Latest news with #communityorganisations
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Annual Pride event faces financial struggles
The chair of a Pride organisation says financial challenges are putting the future of its main event at risk. Pride in Gloucestershire, which began in 2006, will be asking the public for donations on the gate this year due to a £25,000 shortfall in its budget. Chair Richard Stevens said the cost of putting on the event, which is not ticketed, has increased by £16,000 since 2023. He told BBC Radio Gloucestershire this is "a struggle we're seeing across the UK in Pride and community organisations". More news stories for Gloucestershire Listen to the latest news for Gloucestershire Mr Stevens added: "Grant opportunities are fewer and the competition for that restrictive grant funding is increasing even more. "On top of that, a lot of Pride relies on sponsorship from businesses and, due to the cost of living, we're seeing reductions in sponsors. "It difficult – we've got to try and increase the income we have, or scale back and do what we can do with Pride in Gloucestershire." Gloucestershire Pride events now run in Cheltenham, Cirencester, Cinderford and Tewkesbury, as well as as a larger event in at Gloucester Park, attracting thousands of people. Mr Stevens said in addition to Pride in Gloucestershire, which will take place on 13 September, asking the public for donations, it has also launched a "support wrist band" which will provide another way for people to support the event. Festival goers can also sponsor a toilet at the event for £25 and put a message up in their sponsored toilet. Any public donations will help cover performers' fees, production costs and equipment hire, Mr Stevens added. Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Pride events in smaller towns 'help beat isolation' Thousands to attend Pride headlined by The Cheeky Girls Photographer's work showcases city Pride event Related internet links Pride in Gloucestershire
RNZ News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
Refugee support programme ends with no clear future
Almost 200 refugees have been sponsored through the pilot scheme. Photo: RNZ A pilot scheme allowing community organisations to sponsor and support refugees is over, and its future is up in the air. Twenty-eight groups and businesses have sponsored almost 200 refugees in a three-year trial . The Community Organisation Refugee Sponsorship (CORS) programme helps newcomers secure rentals, enrol at schools and doctors, find jobs and make connections locally. Criteria include refugees being aged 18-45, understanding basic English and having either work skills or a tertiary education. Refugees can be nominated by sponsors or referred by the UNHCR. Associate Immigration Minister Casey Costello is awaiting a report analysing the scheme's outcomes, and said approved CORS refugees were still arriving. "I have a lot of faith in that process, I think it is a very good programme, but we still need to await that review and determine what that will look like into the future," she told MPs at a recent scrutiny committee meeting. "I personally am a significant supporter of the programme, I think it's been a highly successful model. It is, I think, an excellent way of engaging with community directly we've seen some very good success models up in Whangārei, it was a real wraparound engagement." But MPs were concerned that there could be a hiatus after the trial, putting its progress at risk, because there was no specific budget allocation. Costello said Cabinet would have to decide whether it continued at all, and also if it could be funded from existing funds or needed to wait for a budget application next year. "I think it is an excellent programme and I would love to see it continue, again those decisions would have to be made by Cabinet." Community group Multicultural Whangārei sponsored Nimo Ahmed to become the first refugee in the pilot programme. Nimo Ahmed became the first refugee in the pilot programme. Photo: Supplied She escaped war-torn Somalia in 2017 and got to Indonesia, where she worked as a volunteer interpreter and teacher for the Church World Service. In 2018, she founded The Sisterhood Foundation, a refugee-led organisation advocating for the rights of women and girls. Ahmed arrived in Whangārei in 2023 as a sponsored refugee. ON Tuesday, INZ announced she had been appointed to its refugee advisory panel. "Although Whangārei had no refugees before, I initially thought it might be difficult, because people wouldn't understand my background," she said. "Fortunately, they welcomed me for who I am and reassured me that, if I ever needed help, they were there for me. "The Community Sponsorship Programme didn't isolate me or control my choices - it gave me a fresh start. I truly believe this programme can save lives. "It can give girls and boys like me the chance to feel whole again - to be heard, to contribute and to chase our dreams." Other countries - including Australia, the UK, Spain and Germany - have piloted or established community sponsorship programmes. Immigration New Zealand contracted HOST International to oversee the pilot, which finished on Monday. "Overall, a total of 193 sponsored refugees have been welcomed by 28 sponsor groups across 12 locations, and they are settling in well into their communities," said HOST chief executive Birgit Grafarend-Watungwa. "There is strong interest from communities and existing sponsor groups in seeing the programme continue. We are now focusing our efforts on advocating for a permanent, complementary Community Refugee Sponsorship programme that will enable more refugees to reach safety and successfully rebuild their lives within our communities." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Mail & Guardian
26-06-2025
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
The rise and roadblocks of South Africa's green hydrogen economy
Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas made from renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power. (File photo) Africa is uniquely positioned to become a major player in President Cyril Ramaphosa stated this in his Green hydrogen is hydrogen gas made from renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power. It is 'green' because its production does not create pollution or carbon emissions, unlike other types of hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. According to Ramaphosa, green hydrogen is a way to 'marry our continent's mineral riches with our renewable energy endowments' to decarbonise particularly heavy industries, to create jobs, to stimulate investment and to unlock inclusive growth across the various borders. However, While the government continues to tout the economic potential of green hydrogen, including job creation, industrialisation and GDP growth, the coalition said that community organisations want full transparency, proper consultation and evidence of tangible benefits on the ground. In his speech, Ramaphosa noted that there are more than 52 large-scale green hydrogen projects that have been launched across Africa. To date, South Africa has invested more than R1.5 billion into its Hydrogen South Africa programme. A These include the cost factor, capital intensity and the high costs of financing relative to other energy sources, such as natural gas. H2Watch said that, in 2023, civil society had tabled its 'However, fears such as redirection from communities of water resources, displacement, destruction of marine life, environmental harm, lack of consultation and public resources being funnelled into risky, export-driven projects loomed larger.' After the release of the 'Over the last few years, we have seen the green hydrogen bubble bursting, both here and abroad,' noted Fatima Vally, the director of programmes with Vally said that a number of the green hydrogen developments that former minister of public works Patricia de Lille designated as special infrastructure projects in December 2022 'have either stalled or been paused'. H2Watch said that in an April 2024 letter to Macua, AngloAmerican indicated that 'a decision was made to demobilise the In July last year, the developer Enertrag, that was to establish an Mail & Guardian's enquiries. H2Watch said that, in an email response in March, a Sasol official reportedly stated that while green hydrogen 'represents a credible and potentially lucrative industrial horizon for South Africa in coming decades (particularly as a mid-horizon export sector and as a long-horizon replacement for gas), green H2 will not be imminently economical and will not solve our near-term transition challenge'. Matebello Motloung, Sasol's group media relations manager, told the M&G that it continued to view green hydrogen as a 'compelling, long-term opportunity for South Africa, essential both for sustainable industrialisation and for positioning the country as a global clean energy leader'. 'Our abundant renewable energy potential supports this vision. However, while we affirm that the narrative is correct, success depends fundamentally on timing.' The commercial-scale viability of most green-hydrogen applications is still several years away, Motloung said. 'That said, Sasol is taking deliberate steps — responsibly scaling up for when market, technology and regulatory conditions align, balancing carbon reduction with economic growth and shareholder value. 'A clear example is our Sasolburg facility, which is demonstrating renewables-powered electrolysis and low-emission hydrogen production at scale. This facility is laying the groundwork for a broader domestic green hydrogen economy.' Sasol remains firmly committed to green hydrogen, viewing it as a strategic, longer-term mission. 'We are pragmatic, recognising that full-scale, commercially viable deployment is some years ahead. We are investing now, with Sasolburg serving as a proof-point, and will continue to build the ecosystem. And we will scale in line with customer requirements.' According to the coalition, green hydrogen projects are stalling and not coming on stream. 'Unfortunately, government ministers and President Cyril Ramaphosa speak glowingly about green hydrogen projects, giving an impression that the developments are going ahead,' Vally said. 'Stonewalling and revelations that the projects were no longer proceeding is the response that community organisations that are part of … H2Watch have received when they enquired — away from the glare of the media — on what was happening in their localities.' The 'fragility' of South Africa's green hydrogen vision reflects global developments in the sector, H2Watch said. In Europe and Australia, green hydrogen projects have been delayed or scaled back due to high costs, weak demand and uncertain returns. Only about 10% of projects worldwide have reached a final investment decision. 'In China, electrolyser production is being cut due to oversupply and low market demand, raising doubts about the sector's near-term viability,' it said, noting that electrolysers are critical devices used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity. The coalition maintained that unless corrected, the green hydrogen push threatens to replicate extractive, exclusionary development models witnessed in mining and large-scale renewable energy projects. Special economic zones — 'Worse still, civil society warns that South Africa may take on significant public debt to bankroll speculative projects that might never materialise. H2Watch is concerned that project announcements are always loud, yet the details — especially those affecting people's land, water and livelihoods — are not discussed openly.'
