Eloqui "Voicebox"

David Edwards, Chief Executive of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board writes about how more skills are crucial to keeping the lights on in the UK.

“The challenge of improving the UK’s infrastructure is immense. All of the UK’s main coal and nuclear power stations will need to be replaced in the next 20 years. In other areas, such as the rail network upgrade and the building of new renewable power capacity, the goal is to put the UK ahead and demonstrate we are a strong player in new technologies.

However whilst policy makers, politicians and the business community agree that significant investment is required, for me, the most immediate challenge is ensuring the UK has the skilled workforce it needs to deliver these essential projects.

It is estimated that that 50% of the country’s skilled engineering construction population will be retiring before just half of the UK’s much needed new power stations are built, and to deliver the infrastructure projects required more than 45,000 extra people need to be recruited over the next 10 years.

At the ECITB we are trying to address this issue. We work closely with schools, colleges, universities and regional organisations to attract young people into the industry and we work with a national network of over 200 training providers to ensure the highest standards are maintained throughout the industry.

To further close the skills gap we have recently unveiled plans to invest over £100 million in support of engineering construction training over the next five years. But new and imaginative thinking is required to accelerate the behaviour change needed in our skills culture. A potential solution is the creation of collective skills training funds, contributed to by both employers and government, but with initial match funding from government to promote more engagement and training.

There has been much debate about the need to rebalance the UK economy with more jobs in industry and manufacturing. However without the infrastructure, this can’t happen, and that infrastructure won’t get built without the skills.”
An abridged version of a recent article in the New Statesman

At Eloqui we arrange a lot of events for clients. With the festive season upon us Sara Cruz highlights some of our 2009 venue favourites:
The Dali Collection, http://www.blogger.com/www.thedaliuniverse.com - Home to a fascinating collection of paintings and sculptures by the famous Spanish artist, this offers a distinctive and flexible venue for evening events. A buzzing gallery open to the public by day, at night it provides a blank canvas to be tailored to your individual requirements. We particularly liked the Dali B Gallery as, due to a wide selection of moveable sculptures, you need not worry about the room being too empty or too full. Staff are friendly and helpful and catering is to a high standard.
The British Museum, http://www.blogger.com/www.britishmuseum.org - This offers a suite of contemporary conference facilities, designed by Lord Foster, nestling in the basement of the museum. Perfect for corporate functions this is equipped with 2 lecture theatres as well as a number of break out rooms. Ideal for a day long event you can also take advantage of the wider museum facilities and even incorporate an exclusive guided tour of the exhibits.
Tate Modern, http://www.blogger.com/www.tate.org.uk- perfect for larger events, this offers a stylish setting in an iconic building with outstanding views of the London skyline and river.
Zetter Hotel, http://www.blogger.com/www.thezetter.com - Conveniently located between the City and West End this is a funky venue offering award winning food and décor which is 'effortlessly cool'.
The Foundling Museum, http://www.blogger.com/www.foundlingmuseum.co.uk - Britain's original home for abandoned children founded by Thomas Coram, the artist William Hogarth and the composer George Frideric Handel is also London's first every public art gallery. As an evening venue it offers a remarkable location combining a mix of historic and contemporary spaces with modern catering facilities making it suitable for all types of event.

With the Copenhagen Summit opening today it seems unlikely that the environment is going to disappear from the headlines anytime soon. The "green" story has travelled a long way in the last two decades. Eloqui partner Joanne Milroy observes current trends...

Green is mainstream - green topics are no longer in the ghetto but covered by mainstream commentators such as food writers (food miles) or travel specialists (eco-holidays), home and leisure (green homes and wildlife gardening) or transport (green travel policies) etc etc. Environmental reporters are not quite an endangered species but are evolving in a Darwinian way into new roles such as specialist analysts (e.g.the BBC's Roger Harrabin), or more challenging green commentators (e.g. The Guardian's George Monbiot).

The informed consumer - a few years ago most people didn't know what a carbon footprint was while now stand up comedians make zeitgeist jokes on the theme. A more informed general public means businesses need to continually develop their messages to reflect this new moving target.

Action not words - for many businesses and organisations the priority in recent years has been to get their environmental messages "out there". But campaigns will be increasingly judged not by the size of headlines but on their ability to change behaviours and achieve tangible results.

New campaigns - back in the 80s and 90s environmental stories focused on the swashbuckling deeds of Greenpeace on the high seas, oil spills and whaling controversies. Environmental reporting these days often feels a lot less dramatic but there is a new theme every week – water scarcity and land usage are two topics of emerging importance.

The doubters – with the UEA e mail debate swirling round climate change doubters have received a new lease of life. With media never happier than when there is conflict in the air – the story is only likely to run and run.

Recent environmental communication projects for Eloqui have included stakeholder audits, strategy development, on-line campaigns, media relations, promoting new environmental technologies and public information campaigns

Gruel glorious gruel

With Christmas approaching it seems you can’t switch the television on at the moment without seeing Delia dealing with a turkey. Food of a more austere nature was on offer recently at the London Foundling Museum at a ‘Gruel Event’ which Eloqui helped create for the Museum. Celebrity chefs such as Allegra McEvedy and Tom Aikens created new gruel recipes for the evening designed to introduce journalists and events professionals to this fabulous venue. We’re not sure if gruel will catch on for Christmas but the Foundling guests, including TV foodie Giles Coren, seen in picture, seemed to enjoy their unusual supper.

If you do want to try gruel here’s Tom Aikens recipe

White chicken stock, 8 Kilo chicken wings, 2 bunch thyme, 3 x split bulbs garlic, 10-litre water, 10g black peppercorns, 40g Sea Salt, 2 heads of celery broken into sticks, 12 leeks cut in half, 1 bunch of Parsley, 14 chicken legs
Place the wings into the pot then add the water and bring to the simmer, skim off all the scum then add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer then cook for 3 hours skimming now and again, at the last hour add the chicken legs to poach and cook. After an hour take the legs out and flake the meat off finely and remove any cartilage, gristle, sinew and then pass through a fine sieve and chill.

Westminster goes gardening

While waiting in the security queue to get into the Houses of Parliament last night (Joanne Milroy writes), I heard two men behind me discussing the state of the Westminster lawn - I was on my way to the All Party Horticulture Group annual cocktail party. Eloqui works with a number of clients in the horticulture sector and this is always an eclectic event – everyone from Alan Titchmarsh to the Secretary of State for the Environment. The speech from the current Secretary of State Hilary Benn was entertaining but also included an interesting reminder that ‘focus’ is probably the most vital feature of any lobbying campaign. He recalled that a delegation from the horticultural industry had visited him four or five weeks ago to outline the importance of the sector to the UK in terms of creating jobs, helping combat climate change, providing green spaces, promoting health and well being. The All Party Horticulture Group are a canny lot and each speaker last night reiterated exactly the same messaging. This did not escape the Minister’s notice and he commented on the Group’s ‘formidable and effective organisation’. Presumably when you hail from a formidable political and campaigning dynasty yourself you notice these things. He also offered up his own eco-dream to convert people in the UK to the idea of a ‘carbon eating machine on your street’ …..better known to you and I as ‘a tree’.

The horticulturalists – the original tree-huggers – applauded him soundly.

Art or Noise?

Usually the only point upon which everyone agrees when it comes to art, is that everyone’s opinions are different, and all are of equal importance.

Last night, Eloqui went to the launch of the new contemporary art strand at the Foundling Museum in Russell Square; a great little museum telling the story of the Foundling Hospital, London's first home for abandoned children. This current work by Terry Smith features a film, projected onto a blank wall in the basement, accompanied by eerie noise which penetrates the entire building, a strange yet almost (but not quite) angelic warble, varying in volume from quiet and reserved, to loud and thundering.

Standing in the dark, underground gallery with lots of arty-types, the installation immediately captured our attention. But, not quite as much as the man in the flowery dress. After some debate amongst ourselves, we realised this was Grayson Perry, the Turner Prize-winning artist.

Being the suckers for celebrity as we are, and the fact that it’s not every day you get the chance to meet a winner of the Turner Prize – let’s face it, this is no reality TV reject – we had our photo taken!

The contrast of Perry’s alter-ego ‘Claire’ standing amongst the Foundling’s 18th century treasures was a sight to behold; a unique moment which was added to by the now familiar warble filtering in through the doors of the gallery – filling what usually (especially in a museum) would be a quiet and reflective space, with a noise that feels as if it shouldn’t really be there.

But, oddly, the collision of old and new art works, and in some ways, this very modern installation feels totally at home in the Baroque surroundings.

The whole point about art is that you don’t have to get it. Is there really a difference between a painting of a long-dead aristocrat and a black-and-white photocopied image of a door frame, and, ultimately, does it really matter?

Paul Childs

Can a newspaper win an election?

Not literally obviously. We don’t expect to be seeing Dominic Mohan and his staff stepping into 10 Downing Street as the elected government next summer, but can his paper really change the outcome of an election? Or is the nation’s favourite red-top going blue to reflect an already changing national mood?

Online and social media is changing the way we interact with the news and the influence newspapers have on us. Gone are the days when we read the printed word and either liked it or lumped it. These days almost every newspaper article appears in an online version where readers are invited to comment, and if there is no comment facility the wealth of blogs and online forums means that the common man gets to have his say anyway. The electorate is educated and opinionated and, more importantly, has a stronger voice than ever through the medium of social media.

It’s arguable that whilst they inevitably maintain some influence, the ability of newspapers to completely change voter behaviour is weaker than it has ever been. Newspapers are increasingly a barometer for public feeling, reacting to the mood of the 24/7 online community rather than creating it.

In which case the question has to be, how accurate is The Sun’s barometer?

Magdalen Bush