‘Getting into Publishing’ is Penguin Group’s annual open day for students and graduates, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds with an interest in Publishing, to learn more about opportunities at Penguin and in publishing.

It takes place this year on Thursday 22nd November 2007.

It’s a brilliant opportunity for students and graduates, particularly those from ethnic minority backgrounds, to find out all about Penguin and more about a career in Publishing. The day consists of morning and afternoon presentations from senior employees of the company and a networking lunch in the afternoon where candidates have the opportunity to meet senior managers of the company.

Date: Thursday 22nd November 2007
Time: 10-2:00pm
Location: 80 Strand, London, WC2R 0RL

To attend: Please send a CV to gettingintopublishing@penguin.co.uk by 31st October 2007.

The UK Punjab Heritage Association launched a major new on-line exhibition this week exploring 150 years of the Anglo-Sikh relationship.

‘Empire, Faith and Kinship’ is an exhibition that speaks volumes of a fascinating relationship that has touched and shaped the lives of millions. Through illustrations and detailed captions, the key events and people concerned are presented in eight sections, from the rise of the Sikh kingdom of Lahore in 1801 to the settling of the Sikh Diaspora in Britain in the twentieth century.

Sometimes as friends, other times as foes, the Sikhs and the British have had one of the most rich and intriguing of partnerships. It is accompanied by tools for community groups, student bodies, parents and educators to display the exhibition at their own local venues.

www.efk.ukpha.org

ITN’s multimedia division, ITN On, has launched a channel on YouTube. The ad-funded channel will have entertainment at its heart, plus sports, film and Bollywood programmes made specifically for online platforms allowing YouTube users to view, comment on and link to their favourite ITN content.

Content available on the channel will include Bollywood Insider, one of the UK’s leading, weekly Bollywood programmes, featuring all the latest gossip and movie releases presented by Sunrise Radio’s Suzi Mann.

B4U will once again be the official media sponsor of the Mayor of London’s popular annual Diwali event at Trafalgar Square.

Diwali on the Square will be held on Sunday 28th October 2007 and will showcase talented dance and music performances. It is the third year B4U has been media sponsor for the event.

UK-USA Leadership on Diversity in Film
Friday 19 October

Leading US industry figures are coming to meet representatives from the UK industry to discuss best practice and activities to increase diversity in film, behind and in front of the camera. Confirmed speakers include Kimberly Myers (Writers Guild of America), Rebecca Yee (Screen Actors Guild) and George Sunga (Producers Guild of America). Representatives of training providers, guilds and trade associations in the film industry are invited to attend.

To reserve a seat, email your name and organisation details to diversity@ukfilmcouncil.org.uk with ‘RSVP UK-USA LOD’ in the subject line, and please advise of any access requirements. This is a ‘Leadership on Diversity’ initiative under the Equalities Charter for Film, funded by the UK Film Council (www.diversityinfilm.org.uk).

Revealing themselves as never seen before, actors from the Channel 4 show and the BBC radio station have been transformed into movie monsters for a specially commissioned Halloween photo-shoot for Ikonz magazine.

As part of the horror-themed feature, cast members from Hollyoaks have been pitched against presenters from the BBC Asian Network to see which of the celebrity teams can pull-off the most ghastly and gruesome recreations of classic horror film characters.

The celebrity special features popular Hollyoaks stars Kevin Sacre and Sam Darbyshire as infected zombies from 28 Days Later, BBC Asian Network presenters Sonny Ji and Dipps Bhamrah as Dracula and Frankenstein and BBC disc-jockey Noreen Khan and Hollyoaks hearthrob Ricky Whittle in the guises of a Wicca Goth-Chick and Satan respectively. Also thrown into the mix are Ikonz editors Reena Combo as a Vampiress and Adam Yosef as The Crow.

The feature is presented as a 9-page special, in the Halloween issue of Ikonz magazine, out on stands on October 9th. The souvenir edition features a special double cover.

BBC Asian Network has signed up its latest recruit Jas Rao to take Nihal’s place on Fridays for the late morning phone-in show (9am – 12pm). Nihal, who will present the morning breakfast show on Radio 1 on weekends, recently moved to presenting his show only four days a week.

The new Friday format will also take a fresh look towards the weekend with a keen focus on sport and entertainment.

Actress Sofia Hayat, who starred in Channel 4’s Bollywood Star and in the upcoming film Unforgettable, has started work on a new film: I don’t want to marry Shah Rukh Khan. The film is her brainchild and is being developed with producer Christine Edwards.

Set in London and Mumbai, the story revolves around a British Asian girl who is fights for independence from her family and their plans to make her have an arranged marriage and conform to what they view as the ‘proper’ way to live.

Sofia says: “It’s about time a British film was made that shows what really goes on in some Asian families, without pussyfooting around the issues. A big part of the film revolves around my experiences as a young British Asian.”

A fan of BBC Sports Editor journalist Mihir Bose? Well, now there’s a fan club page just for you on the website Facebook.
Mihir was formerly one of the Daily Telegraph’s sports columnists and before that at BBC World Service.

Picture at the launch of the Britstar mag, at the High Commission of Pakistan, with High Commissioner Dr. Maleeha Lodhi, on the 14th Aug 07.
Tailor Imtaz Khaliq was honoured. Also pictured are MP Shahid Malik, boxer Amir Khan and writer Sarfraz Mansoor.

On Tuesday 9th October, digital channel Teachers TV looks at three ground-breaking projects aimed at helping Asian families overcome language difficulties and support their child’s learning. A report by the Basic Skills Agency has shown that parents with limited English often come to rely on their child’s better understanding of the language, which in turn can hinder how much they can help their child through school. Involving Asian Families in Learning follows three schemes that have been specifically designed to help families overcome language difficulties and enable the whole family to be involved in the education process.

Involving Asian Families in Learning will broadcast on Teachers TV ; on Tuesday 9th October at 8.30pm.
Repeated on Wednesday 10th October at 9.00pm.

Leading Black theologian, academic and BAFTA award-winning broadcaster Dr. Robert Beckford, of Oxford Brookes University, will deliver the 7th Annual Claudia Jones Memorial Lecture, organised by the National Union of Journalists’ Black Members Council at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday October 10 at City Hall.

Dr. Beckford is a reader in Black Theology and Popular Culture at Oxford Brookes University. An acclaimed BBC and Channel Four broadcaster, a presenter of the Sunday Morning Show on BBC WM, his journalism work is known for tackling controversial subjects in an engaging and popular style, such as Jamaican Independence, Gospel Music, Reparations and the rise of fundamentalist Christianity. His recent documentary Undersize Me was broadcast on Channel Four on September 23.