Students and staff from Blackpool and The Fylde College have been enjoying a week long festival of events and activities to promote Equality and Diversity across the organisation under the headline ‘Living the Difference’.

On Tuesday, a group of A Level History students heard testimony from Holocaust survivor Rudi Oppenheimer, as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust and College lecturer Katie Lawless.

Pauline Waterhouse OBE, Principal of Blackpool and The Fylde College said:

“It was a privilege for us to welcome Rudi Oppenheimer to our Bispham campus and his testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced.”

On Wednesday, GCSE Citizenship students invited fellow students to fill out a luggage tag outlining what Equality and Diversity means to them. The tags were then attached to colourful balloons and will brighten up the Hub for the remainder of the week.

Sydnie Poole, 17, who helped organise the event said:

“It’s part of our Active Citizenship coursework to devise an event to promote E&D. I think its an important subject as everyone should be treated equally. We chose balloons as they’re fun and we thought it would attract students. We’ve had a lot of interest and I think we’ve successfully promoted the message.”

At the University Centre, a themed Art, Photography, Graphic Design & Media Exhibition has been installed in the Gallery, Music students have been performing live sets and Performing Arts students held their Equality and Diversity Theatre Showcase , a piece of promenade theatre highlighting equality and diversity issues.

Elsewhere, staff were invited to attend an Equality Forum with guests speakers addressing issues such as social deprivation, living with a disability, prejudice, poverty and social exclusion amongst other thought provoking themes, while a Multi Faith Exhibition in the Hub allowed people to explore culture and faith and meet with a representative from each of the main faiths in Blackpool.

The festival, which rums from 7-11 March, is the College’s first ever week long event to promote Equality and Diversity.