Dozens of people from different backgrounds and ethnicities came together for a ‘Unity Day’ event held in Grimsby last weekend (20 September).
The event, which took place at Diana Princess of Wales Hospital, was hosted by UNISON, along with the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust’s equality team, to celebrate the contributions made by overseas educated and trained staff working in healthcare in the area.
It included a workshop by singer, songwriter, poet and children’s author Joe Solo, who got everyone attending to come together to sing and dance to song about unity and togetherness. He also performed a book reading for the children attending the event.
The afternoon session was hosted by musician Gary Hammond, who has performed with a number of globally recognised artists including Eric Clapton, Noel Gallagher, and Nina Simone.
His session saw everyone in the room playing an instrument with real enthusiasm, blending together rhythms from African music, Indian music, as well as Eastern European music and Angolan rhythms.
It created a wonderful musical symbol of unity in action – exactly what the day was all about.
As well as the workshops, the day provided everyone attending with the opportunity to socialise and network over lunch – which saw people sharing stories and laughter from different communities and background.
The event brought together people from all walks of life, from different backgrounds, communities and with different experiences: the epitome of unity.
