Home News Five things you need to know today

Five things you need to know today

May 31, 2016 6:00 am

Edinburgh International Book Festival tickets
POPPYSCOTLAND Queen’s 90th Tea and Toast
At The Queen’s Hall
Edinburgh Asian Film Festival
The Smart Energy GB in Communities Fund

Booking for the Edinburgh International Book Festival opens at 8.30am on Tuesday 21 June.

You will be able to purchase tickets:
Online at www.edbookfest.co.uk
Over the phone by calling 0845 373 5888
Or in person at The Roxburghe Hotel, Edinburgh (first day of booking only).

If you would like to book online, please visit our website BEFORE 21 June to remind yourself of your login details. Or, if you haven’t booked with us before, create an account so you are ready to login and book. You will not be able to book without an account.

POPPYSCOTLAND are organising a one-off indoor street party at the Lady Haig Poppy Factory.

For £25 you get afternoon tea with Prosecco and a tour of the factory, a chance to make your own poppy and live music!

You can be there too if you wish! More details and tickets here.

Singer/songwriter Rickie Lee Jones has been pushing down musical boundaries for over four decades with her hauntingly beautiful voice and fearless experimentation. The double Grammy-winner returns to The Queen’s Hall on 8 June 2016 with her thirteenth studio album The Other Side Of Desire.

Tickets here.

Later this week from 3-5 June 2016, the first Edinburgh Asian Film Festival (EAFF 2016) is being held at the Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, EH3 9BZ

Curated by Dr. Ashvin Devasundaram – whose seminal book India’s New Independent Cinema: Rise of the Hybrid is due out in June 2016 through Routledge – the Festival will offer Edinburgh a chance to see five exceptional films – all Scottish premieres.

The Festival, which is produced by non-profit organisation, Tongues on Fire, organisers of the London Asian Film Festival (LAFF), will be opened by Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh MP for Ochil and South Perthshire.

Dr. Devasundaram, who is programming advisor to the London Asian Film Festival (LAFF 2016), is thrilled to be bringing this Festival to his home city. He said: “Edinburgh now has the chance to see some stunning Asian films which will appeal to both the mind and the heart movies that present diverse themes and offer a window to the world.”

Films:

3^rd June, 20:30: I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced

4^th June, 15:00 Among the Believers

4^th June, 17:45 Moor (Mother)

5^th June, 17:45: Manto

5^th June, 20:25 Aligarh

A new fund has launched and is open to applications from not-for-profit organisations who can help engage people and communities across Britain with information about how to get and use smart meters.

The Smart Energy GB in Communities Fund has been launched by Smart Energy GB, the voice of the smart meter rollout. Every home in Britain will be offered a smart meter by 2020 at no additional cost, and Smart Energy GB is responsible for helping everyone in Great Britain understand smart meters, the national rollout and how to use the new meters to get their gas and electricity under control.

The Smart Energy GB in Communities Fund is seeking applications from not-for-profit organisations that can reach those who may face barriers to getting a smart meter, including:

District heating customers (district heating is a system where a communal source of heat is shared with other properties)
People lacking proficiency in English (or Welsh in Wales)
People lacking basic digital skills
People with a learning disability
People with low literacy
People with memory impairment
People with no personal internet access
Off-gas grid customers
Prepay customers
Private tenants
People with severe or profound deafness
Social housing tenants

Small grants of up to £10,000 are now available for community organisations who will work directly with one or more of the priority groups on projects to be completed in 2016.

Applications will open from 6^th June for large grants of between £10,000 and £25,000 for regional organisations that will help reach priority groups.

Alongside the fund, a new online resource centre will offer materials, such as posters, leaflets and training resources, to any organisation that wants to help people benefit from smart meters (www.smartenergygb.org/resources).

The announcement is part of the Smart Energy GB in Communities programme, which is delivered by a consortium of charities – National Energy Action and Energy Action Scotland, Media Trust, and Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

CAF, which has 45 years’ experience in designing and delivering strategic grant-making programmes, will manage the fund.

Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Smart Energy GB, said: “Our job at Smart Energy GB is to make sure absolutely everyone in Britain knows about and can benefit from smart meters. One of the biggest and most important challenges we face is reaching people who may not hear about smart meters through traditional routes, or who might need additional support to understand how they could benefit. These are often the people who will experience the most profound transformation in how their smart meters could help them get their gas and electricity under control.

“We can’t meet this challenge alone. Through the Smart Energy GB in Communities Fund, we’ll work with the organisations who already work with the people we need to reach – the charities and community groups supporting people around the country.”

David Stead, Director of Philanthropy at CAF, said: “We are delighted to be working with Smart Energy GB on this important campaign to help everyone in Great Britain understand and benefit from smart meters. CAF has considerable experience of running grant-making programmes and working with tens of thousands of charities across the country. Improving people’s lives is what charities do best. This fund provides a real opportunity for charities to make a difference by ensuring that no one gets left behind in reaping the advantages of the smart meter rollout.”

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