PRESS RELEASE
Tuesday 5 October 1999
Oxford Clean Slate Week
At a Town Hall reception this evening, the
Lord Mayor of Oxford, Cllr Val Smith, launched an Oxford 'Clean
Slate Week', to be held from November 29 to December 5. This
special week is part of the national Clean Slate Campaign which
is inviting everyone to take at least one practical step towards
wiping their slate clean before the new millennium.
The Lord Mayor was speaking at a reception
attended by Oxford personalities, including the Chairman of the
County Council, Harry Wyatt, the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd
Richard Harries, Dr Evan Harris MP, Peter Schippl, Managing Director
of Rover Group, and representatives from churches, the Police,
the University, voluntary organisations, businesses and the ethnic
minorities.
Describing the Clean Slate Campaign as 'an
imaginative millennium idea', the Lord Mayor welcomed this 'chance
to reflect and think where we, the community and the world are
going. Clean Slate gives us a chance to do this. It is a simple
idea, which won't cost money, and something we can all do.'
She went on to spell out the kind of action
that might be envisaged. 'We can all choose what we do - we can
patch up a row with a neighbour or a friend, or accept an olive
branch offered by someone else - or return that book you have
had for five years…. Alternatively we could do something
we have always meant to do - start taking our bottles to the
bottle bank, take public transport to work, or visit a neighbour
or relative we have been too busy to do for too long.'
County Council Chairman Harry Wyatt and West
Oxford MP Evan Harris also spoke, welcoming the idea and pledging
their support.
The Clean Slate Campaign was the idea of Oxford
resident, Edward Peters. Among its 80 national patrons are sporting
celebrities such as Sir Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker and Gavin
Hastings, and religious leaders such as the Bishop of London,
the late Cardinal Hume, the Chief Rabbi and Dr Zaki Badawi. Timothy
Garton Ash of St Anthony's College, and Charles Clayton, Executive
Director of World Vision, are among its Oxford patrons.
The campaign is gathering momentum around
Britain. There has been particular interest from schools, hundreds
of which have received a copy of a special Programme of Study
for Key Stages 1 & 2 written by staff at Edward Feild Primary
School in Kidlington.
During the Clean Slate Week there will be
a number of local events, including a public meeting on Friday
3 December at which school children will perform. It is hoped
that many Oxford citizens will have their own ideas of what to
do to mark this special week.
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