MEND Scotland: Live at The University of Edinburgh

It was nice to be back home at our old stomping ground. Over the last year we have carried out a lot of work at Edinburgh University and with the influx of new students, we did not want to stop the trend.

We, however, did not manage to be part of the Freshers Fair as understandably they were keeping that for internal bodies only to reduce covid risks. But we did secure an online meet and greet with the ISOC’s for new members.

Our Edinburgh working group Chair and university advocate Umar lead the organisations of the event. Reaching out to the ISOC’s, proposing a cross between an Islamophobia Causes and Cures session and induction to allow the new students to get to know MEND in a way that was not too heavy but was still very informative on the issues. We put together the slides and prepared them for the event.

Umar delivered the session on the evening of the 15th September 2021 to a small but eager crowd. A group that may not have been the largest but were definitely engaged. Taking the opportunity at the end of the presentation to ask wide-ranging and varied questions about the topic. Highlighting that not only were they interested in the area but were keen for much more information than we provided at the time. this left the stage set for future engagement, which is all we can ask for.