The Coventry Law School
The Coventry Law Student Society
&
The Global Leadership Programme
Present
The Coventry Legal Cinematic Review 2016
Inaugural Feature Performances By
Professor Benjamin Zephaniah (16 Honorary Doctorates)
Chair, Poetry & Creative Writing, Brunel University
Mr. David Neita
Barrister/Performance Poet
Theme:
“Transitional Law & Restorative Justice in Film: Internationalising legal education as praxis”
CLCR Coordinator:
Terrence Wendell Brathwaite, Sr. Lecturer in Law, Coventry Law School
Location: ECG24 Date: 24.02.2016 Time: 18.00PM-19.30PM
Aim: In launching the Coventry Legal Cinematic Review (CLCR), Professor Benjamin Zephaniah and Barrister/‘Poet of the People’ Dave Neita will employ both film and the oral tradition as instruments of ‘Social Change’. The film genre has long been an important aspect of primary and secondary education, but its use to enhance legal education at university level is still rare, although in the last decade a few UK law schools have attempted to integrate film and audio-visuals into legal learning. By showcasing his short documentary ‘Rong Radio’, Professor Zephaniah and Dave Neita will therefore creatively and candidly explore its socio-legal aspects, based on their professional and cross-cultural understanding of human rights legacies affecting the common wo/man today, whilst helping to move the audience beyond law as a rigid ‘black letter’, text-based discipline.
Film: ‘Rong Radio’
Speakers’ Bio:
Professor Benjamin Zephaniah: Best known as the leading British performance poet, is the Chair of Creative Writing at Brunel University in West London. He has been awarded 16 honorary doctorates in recognition of his work and a wing at The Ealing Hospital in West London has been named after him. It was once said, that he was the most filmed, most photographed, and most identifiable poet in Britain. His life has a literary rags-to-riches trajectory. A Rastafarian, vegan, martial arts expert and self-described as very dyslexic, Professor Zephaniah grew up in the working class district of Handsworth, Birmingham. He published his first book of poetry at the age of 22, was voted the nation’s third favourite poet of all time (after T S Eliot and John Donne) in a BBC poll in 2009. The poll also confirmed that he was in fact the only living poet in the top ten. Professor Zephaniah is currently developing a new method of teaching creative writing to students, with an emphasis on the sound of the spoken word. What he calls his “formal education” ended at the age of 13 when he left his approved school unable to read, but he been encouraged to memorise and recite passages from the Bible in his Afro-Caribbean church community from the age of 6. He was performing in his church at 10 years old and he was a known, established poet within his local area by the time he was 15. Professor Zephaniah was jailed for petty crime as a teenager before turning his life around completely. He moved to London, resolving to become a poet who could reach white as well as black audiences, “and to fight the dead image of poetry in academia.” He has since performed on every continent on the planet, including a command performance for President Nelson Mandela. And as a musician Professor Zephaniah was also the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley.
David Neita: A prolific London-based lawyer, performance poet and respected international speaker on education, mental health and the arts. A barrister by training and a performance artist through practice, Dave is known as ‘The People’s Poet and Lawyer’. David’s work marries advocacy skills with theatricality to empower and motivate young or marginalised people of all ages and from all walks of life.
Early in his career, David was a member of the legal team that achieved one of the largest settlements in a class action suit. It was brought against a multi-national mining company on behalf of black miners in South Africa, and set the tone for his future work. Today, as a Masters in Cultural Studies and motivational speaker, Dave is an inspirational thought leader, writer and accomplished practitioner as well as author of two volumes of poetry and three CDs: ‘City Life’, ‘PURE’ and ‘THE LIE’
Programme of Events
| Time | Description |
| 18:00 | WelcomeDr Steve Foster, Head, Coventry Law School
|
| 18:03 | Dr. Jean Bernard-Adrey, Director, Centre for Global Engagement(Global Leadership Programme)
Mr. Terrence Wendell Brathwaite, Coordinator, CLCR/Sr. Lecturer in Law, Coventry Law School Introduction of Law Students’ Society Ambassadors/Film.
|
| 18:10 | Film: ‘Rong Radio’ |
| 18:15 | Introduce Professor Benjamin Zephaniah & Dave Neita:Interactive Interview/Presentations |
| 19:00 | Q&A(Mr Dave Neita invites/facilitates audience participation)
|
| 19:30 | Closing Remarks/Vote of thanks:Mohammed Wurie, President of Coventry Law Students’ Society
|
| 19:35 | End |
Last night I attended a fantastic event organised by Terry Braithwaite and the Global Leaders Programme – the lecture theatre was full and we were treated to something quite special – a film (the ‘rong radio station’ – catch it on youtube – followed by an interview conducted between 2 leading and famous poets who discussed their lives and the link between their work and law and justice – Mohamed also attended on behalf of the student law society and we presented certificates to their officers – they were all a real credit to us, as were all the students who attended and asked questions.