Baroness Cox discussion on persecution

Public Discussion: Persecution: how to reach the victims?
Introduced by Baroness Cox

8pm Wednesday 8 May 2013, Elham Village Hall
Wine and other cold drinks from 7.30 pm

We have designed the publicity for another fascinating and high quality discussion on the FAQs of life. It should be really interesting and insightful as Baroness Cox has great experience in this issue.

Baroness Cox has many responsibilities and concerns focused on human rights, aiming to help groups abused in different ways. At times she runs the risk of being thought politically incorrect. She took part in an undercover operation on the impact of Sharia Councils on women in Britain which was shown on BBC Panorama yesterday evening. and may be seen now on BBC Panorama iPlayer (for 22 April). Her Private Members Bill in the House of Lords aims to make it illegal for these Councils to set themselves up as family courts. And yesterday, by coincidence, she asked a question in the House of Lords on Female Genital Mutilation, another of her concerns. These are linked with global problems, and as founder and CEO of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) Lady Cox travels to HART funded aid and advocacy programmes in Nagorno-Karabagh, Burma, East Timor, India, Nigeria, southern Sudan and northern Uganda. She was involved earlier in helping victims of Communist regimes. In introducing the discussion Baroness Cox will tell of her travels so that we can imagine travelling with her, meeting persecuted groups, helping the victims and exposing those who persecute and enslave others. There will be time for questions and discussion about ways to reduce the occurrence of such horrors in our world. For many people in many countries problems such as these raise many FAQs of Life. We shall be, of course, be free to ask in discussion about the feedback on Sharia courts and other concerns. These are sombre and important themes but it should be a lively discussion.

Winter 2013 in Kent

Captured on iPhone, retouched in Photoshop CS5.1, seen on dog walk

Assisted dying public discussion

Public Discussion: Assisted Dying – should the law be changed?All are welcome on Thurs 7 Feb, 8pm at Elham Village Hall

Introduced by Dr Jim Appleyard

Consultant paediatrician at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital from 1971 to 1999, who has among other things worked in Uganda, Grenada and New York, chaired Committees on medical ethics and been President of the World Medical Association.

Wine and other cold drinks from 7.30 pm

Canterbury Choral Society website breaks 80,000 hits per month

The Wordpress website we built and manage for Canterbury Choral Society received 83,417 hits in January 2013.

Website visits, unique visitors, pages and files have all also grown by around 100% since the website was launched 8 months ago.

The statistics are compelling but it is important not to focus solely on these. It's all very well driving traffic to a website but it is even more important that the user experience is as enjoyable, useful and smooth as possible once the visitor arrives.

Tips to improve website visibility and user experience:

1. Match page titles, descriptions, tags and content as closely as possible
2. Be completely truthful about the website in all search engine optimisation as relevant visitors who will benefit from your website are all that matter if your website has any higher purpose (which it must have) than just attracting hits. Also, users will ignore a search engine that sends them to the wrong place and the search engine will ignore your website for hurting its relationship with its users. Ignore quick fix, underhand tricks
3. As well as asking website visitors for feedback, look at search terms used to find the website for a clearer picture of your audience and what they are seeking
4. Once you have a picture of your audience and their interests, write content for them
5. There is no substitute for constant (daily if you can, if not weekly) updates to website content to increase visibility in search engines and deliver a better user experience to returning visitors. Website management must be scheduled into someone's working week or a third party like us must be contracted to keep the website fresh and lively
6. If a visitor makes a sensible request for new information, add it. It will bring loyalty and it is highly unlikely that they are the only person who has been searching for the information

Visit www.canterburychoral.co.uk

Identity Search recruitment consultancy launched

Identity Search is a recruitment consultancy specialising in the UK creative sector. We provided branding, website and marketing for the launch at the end of 2012. A fresh and intriguing presence was needed to be memorable to this design conscious target audience.

The strapline 'finding your future' encapsulates the benefit of the company to all its clients, be them employers or employees. To make this mission statement specific to the creative sector, we used recruitment relevant quotes from great creatives, past and present – as if they themselves were being interviewed.

InTec website in English and Portuguese

At the end of 2012 we launched a new website for InTec, a Brazilian process engineering provider.

The website was produced and launched simultaneously in English and Portuguese for Brazilian and US clients and partners in Brazilian industry. Sectors include Oil and Gas, mining, automotive, paper and cellulose, biofuels, steel, public utilities and chemicals. InTec partners international engineering and technology companies in implanting, expanding and maintaining industrial plants throughout Brazil.

The language is highly technical and specific so it is a great comfort to our Brazilian clients that we translate from Portuguese to English in-house so translators are guaranteed experts in their business.

Visit website

Signpost JobClub

We've just completed the branding and marketing for the Signpost JobClub

Signpost is a charity giving free and confidential counselling for 11-25 year olds in Watford, Three Rivers, Hertsmere and surrounding areas. The JobClub helps young adults into employment with a package of support to help them 'tick all the boxes' employers are looking for. The branding has been designed around this idea. The marketing uses 'tools of the trade' to highlight JobClub support and link it to a workplace context.

Highlights include:

1. Coaching to develop confidence, self-belief, appreciation of your strengths and how to sell them
2. Develop job search skills
3. Improve CV and interview technique
4. Identify marketable skills and experience
5. Drama coaching on body language and voice projection
6. Counselling for anxieties and phobias
7. Work placements giving references for job applications

We hope the JobClub is a great success. It's an excellent and very useful initiative in a confidence-sapping economic climate.