A survey to obtain citizens views on Community Justice has been launched by Community Planning Aberdeen’s Community Justice Group.
Community justice involves a diverse range of services, including health, housing, social work, third sector, as well as the police and courts, working together to repair harm to the community, address offending behaviour and support reintegration back into society.
Community Justice partners in Aberdeen are working to improve outcomes for people involved in the justice system, their families and communities.
In order to inform this work, they want to find out what the priorities, views and experiences are of those involved and to learn from them.
They also want to help communities better understand how the system and services function, to enable citizens support this work and make communities safer and stronger places to live, work and play.
According to statistics nearly two thirds (63%) of Scots do not know what community justice is* or its aims to empower communities and to provide people with the information needed to actively participate.
Aberdeen City Council’s Co-Leader, Councillor Jenny Laing, Chair of Community Planning Aberdeen Board, said: “We need citizens to be part of an effective Community Justice system to ensure that our communities are safer and stronger and by doing so making them better places to live, work and play.
“By raising awareness of what Community Justice is we want communities to actively participate in Community Justice. I would encourage citizens to take part in the survey as the results will help us to further develop community engagement in a matter that affects all of us.”
Jonathan Smith, Chair of Aberdeen Civic Forum and Aberdeen Community Council Forum, said: “It is essential that we all listen to the views of our communities, the experiences of those affected, stories shared by our neighbours and explore ways to be safer and more supported together.
”This is an opportunity for the people of Aberdeen to have a meaningful say in shaping the future of Community Justice, and to be part of making a lasting difference for the future of the city.”
The consultation is now open until 01 February 2020. Please click on the link below to take part in the consultation.
Paper copies of the questionnaire can be obtained by emailing: communityjusticeforall@aberdeencity.gov.uk or by writing to:
Community Justice Officer
Aberdeen City Council
Business Hub 11, 2nd Floor West
Marischal College
Broad Street
Aberdeen
AB10 1AB
The survey coincides with the Scotland-wide Second Chancers campaign, which has been launched by the national body Community Justice Scotland. It aims to raise awareness of what community justice is and building confidence in it as an effective sentencing option that reduces offending, reduces the number of victims and improves lives.
Sentences served in the community are more effective than sentences served in prison. Yet data has shown that nearly two thirds of the public don’t know what community justice is: only 21% of Scots agree that Scotland operates a smart justice system that is robust, effective and fair.*
Aimed at changing perceptions of what justice should look like in 21 century Scotland, Second Chancers is centred around the voices of those whose lives have been touched by the justice system.
Comprising of a series of short documentary films and a touring audio exhibition, the campaign tells authentic and raw stories of success and failure, change and transformation, obstacles and helping hands.
To watch ‘Second Chancer’ please click on the link: https://secondchancers.tv/
*Attitudes towards community justice. Independent research commissioned by Community Justice Scotland, published January 2018.
Are you signed up for this year’s BHGE 10K Running Festival and need a little help to keep your training on track?
Sport Aberdeen is offering one lucky person a free entry for the 2020 BHGE 10K Running Festival as well as the opportunity to share their training journey in the BHGE 10 weeks to 10K, which will be featured in the Evening Express every Saturday in the lead up to race day.
To take part, all you need to do is answer the questions below and send them to: BHGE10K@sportaberdeen.co.uk by 12.00pm on Wednesday 20 February.
Name:
Age:
Email Address:
How many times you have run the BHGE 10K:
Why you feel the BHGE 10 weeks to 10K plan will help you achieve your 10K goals?
The winner will be chosen at random and announced on Thursday 21 February.
Sport Aberdeen, organisers of the North East’s longest running charity road race and official partner, Deeside Mineral Water, have launched a competition for local children to design the label for the water bottles, which will be distributed to participants at the 2019 BHGE 10K Running Festival.
For 2019, Sport Aberdeen is continuing to reduce the amount of single use plastic used and are focusing on the importance of recycling.
With the beautiful Aberdeen beachfront and North Sea as the race’s backdrop, young people from schools across Aberdeen are being asked to design labels that that show how plastic bottles can be recycled responsibly to help save the incredible wildlife found in our local rivers, seas and oceans.
This is the fourth year Deeside Mineral Water has run the competition in partnership with Sport Aberdeen.
Keith Gerrard, Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Healthy and Active Communities, said:
“We were very impressed by last year’s competition entries and hope to build on the number received this year. Sport Aberdeen and Deeside Mineral Water are asking local children to think about the recycling element, with the winning design depicting how single use plastic bottles can be disposed of correctly and how recycling can help climate change.
“We hope children from across Aberdeen will get involved in this great opportunity and promote our sustainable city with their label designs.”
The winning design will be made into the water bottle label that will be handed out to runners at the finish line of the running festival on 5 May 2019. The winning designer will also be invited to see their labels being applied to the bottles on the production line and assist in officially starting the 10K race.
Managing Director of Deeside Mineral Water, Martin Simpson commented:
“We received so many imaginative designs from local children who entered the competition last year. The search is on once again to find the budding artist who will represent both the BHGE 10K Running Festival and Deeside Mineral Water at this year’s race.
“The child behind the winning design will be invited to attend a private tour of the Deeside Mineral Water factory to see their label design being applied to the 2019 race day bottles. They will also receive a case of Deeside Mineral Water and some Sport Aberdeen goodies including freebies and vouchers to be used at Sport Aberdeen venues across the City.”
The entry deadline for label designs is 12.00pm on Monday 4 March 2019.
For more information about the competition or to download entry forms, please visit: www.sportaberdeen.co.uk/deeside-mineral-water-competition
Granite City residents today (15 February) marked the launch of the 2019 Golden Games with a spontaneous dance performance choreographed by Citymoves Dance Agency at Aberdeen’s Bon Accord Centre, performed by dancers in their senior years.
This marks the launch of this year’s action packed games, which will take place at the start of June.
Established in 2011, the Golden Games are delivered by the Active Aberdeen Partnership (AAP) and aim to get older adults actively involved in physical activity regardless of age or ability.
The launch event also served as a thank you to the Golden Game Ambassadors for their continued support in developing, promoting and running the games, which has become a hugely successful and permanent fixture in Aberdeen’s sporting calendar.
Alistair Robertson, spokesman for the Active Aberdeen Partnership, said:
“Taking part in sport and physical activity is something that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy and has been proven to have a positive and lasting impact on a person’s overall health and wellbeing.
“The launch of the 2019 Golden Games is the perfect platform to try something new or return to physical activity in a fun and social environment.
“On behalf of the Active Aberdeen Partnership, I would like to thank each and every one of the ambassadors and organisations who support the initiative for their part in bringing the citywide games to life.”
The 2019 Golden Games will take place from 5 – 14 June and will include activities such as walking football, table tennis, target shooting, diving, skiing, pickleball, dance, health walks and seated exercise, allowing new and regular attendees to take part in physical activity.
Over fifty children with additional support needs (ASN) from six schools across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire took part in the ASN Racquet Sports Festival at Sport Aberdeen’s Aberdeen Tennis Centre.
Organised by Sport Aberdeen’s Active Schools team, with support from Tennis Aberdeen, Badminton Scotland and Aberdeen District Table Tennis Association, the event has become a regular fixture on the ASN calendar.
The non competitive event aims to create a positive, fun atmosphere where children with additional support needs are able to try their hand at sports they may otherwise not get the opportunity to.
Lead Active Schools Coordinator, Grant Wilson, who was in attendance at the event said:
“It was great to see so many children from across different schools have the opportunity to participate in sports they may not usually have access to. This is a great example of working in partnership with national governing bodies, local clubs and our tennis centre.”
This sentiment was echoed by Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Healthy and Active Communities, Keith Gerrard, who commented:
“It is fantastic to see partnerships bringing new activity opportunities to children with additional support needs across the city and shire.
“At Sport Aberdeen, we work with communities to create opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to feel welcome, inspired and empowered to take part in physical activity.”
The 2019 Racquet Sports Festival marked the first time that badminton has been included in the festival programme.
Each of the three sports involved in the festival – Tennis, Badminton and Table Tennis – offer youth pathways, which will allow the participating children to continue their preferred activity within the relevant clubs across the city.
Primary school children from across the city took part in a range of sporting activities as part of this year’s Love Sport Day on 12 February.
Love Sport Day is a citywide initiative which aims to give primary school pupils the opportunity to take part in sport. The event focusses on those who may not have the opportunity to take part in sport throughout the year. This annual celebration of sport aims to encourage participation at all levels and will include a wide variety of activities taking place across the city.
Run by Sport Aberdeen’s Active Schools team in partnership with North East of Scotland College (NESCOL) and Robert Gordon University (RGU), students studying BSc Sports Coaching at RGU and HNC/HND Sports Coaching with Sports Development at NESCOL, helped organise and arrange the events and activities across the participating schools.
Active Schools Coordinator, Sam Main, who took a lead role in the organisation of the day said:
“We are delighted to have organised our biggest ever Love Sport Day this year with events happening throughout the city.
“We hope that everyone who took part enjoyed the day are inspired to take up lots of new sports and activities as a result.
“A big special thanks has to go to all of the staff and students at North East of Scotland College for the hard work they did in organising and running these events.”
All of the events were very well attended, and in some cases fully booked, proving a real appetite for sport amongst the children taking part.
This year’s events took place at Culter School, Dyce Primary, Hazlehead Primary, Seaton Primary School, Skene Square Primary, Oldmachar Academy and Sport Aberdeen’s Get active @ Beacon, Get active @ Sheddocksley and Torry Sports Centre.
Commenting on the success of the event, Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Healthy and Active Communities, Keith Gerrard said:
“Days such as this that help instil a sense of excitement and friendly competition to children are incredibly important in getting young people engaged and setting them on a course to get active and stay active.
“Tuesday’s events were across the board a great success and in many cases were totally booked out. The Active Schools team and North East Scotland College students organised a day that they can all be proud of.”
Sport Aberdeen, organisers of the North East’s longest running charity road race and title sponsor, Baker Hughes, a GE company, are today (8 February) calling on participants to take on the challenge and raise money for a worthy cause as they announced the ten affiliated charities for the 2019 BHGE 10K Running Festival.
The ten worthy causes – including new charities for 2019, The Archie Foundation and ABSAFE – will join existing BHGE 10K affiliate charities Friends of Anchor, Charlie House, Inspire, Cash for Kids, Aberdeen Cyrenians, Children 1st, CLAN, and Befriend a Child in the charity line up for the 2019 event.
Commenting on the ARCHIE Foundation’s selection for the 2019 BHGE 10K Running Festival, Jamie Smith, Regional Fundraising Manager at The ARCHIE Foundation said:
“We are thrilled to be chosen as one of the affiliated charities for the 2019 BHGE 10K. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to raise awareness of the incredible impact ARCHIE has on children and their families across the north of Scotland.
“We are inviting our supporters to sign up to the BHGE 10K and help ARCHIE in making the difference locally.”
Every year, tens of thousands of pounds are raised each year through the BHGE 10K Running Festival and each affiliated charity rely heavily on the funding and donations received to continue delivering the life changing work that they do day in and day out in Aberdeen and the surrounding area.
As an affiliate charity of the BHGE 10K Running Festival, each charity is encouraged to recruit budding runners and those seeking to take on the challenge, to sign up and raise money and awareness in support of their chosen charity.
Keith Gerrard, Sport Aberdeen’s Director of Healthy and Active Communities, said:
“The BHGE 10K Running Festival brings together people from far and wide and is a fantastic example of how partnership working allows us to deliver great events in the North East of Scotland, while raising money for charity.
“We are thrilled to announce the affiliated race charities for 2019 and look forward to welcoming new faces of all ages to the event. The support that the event receives each year is inspiring and I strongly urge anyone who wishes to run the BHGE 10K as their next challenge, to take it on while supporting one of ten deserving causes across Aberdeen.”
Once again, secondary school pupils from across Aberdeen came together for the popular Aberdeen Youth Games (AYG) Secondary Festival of Sport.
The annual event, held at Aberdeen Sports Village, saw the schools compete against each other across a variety of sports, with Aberdeen Grammar being crowned the overall winning school for 2019.
The AYG Secondary Festival of Sport is a one day event made up of six sporting events and is intended to be competitive, promote the positive values of competition amongst young people and give pupils the opportunity to represent their school in their chosen sport.
Over 350 S1 – S3 pupils from nine secondary schools across the city took part in the games, competing in six different sports, including men’s football, women’s football, dodgeball, table tennis, basketball and swimming.
Keith Gerrard, Director of Healthy and Active Communities at Sport Aberdeen, said:
“We are delighted to be working with RGU on the Aberdeen Youth Games initiative. Every year it increases in scale and this year is no exception.
“This partnership underlines how many opportunities there are for young people to take part in physical activity in Aberdeen and highlights how many fantastic young role models there are inspiring their peers to take part in, and enjoy sport.”
The activities were undertaken alongside Scottish Swimming, Basketball Scotland, Aberdeen & District Table Tennis Association, Aberdeen Football Club Community Trust and Granite City Guerrillas.
Since launching in 2013, the Aberdeen Youth Games have become a hugely anticipated and staple event in Aberdeen’s sporting calendar. The initiative is delivered in partnership by RGU, Sport Aberdeen and North East Scotland College (NEScol) and is funded by the Wood Foundation.
Dr Bryan McCann, lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at RGU, who leads the university’s involvement in the programme, said:
“The Aberdeen Youth Games is made possible by our exciting and innovative approach, which allows students to act as community assets and deliver sports coaching to young people across Aberdeen.
“Not only do school children experience the real benefits that sport can bring, but our students gain invaluable work related, real life learning opportunities to enhance their employability, whilst making a huge difference.”
The UK’s foremost leisure services operator body, Community Leisure UK, has appointed Alistair Robertson, Managing Director of registered charity Sport Aberdeen, as Vice Chair of its board.
Mr Robertson was appointed to the position of Vice Chair following the company’s annual general meeting, after serving two years as an Executive Director.
Alistair Robertson, Managing Director of Sport Aberdeen said:
“It is a personal honour to be appointed as Vice Chair of the Community Leisure UK board, however it has come about because of our terrific staff who have helped to make Sport Aberdeen a multi award winning community leisure trust that is widely respected across Scotland.
“It is also thanks to a great Board of Directors and our excellent working partnership with Aberdeen City Council, which is the envy of many other local authorities. The role will ensure that I am able to keep the interests of Aberdeen and Scotland at the forefront of our sectors thinking and developments.
“I also look forward to helping shape leisure trust policy and will continue to press the case for the value of having leisure trusts and all the positive work they do in improving the quality of life for some of the most challenged people within our communities.”
Commenting on his recent appointment, Community Leisure UK Chief Executive, Cate Atwater said:
“I am delighted that Alistair has been appointed Vice Chair of our Board. He has extensive experience in the leisure industry which will be invaluable as we face up to challenging times for our sector.
“What has been achieved in Aberdeen has been acknowledged by professional colleagues in England and Scotland alike and his appointment as Vice Chairman reflects the standing in which he is held.”
Community Leisure UK is governed by an Executive Board from within the membership, whose collective experience helps develop its strategy and annual business plan. The board comprises of four National Executive Directors and up to a maximum of eight Executive Directors. All Directors are elected by the members of Community Leisure UK and can serve for a maximum of three, two year terms.
Aberdeen’s premier outdoor activity provider Adventure Aberdeen, which is part of local charity Sport Aberdeen, has once again been given the green light by the Adventure Activities Licensing Service (AALS) with its 2019 licence renewal.
Adventure Aberdeen’s dedication to providing top quality watersports, climbing and trekking adventures throughout the North East of Scotland is made evident by the successful annual renewal of their license since 1997 and at their current Kingswells base since 2011.
The aim of the AALS is to provide the public with quality assurances that the safety of activity providers is of the highest standard. In this way, its customers can continue to enjoy exciting and stimulating outdoor activities, without being exposed to avoidable risks of injury or death.
Sport Aberdeen’s Outdoor and Adventurous Activity Manager, Mike Gifford said:
“The renewal of our Adventure Activities License is integral to the running of business at Adventure Aberdeen. Everyone at Adventure Aberdeen is dedicated to providing the best in outdoor activities, both in terms of the experience given and the safety that is ensured when you use our service.”