​Very happy to be part of this new School for Social and Cultural Change (SSCC), as the tutor on an 8 week online course there called:
'Radical Reading: Political Comic Books'
​
Enrolments begin March 1st and the courses begin on April 1st (and that's no fooling).

"RevolutionZ along with PARC Media have created a new online School for Social and Cultural Change (SSCC). The second session will run from April 1 though to June 1. Sign up is now open.

You can visit the school to read about courses and instructors and to see the facility and, should you choose to do so, to sign up for a course.

New courses, available starting April 1, are
Consequences of Capitalism with Noam Chomsky and Marv Waterstone,
Lay Down My Sword and Shield with Kathy Kelly,
Logic for Left-Wing Debaters and Activists with Ben Burgis, Political Economy and Political Ecology with Patrick Bond,
Activism and Social Change with Eugene Nulman,
How We Advance the Abolition of War with David Swanson,
U.S. and British War Crimes and Propaganda with Rob Driver, and Radical Reading: Political Comic Books with Sean Michael Wilson.
We hope SSCC will soon have a steadily growing selection of courses that develop and share skills, knowledge, strategy, and vision."

Radical Reading: Political Comic Books | School for Social and (teachable.com)

わたしの 本が 賞 を とりました Award time!
Today I received a ‘Scottish Samurai Award’ from the OSS (Order of the Scottish Samurai), a group that promotes and celebrates connections between Japan and Scotland. I got the award for my various books on Japanese history and culture.

Past recipients include comedian Billy Connolly, the Scottish National Party leader, actress Joanna Lumley and the Prime Minister of Japan. The patron is Lord Bruce, descendent of King Robert the Bruce (of Braveheart movie fame. ha!).

So, here I am with the certificate and medals, in my Gunn Clan tartan kilt (the Wilson family is part of that clan). Plus the Japan themed books that I have made so far, with various lovely Japanese artists.
​
Thanks to OSS member Will Reed for organising this. I also got a specially made inkan stamp from a craftsman in Yamanashi Prefecture.

"A KPMG UK spokesperson stated the company’s commitment to unconscious bias training, as well as to a range of training programmes to discuss bias and micro-aggressions. “We are fully committed to ensuring that KPMG’s working environment is inclusive and a place where all our people can reach their full potential, regardless of their identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or socio-economic background...”

It’s good that such powerful people are held to account for discriminatory behaviour... But what such corporations never add to their ‘look how good we are’ statements is the following:

"...we will also dismantle the elite ownership system in which a small group get a huge amount of wealth and power and the control of our corporation...and change the structure to a workers cooperative in which everyone equally shares the profit and everyone has a real say in how the company is run, and is therefore genuinely able to develop to their full potential.”

No. they don’t say that - because that would really change things!

The people who own and run such corporations are ok to reduce discrimination according to the above aspects, because it does not fundamentally threaten their power and wealth. And it gives their organisation a look of decency and democracy. But, radical system change that involves fully democratic sharing of profits and decision making DOES threaten their power and wealth. Which is why they dont include such change and are often violently against it.
​
So, although reducing such discrimination is a good step, we need to go 3 or 4 steps further and deeper... if we are to fully root out abusive and exploitative workplace systems that stop people reaching their full potential.

​'Unconscious bias is crap': KPMG staff share shock at UK chair's comments | KPMG | The Guardian