TWN newsletter November 2011

Autumn has arrived (I think it arrived several months ago!), the countdown is now on until Christmas, children will be frantically looking through the Argos, Tescos books to see what 'Santa' could bring them, drawing up lists, changing and adding to them and it's only November; Christmas advertising seemed to start around August with children's toys and games being advertised, I think TV advertising has a lot to do with the lists!!

As I sit here with the wind and rain battering my window, the rain running down my wall (inside that is!), someone telling me the number of days until Christmas (really didn't need to know that) the world is becoming a different place, we have seen and heard the news from Libya as the country moves into a new phase in their history and the quibbles continue around the race for the next American President. We have seen the awful floods in Thailand, the starvation and deaths of many in the Horn of Africa and the economic crisis that the world finds itself in which is felt no less in Northern Ireland.

We in Northern Ireland eagerly await the report coming out in February as to whether our Politicians will be awarded their pay increase when so many others are made redundant, facing redundancy, have taken less hours or less pay just to keep their job and the number of organisations whose doors have closed in the last 10 months is shocking.

We at TWN have felt the loss keenly as well; we continue to lobby for more money or at least maintain the levels for the women's sector as a whole, we lobby on behalf of childcare places and rates and continue to ask questions of our MLA's at Stormont and so the fight continues, the fight for equality, justice and rights.

On a brighter note, we have an ilm Endorsed Train the Trainer Award running this month and we are currently taking bookings for the February 2012 course, the cost is £280 per person with 10% TWN Members Discount. This is an excellent course with all participants receiving a personalised video of their presentation.

TWN have many and varied courses available from the ilm Level 3 in First Line Management to the Level 7 in Executive Management + the Level 3 & 5 in Coaching again all information is available from our website. If you have a group of people wishing to undertake the training we can deliver in your own premises, have wheels will travel.

All course information is available from the TWN website www.twnonline.com or on tel No. 028 90 319888

!!!10% discount on all courses for TWN Members!!!

The TWN's Extending Positive Relations Project which is supported by the European Union's PEACE III Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB); although the project was late in getting started it now continues to gather pace. TWN recently held a training day for all RPMA Co-Ordinators on 13 October 2011 in the Silverbirch Hotel, Omagh. This training day looked at the following:

• Project progress to date
• Marketing & Publicity of the project
• OCR accreditation and assessment process
• Financial management
• The Letter of Offer
• Project Reporting and Monitoring
• Opening event

A few of the Project Co-Ordinators were unable to attend due to a networking event they had planned within their own hub; their training will be delivered within TWN to ensure that everyone has the same knowledge and understanding.

An opening event is being planned at present with a guest list currently being compiled and speakers confirmed.

This event will be reported on in our next Newsletter.

Members' Nights – dates for your diaries

After a really successful Facebook and Twitter training evening, we are running another one on Wednesday 23 November in TWN, remember to ensure everyone has the use of a laptop, places are limited. Please contact on tel No. 028 90 319888; Julie will e-mail you a short questionnaire to ascertain what you want to get out of the evening to enable the trainer to deliver to your needs.

A TWN members' night has been organised for the evening of Monday 14 November commencing @ 7.00pm with Sinead McGarrigle of Lifetime Health. Sinead is a Certified Craniosacral Practitioner & Rehabilitation Trainer and a qualified Life Coach and Counsellor and will relate how the physical well-being impacts on the mental well-being which given the current economic situation everyone is in at present has a major impact on mental health.

Each of us produces our own different reactions to trauma, stress and loss of healing capacity, therefore, we each present our own unique combination of ailments, pains and dysfunctions.

As Kelsey Grammer in his alter ego as 'Frasier Crane' concludes on his radio show "Wishing You Good Mental Health"! Without our physical and mental health our whole lives and that of our families are turned upside down, so register today for this really exciting evening who knows what we may learn!!

Please confirm your attendance with Julie Tel No. 028 90 319888. As usual light refreshments will be served.

TWN Library

We are currently cataloguing our library documents commencing with the business and TWN sections from November these will start to appear on our website and will continue to be catalogued on the website. As TWN Members you can borrow any of these documents from our Policy & Research Officer, John Mooney. Keep checking our website over the coming weeks as more titles are recorded on the website.

And finally...

I am in the process of finalising a Members Night based around the requirements of Records Management; how long do these need to be kept for; what does the legislation say. This should be a really informative and essential evening for all employers.

I would really like to know what YOU the members would like to see covered during our Members' Nights, please e-mail me and I will endeavour to set up.

Finally, finally.....

If you would like us to run courses or tasters in or if you would like to take a taster course to our members please let me know.