News
Alumnus award for radio presenter
The 2008 Alumnus of the Year honour will be awarded to BBC radio presenter
Dotun Adebayo in July.
Dotun Adebayo was born in Nigeria in 1960 and came to Britain five
years later. After graduating from the Universities of Essex and Stockholm
he became a music journalist for publications including NME, Melody
Maker, Time Out and Echoes.
Today, he combines presenting on Radio Five Live and BBC London with
guest slots on BBC 2’s Culture Show and Newsnight Review.
Dotun is also an accomplished writer and publisher and founded the
publishing company X Press.
In summer 2007, Dotun launched Britain’s first general interest black
internet television station, colourtelly.tv, which aims to represent
under-served or neglected minority viewers.
For details of who will receive honorary degrees at the July graduation
ceremonies see pages ten and 11.
Film explores freedom of expression
A new film exploring the right to freedom of expression will have a
special preview screening at the University in May as part of the Human
Rights Centre’s 25th anniversary celebrations.
The feature-length documentary An Independent Mind, by Bafta
award-winning director Rex Bloomstein, features eight characters from
around the world attempting to exercise their right to freely express
themselves.
Their stories include facing the threat of imprisonment for drawing a
cartoon of the president, being sent to a labour camp for telling a joke,
and being tortured for writing a poem. They focus not just on the
developing world but also on Western democracies.
Rex Bloomstein will attend the screening and take part in a panel
discussion with Professor Sir Nigel Rodley and Professor Kevin Boyle from
the Human Rights Centre.
Kai Yin Low, who has organised the successful Human Rights Film Series,
said: ‘Freedom of expression is enshrined in international human rights
law, however it is a right that is subject to limitations and derogations.
The event is sure to promote informed and lively debate.’
Rex Bloomstein began his career as a documentary director with the BBC.
His films about the Strangeways prison riots won British Academy awards.
He has also produced and directed a number of acclaimed historical studies
for television, many exploring Holocaust related topics.
The screening, which is free and open to the public, takes place at 6pm
on 7 May in LTB 10 on the Colchester Campus. For further information,
contact the Human Rights Centre on 01206 872558, e-mail:
hrc@essex.ac.uk.
Novel project for Essex author
The University’s answer to Arthur C Clarke has been commissioned to
write a new science fiction thriller based on one of his previous short
stories.
Keith Brooke, who holds posts in the Web Support Unit and the
Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, will pen a novel
based on his short story The Accord.
The story is set in the Accord, a virtual utopia where the soul lives
on after death and perceptions are bound only by imagination. The story’s
two lead characters, Noah and Priscilla, escape into the Accord to flee
Priscilla’s murderous husband but he in turn plots to destroy the whole
Accord with them in it. In revenge they arrange to have him assassinated
but their success comes at the price of giving him the keys to the virtual
kingdom.
The publishing company behind the commission is Solaris. Its consultant
editor, George Mann said: ‘I had the pleasure of publishing Keith’s short
story in the first Solaris Book of New Science Fiction. When Keith
approached us with his idea to expand it into a novel, we were all
incredibly enthused. This is a major breakthrough novel from an author
I’ve admired for many years.’
Keith has written several adult novels, two collections and over 60
short stories. He also writes teen fiction, under the pen name Nick
Gifford, for Puffin.
Also in the printed April edition of Wyvern:
- President of Chile receives University honour
- Promoting Essex for London 2012
- Global goals
- Prestigious award for lecture hall
- UN insights
