QMUL celebrates inaugural Festival of Communities

A carnival of lost emotions, lively political debates and a floating cinema - Queen Mary University of London celebrated the end of the two-week Festival of Communities with a special on-campus event. The festival, which brought together communities in the East End, drew to a close on 4 June with a showcase of the best of the university's research at its Mile End campus. Highlights included a show on snot, sick and scabs, artificial bioinspired butterflies and a series of talks and events with speakers including Peter Oborne (Politics Editor, Daily Mail), Will Hutton (Former advisor to Tony Blair and Editor in-chief of The Observer) and Rushanara Ali (local MP for Bethnal Green and Bow). Sarah Gifford, Community Engagement Officer at QMUL, said: "The Festival of Communities was a great success and hopefully the on-campus closing day brought together the local communities and inspired them to take their interests further." The two-week programme started on Saturday May 21 with a family fun day in Stepney Green Park followed by a number of fringe events. If you're interested in being part of next year's festival, either running a stall, activity, being part of the planning process or just coming along, then join our mailing list here or email communityengagement [at] qmul.ac (p) uk.