The Government has announced an additional £250,000 grant in support of the Mayflower 400 commemorations, to mark the 400th anniversary on 16th September 2020 of the Mayflower sailing.

The funding will be used to promote and encourage American visitors to join the anniversary in England and to develop a ‘digital Mayflower trail’ which will bring to life individual stories, heritage and culture of each location involved in the commemorations. This is expected to be launched in November 2019.

The sailing of the Mayflower is celebrated by many in the United States as the beginning of a national legacy, and in the UK as the beginning of an enduring alliance.

Plymouth is leading a national partnership of 11 destinations within England which are currently developing a year-long programme of cultural events and activities as part of the anniversary. Plymouth itself is undergoing a major transformation that will bring in commercial and cultural opportunities to the city on a scale not seen since its rebuilding after the end of the Second World War.

The Mayflower 400 commemorations will form the main part of a wider, year-long national and international cultural programme connecting England, the United States, the native American Nation and the Netherlands in the four-nation commemoration.

The announcement follows a recent visit to Plymouth’s historic waterfront area by Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, where details of the cultural, maritime, military, heritage and sporting programmes and events were presented to him.

Michael Ellis, Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said:

I was delighted to recently visit Plymouth’s Mayflower Steps, to meet those working on the commemorations, which will celebrate centuries of shared UK and American history and promote Plymouth to the world in 2020. Anniversaries such as Mayflower 400 play a vital role in proving that the UK is open for business.

This has the potential to have a similar effect on the city as the UK City of Culture 2017 had in Hull, and will have on Coventry in 2021. That’s why we fully support the commemorations, which will play a major part in ensuring a strong legacy for Plymouth as a tourist destination”.

Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said:

Plymouth has a long and proud global heritage, I am excited that our city is leading a national and international partnership to commemorate the world changing endeavours of the Mayflower Pilgrims. It’s great to get this additional financial commitment from national government for Plymouth and the UK partners.

Amanda Lumley, Executive Director of Destination Plymouth, said:

We are delighted that the Government has recognised the opportunity that Mayflower 400 presents not just in 2020 as part of the main anniversary commemoration but the legacy that can continue as the whole East coast of America turns 400 over the next ten years.

Over 25 million Americans are descended from the passengers and crew of the ship, including five previous American Presidents. We are very thankful of the support from VisitEngland, VisitBritain and our wider partnership in helping us to make the most of this exciting anniversary.

The Mayflower left Plymouth on 16 September 1620 (according to the Gregorian calendar), arriving 56 days later on 11 November in Cape Cod on the East Coast of the United States. Approximately 35 million Americans today trace their ancestry to a Mayflower passenger.

Initiatives that encourage tourists to travel beyond London and see what the whole UK has to offer are a key focus of the Government’s Tourism Action Plan.

Notes to Editors

• Plymouth leads the Mayflower 400 programme, aligning 11 core destinations in England (Austerfield & Doncaster, Boston, Dartmouth, Gainsborough, Harwich, Immingham, Scrooby & Babworth, Rotherhithe, Southampton & Worcestershire) with wider national and international partners in Holland (Leiden) and the United States (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
• The programme will deliver a world class series of events, public art and wider content that will commemorate this exceptional voyage and provide a major ongoing impact across the partnership, knitting together communities, inspiring creativity and culture, driving economic growth, and promoting understanding and education

The Minister of State for the United Nations (UN) and Commonwealth has led UK tributes at the funeral of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon joined His Excellency President Akufo-Addo of Ghana and world leaders at the funeral, held in Accra, where he conveyed condolences on behalf of the UK Government.

Lord Ahmad said:

The whole world has come together to mourn the loss of Kofi Annan. I am honoured to have represented the UK Government and the British people to pay our deep respects. He has left behind an incredible legacy, particularly his work on human rights and justice at the UN.

Whilst in Ghana, Lord Ahmad met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Shirley Botchway. They discussed a number of issues in UK-Ghana relations, including our countries’ visions for the Commonwealth and priority issues for this month’s UN General Assembly. Lord Ahmad also met with Minister of Defence Dominic Nitiwul on regional security and met with Ghana’s new Electoral Commissioner Jean Mensa to hear about Ghana’s preparations for future elections.

Lord Ahmad visited a UK-supported workshop with Ghanaian law enforcement agencies involved in tackling Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, seeing the practical cooperation between the UK and Ghana, that is helping to bring perpetrators to justice and protect vulnerable people. He also paid a visit to the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, reflecting on Ghana’s reputation for religious coexistence and his priorities as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Further information

Published 14 September 2018

Law fairs are a good opportunity for students to find out more about the work of government lawyers and the legal trainee scheme.

Please contact the universities listed below for further details about their law fairs.

University	Date
City, University of London	Wednesday 10 October
Bristol University	Thursday 11 October
University of Nottingham	Monday 15 October
University of Huddersfield	Tuesday 16 October
University of Sheffield	Wednesday 17 October
University of Cambridge	Thursday 18 October
University of Leeds	Thursday 18 October
Queen Mary, University of London	Tuesday 23 October
University of Warwick	Tuesday 23 October
University of Leicester	Wednesday 24 October
King’s College London	Thursday 25 October
Bar Pupillage Fair	Saturday 27 October
Cardiff University	Tuesday 30 October
University College London	Tuesday 30 October
University of Reading	Wednesday 31 October
University of Oxford	Saturday 3 November
University of Hull	Wednesday 7 November
University of Sussex and University of Brighton	Wednesday 7 November
University of Manchester	Tuesday 13 November
University of Exeter	Tuesday 13 November
Durham University	Wednesday 21 November
University of Birmingham	Wednesday 21 November
University of Southampton	Wednesday 21 November
London Law Fair	Wednesday 28 November

Published 14 September 2018

This year the Military and Emergency Pharmacy Section (MEPS) of FIP represented over 20 countries. Members are from a variety of defence organisations including those from Canada, New Zealand, Ireland and the Australian Medical Assistance team and non government organisations working in the field of disaster relief.

The UK military were represented with Lt Col Ellie Williams co-ordinating the core MEPS events, including a meet and greet event at the Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum, a formal dinner night at the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Host Nation Study Day. The latter was held at Edinburgh Castle and supported by a multidisciplinary UK defence team presenting on vaccinations, the fielding of a new operational analgesia and distribution of blood products in field conditions.

MEPS president said

The visit to Edinburgh Castle was especially informative. The presentations demonstrated the similar challenges and opportunities that most of our organisations face. This ability to share and resolve problems together is what makes MEPS a successful collaboration of pharmacists.

Published 14 September 2018