrads to research and identify 'challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community' and design a product to address them. It aimed to 'help engineering students explore and consider that the products they create will be used by a range of different people' as the LGBTQ+ community 'are historically under-represented in engineering'. The request led to a backlash among students, with 74 students signing a petition complaining about the module, according to KCL's student newspaper Roar News. Most complaints questioned the project's relevance to engineering, with students arguing the topic should have been an elective module allowing them to choose from a 'range of underrepresented groups'. Others reportedly stated that the university is 'pushing an agenda' and 'only accepted this module to prove that it is progressive'. Some students from countries with more conservative attitudes to LGBT rights reportedly said they feared for their safety if they took part in the project, while others objected on religious grounds. Others said that the brief of the module, which accounted for 70 per cent of the module grade, was simply impossible for an engineer to achieve in a device. In a complaint sent to professors at the end of last year, students complained that the topic's LGBTQ+ focus 'made some students uncomfortable, particularly those from various religious and cultural backgrounds, who feel their beliefs are not being respected'. Amongst complaints from undergraduates about the project, one student said: 'My religion does not allow me to endorse or be part of something that it prohibits.' Others said they had no issue with the LGBTQ+ focus but felt that it was 'not exactly something that can be solved with electromechanical design'. One student reportedly said the assignment was 'of no help' in becoming an engineer. 'It is a complete waste of my money and experience,' they added. When the university's equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) team was called in by the engineering department for advice, it reportedly condemned dozens of survey responses as 'blatantly anti-LGBTQ+'. EDI staff demanded that a letter be sent to the cohort 'condemning the homophobia the second-year students are promoting', according to the Daily Telegraph. Students then received a letter saying that 'sexual orientation and trans status are protected characteristics and discrimination against anyone on these grounds will not be tolerated'. In November the engineering department broadened the project for a group of international students who were concerned about the political repercussions in their home countries, KCL's student newspaper reported. A KCL spokesman said: 'The aim of this module is technical design - last year this was presented as a task to help engineering students explore and consider that the products they create will be used by a range of different people, often with different life experiences and challenges to their own. 'We regularly review and revise module content across all our subjects to deliver engaging educational programmes that challenge our students, and future iterations of this module will undertake a variety of different tasks.'
