Jim Addington

It is with great sadness that I report the loss of Jim Addington, who was a member of our committee, and recently passed away peacefully. Jim had been Chairman of Action for UN Renewal since 2003. He started his involvement in international affairs in the early 1980s by becoming a member of Kingston Peace Council and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND). In 1984 he became Chairman of London Region CND representing it on the National Council of CND. One of the campaigns in which he was most involved was that against Cruise and Pershing Missiles. In 1993 he joined UNA’s Surbiton and Elmbridge Branch and since then has participated actively in regional and national UNA events. In 1995 he helped to start Forum for UN Renewal and joined Renew UN and in 2000 they merged to become Action for UN Renewal of which he became Chairman in 2003. Jim had his own family furnishings business for 37 years. Click here for a tribute to Jim by his long-standing friend and colleague Vijay Mehta

Jim will be greatly missed by the London and SE Region, who was an inspiration to many of us.

 Neville Grant (Chairperson)

Neville was vice-chair of the Region since 2005 - taking over as Chair at our recent AGM on 4th November, 2006.  Prior to this, he served as Secretary of the Region between 2004f-5.  A graduate of Bristol, London and Essex Universities, Neville did his National Service in the Ghana Army, and subsequently worked in many parts of the world including Tanzania and Nigeria. A former career officer in the British Council, he is an education writer and consultant now based in London. He is the author of many textbooks, widely used in many different parts of the world. He has been Chair of Blackheath and Greenwich UNA Branch since 1994 and became Secretary of the London & SE Region in November 2004. He is a staunch multi-culturist and internationalist, and espouses strongly the notion of “thinking globally, and acting locally” – he currently edits his local community newspaper in Greenwich.

Tony Colman (President)

 

Tony became President of the Region in 2005, and will serve until 2007.  He was elected as a Member of Parliament for Putney in 1997 and served until the General Election in 2005.  His main work is as Director of Africa Practice which, with its sister company, African Advisory, is representing the African Union's new partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Business Roundtable with a view to delivering on the G8 Gleneagles Agreement.  Tony's experience as an MP has qualified him well for this important role in strengthening the strategic framework for Africa's renewal.  His parliamentary interests included international development, trade and industry, finance, the environment and foreign affairs.  A fuller outline of Tony can be found on page 5 in issue 118 (October 2005) of The Dispatch

Peter Webster (Treasurer)

Peter has been Executive director of Ethical Investment Research Services since 1983. He is a graduate in Mathematics from Oxford University and also has a Masters Degree in Business (MBA). He joined UNA in 1981 and was a member of UNA’s Finance and General Purposes Committee and then Deputy Treasurer from 1982-1987. He has also served on the UNA Membership Committee and UNA Board. He has special experience in the organisation of UNA-UNICEF Flag Days. He is Chairman of Streatham and Clapham UNA and has been the Region’s Treasurer since 1987 and the Chairman of the London and SE Region UNA Trust since 2002.

Executive Committee Members

Max Ehrenwerth

Max is Chairman of Hampstead/Camden UNA Branch, a post he has held since 2001 having previously been Vice Chair from 1997. Since 1999 he has been a member of the Regions Committee. His first posts in UNA were Chairman of Manchester University UNSA (UN Student Association) and National EC Member of UNSA in 1959/60. Max is a consultant and lecturer in management and has worked in the corporate and local Government sectors and lectured at the Botswana Polytechnic, University of East London and Middlesex University Business School. He is a graduate in management from Manchester University and Imperial College, London. He has undertaken projects in Greece, Rome and Geneva. He is a Trustee of two charities: one for Zimbabwe school children and the other linked to the Botswana Society. From 1965-1983 he was Senior Convenor of Camden Council for International Cooperation, including the Camden-Botswana Link and from 1992-2000 the Chairman of UNICEF’s North London Group.

Roger Hallam

Roger is a graduate of Leicester University and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London.  He is a retired teacher of politics and social theory at London Metropolitan University and has considerable management experience as for many years he was Deputy Dean of the Faculty.  He was Chairman of the Enfield Racial Equality Council for over 20 years, latterly focusing on asylum and refugee issues.  He is a founder of Enfield and Barnets UNA branch, where he is responsible for liaising with the Civil Society Forum.

Keith Hindell

Keith is a graduate of the University of Oxford and a lecturer in Diplomatic Studies at both the University of Westminster and the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. He is also a free-lance journalist and has served as UN Correspondent for the BBC in New York. He has been a member of UNA since 1968 and has served as an EC Member of Westminster UNA Branch, as national Board Member as well as Chairman of the London and SE Region. He is currently a member of the Regional Executive Committee and the national policy Committee. He is also Co-ordinator for Western Europe of the World Civil Society Forum.

Sheila Kesby (photo to follow)

Sheila has been a member of Canterbury UNA branch since 1994 and has participated actively in regional and national events.  She is a qualified community nurse who has spent her working life in health and social care.  She is also an active member of NHS Support Federation Association.  She became interested in the plight of asylum seekers and refugees in Kent and devised ways in which UNA could address some of the issues raised.  She played a pivotal role in organising the Global Citizenship event in Dover in April 2004 and the Regional Council meeting, which followed in June.  She has set up a small 'not for profit' company of independent research and project managers called the Gregory Research Interlink (GRI).  She has successfully initiated the 'UN Travelling Road-show' which educates about the role of the UN, and assists ordinary people to work with the UN to resolve global issues that effect them in their local communities.

Linda McCulloch (Minutes Secretary)

Linda was Chair of the Region for 3 years until November 2006.  A graduate in Politics with Development Studies, Linda has spent extensive periods of time in various countries in West Africa.  This sobering experience brought home the acute hardship that many people must endure, and the extreme polarisation of our world.  She believes the need for a strong UN system is paramount, and can be addressed by reaching out to the public at large through grassroots campaigns.   Linda has worked for a major homeless charity in London for the past 7 years.

Sarah MacDougall

Sarah has been Secretary of the West London branch of the UNA since 2005. She is also currently the Chair of the newly formed UNYSA branch at Brunel University. She is a final year law student who recently completed an internship at the Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel in Jackson, Mississippi.

Karl Miller (photo to follow)

Karl Miller Newsletter editor Merton United Nations Association (UNA), Secretary of The Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC) and web site editor for Action for United Nations Renewal. Karl has spoken all over the country, mainly on Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC) and Article 26 of the UN charter. He has attended many peace conferences both in the UK and abroad (e.g. UNA, CND, Peoples Assembly, UN Millennium Forum, Barcelona Dialogues Forum). He has just released 3 CDs of some of his Arms Reduction Coalition (ARC), writings 'ARC Peace Quotes', 'Nurturing ARC Instrumentals' and 'ARC: The UN and Africa' set to original 'World Dialogue Sounds' music. Karl has been a member of the United Nations Association (UNA) for about 10 years, serving on the local Merton branch committee for 5 years and attending their annual conference for about 5 years. Through arms reduction and UN reform he is hoping to improve the life of people in Africa and the poor in the developing world.

Trisha Rogers

Trisha Rogers is an educator and internationalist, who has taught – and written educational material – in the UK, Nigeria, Pakistan and South Korea. She has been Chief Executive of the Council for Education in World Citizenship (formerly the Education Committee of UNA-UK) and of the Pestalozzi International Village. She is now Director of the Jubilee Debt Campaign, working to persuade governments to cancel the unpayable and unjust debts of the world’s poorest countries. Trisha has been a member of UNA-UK for about 20 years. She was on the committee of the Tunbridge Wells branch (where she established the continuing annual MUNGA for local schools) and is now on the committee of the Westminster branch.                

David Wardrop

David Wardrop is a board member of the United Nations Association and is Chairman of UNA Westminster. He serves as Administrator of Strategies for Peace which is developing a new Virtual Library for Peace Support Operations. He is Secretary of the UK Friends of the Alexandria Library and Secretary of the Hammersmith & Fulham Local Agenda 21 Forum. David Joined UNA in 1977 and served on UNA-Marylebone’s Committee 1977-1980. He was Chairman of the London &SE Region 1984-97; and from 1988-1993 he was Chairman of UNA’s Finance and General Purposes Committee. Throughout this period, David has played a major role in a number of UN – UNA sponsored projects, conferences and events. In recent times these have included the Hans Correll International Law Lecture and attending the UN Conference in New York on Millennium Development Goals: Civil Society Takes Action.

Amanda Webster

Amanda has always had a very strong interest in international relations, having studied for a BA in German and Dutch and then an MA in European politics, both at the University of Liverpool.  On moving to London, she worked in the political section of the Korean embassy for two and a half years before moving in October 2003 to her current job as researcher to a Labour MP.  She joined Putney and Roehampton UNA in 2003 and has bee its vice-chairperson since 2004.  She has represented her branch at almost every Regional Council since 2004.

Bruce Robertson
Regional Development Officer

As Regional Development Officer, Bruce provides the link between Head Quarters, the regional Executive and the L&SE Region’s 40 branches. He has held this part time position for 5 years. He also works in the public housing and development sector and serves on a number of housing association’s boards and community trusts. He is a graduate of Sydney University and a valuation surveyor and town planner. In the 1970s he travelled extensively working as a consultant in UNDO/World Bank-funded development projects.