6th January 2010

The Bill Anderson Award

by Peter Flack, Assistant Secretary

[Peter receiving the award]
Peter receiving the award

In 2008 the Midlands Region of the NUT instituted a memorial award in the name of Bill Anderson, a long standing activist in the Birmingham Branch. The award, very appropriately named, given Bill's record in the union, was for Campaigning Activist of the Year.

It was a great personal honour to win the first ever award in 2009, although being honest it was clearly an award to City Association and the Support Our Schools Campaign or the totality of our anti-academies work. As an association we have a right to be proud that our efforts have been recognised in this way.

Bill Anderson was the absolute model of an unassuming but dedicated local association activist. I had the pleasure of spending time with him at the first European Social Forum in Florence. Bill was particularly keen that the NUT took up the issue of privatisation in education. Unsurprisingly, he was subsequently very actively involved in organising the Birmingham Association's national conference on opposing academies and privatisation. This led to the creation of the Anti Academies Alliance.

The award carries with it a cheque for £300 to support campaigns. In recognition of Bill's commitment to the Anti-Academies Alliance and to the social forum movement the money has been divided between the Anti-Academies Alliance and the Leicester Social Forum, which was a key driver in the move towards developing effective alternatives to the threat of privatisation. I am sure Bill would have approved.

[The Bill Anderson Award]


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