Yvie Holder
Lecture Title - 'Hidden Histories: Have You Been In This
Country Long?'
In her lecture ‘Hidden Histories: Have You Been In
This Country Long?’ Yvie reflected on some of the
influences and events that have shaped her. Travelling on a
whistle-stop tour through a landscape which affords glimpses of,
among other places, the colonial Caribbean, 1950’s Britain
and late-twentieth century Yorkshire, she will explore what part
her ‘country’ has played in contributing to life in York.
Yvie has been promoting diversity
and equality, in both a personal and a professional capacity for
over 30 years. Formerly a teacher of English and Drama in Leeds
Education Authority, she has experience in a wide range of
voluntary and community activities, including trades’ union work,
community relations, school governing, mentoring, local politics
and work with older people. She has been instrumental in the
setting up of various initiatives in York, including the York
Racial Equality Network, which has celebrated its 20th
anniversary this year.
As freelance trainer and
consultant on equality she has encouraged and supported a wide
range of public and third sector organisations, and, in the 1990’s,
as a tutor for the Workers’ Educational Association, she was
involved in projects aimed at enabling men and women to develop
their confidence and find new directions at varying stages of their
lives.
She established the
Equality and Diversity Office at the University of York in 1998,
where she was its Director until 2010.