Newham residents are invited to join in this year’s Sign Language Week, by visiting the newly opened Dialogue Cafe (DC) at the Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability in the University of East London (UEL). 

Founded by Hakan Elbir, CEO of Dialogue Hub, the cafe is designed to bridge the gap between deaf and hearing communities by encouraging hearing customers to place their orders using British Sign Language (BSL).

 

     The space features screens displaying short YouTube videos demonstrating the appropriate signage for various menu items, promoting easier interaction and social inclusion.  Elbir states, “The Dialogue Cafe represents positive change for the area, symbolising a commitment to creating inclusive spaces that serve diverse needs.”  

 

     Students and staff from the UEL are encouraged to enjoy the 15% discount with each order. UEL student Colin Cushion was eager but nervous to place an order stating, “I will order but it's a bit intimidating, although the staff are really lovely. I will order a breakfast tea, once I have mastered the sign.”  

 

        The DC also run Deaf Awareness Workshops for schools, organisations and the community. The three-hour course teaches basic sign language, including common words and phrases.  

The workshops aim to build the level of engagement between hearing and the non-hearing communities to create a deeper understanding of deaf culture while also building respect and awareness of current issues with the lack of accessibility on offer to those who are hard of hearing.  

 

     National Sign Language Week runs from March 18th to 24th and is dedicated to promoting and celebrating British and Irish Sign Language. The week commemorates the UK Government's official recognition of BSL in 2003.

 

      A GCSE in BSL will be available to Newham secondary schools and those across England & Wales from September. The GCSE exam will be an optional course, rather than a compulsory part of the National Curriculum. Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said: “It’s fantastic to see an overwhelming amount of support across both the education sector and the deaf and hearing communities for this new GCSE.” 

 

      The British Deaf Association (BDA) has highlighted that access to BSL education is currently not a right for deaf children and their families. This and other issues were addressed by Sir Stephen Timms, MP of East Ham and Minister of State for Social Security and Disability at a recent Deaf Awareness event in Parliament.  

 

     Elbir is developing a second DC venue which will be known as The Dialogue Cafe Express and housed in a disused train carriage, located just outside of the newly opened Stratford Station entrance. It is supported by Populo Living (Newham Housing) and local Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, both of whom continue to aid the ongoing long-term development of the local area. 

 

     The Dialogue Express Cafe Stratford, which is scheduled to open this summer will also be the educational hub for Hakan to continue training members of the deaf and hard of hearing community as Baristas. Landry Naubo who works at the Dialogue Cafe Waterloo Cafe was born with Auditory Processing Disorder (APD). He states “My ears can hear normally, my brain can’t process speech, and I can’t speak myself, so British Sign Language is my first and preferred language." All the six baristas here are deaf or hard of hearing. Many trainees have gone on to secure employment elsewhere, while Non-Executive Director & Head Barista Faiz and Non-Executive Director & Barista Victor remained with the DC, now working with Pallavi and Thaiba. Pallavi is a hearing staff member and holds a Masters in Artificial Intelligence (AI), she aims to use her AI knowledge, and her experience gained while working in the Dialogue Cafe to create technology that can help both of her deaf sisters and the wider deaf community in India.  

 

     As Newham moves towards becoming a deaf-friendly borough the wide-reaching effects of the Dialogue Cafe hold no limits.

 

 

         www.dialoguehub.co.uk 

​A second of distraction in a crowded place, before you realise it - your phone is gone. 

 

In January Assma Sekie’s 35, from Newham, phone was stolen, she wants to share her experience to raise awareness. “I boarded the 104 bus at Stratford's Tamworth Avenue with my phone in my pocket. I’d been on the bus a few minutes when I reached for my phone. My pocket was empty. I panicked. I shouted to the bus driver to lock the bus doors and call the police. He didn't and I felt helpless. I got home and called the police and my network provider, then used my laptop for a Find My iPhone search. My phone was in Forest Gate, still in Newham. I jumped in my car with a friend and drove to the address. It was a block of nine flats. The police said that they had no way to narrow down which apartment the phone was in, so couldn't do anything. I knocked on every door but got no answer. I know it was a dangerous decision, but I was desperate. I never recovered my phone and was heartbroken. Thankfully, I had insurance, but it was horrible, scary, and overwhelming. It also really highlighted to me just how much of my life was on my phone.” 

 

Sekie had become another victim of phone theft. A statistic that continues to grow year on year according to Metropolitan Police data analysed by loveit.coverit 

Loveit Coverit (2024) The insurance site found the twelve inner London boroughs have the highest levels of phone crime, with Westminster holding first position, due to higher levels of tourism.  

 

The 2012 Olympic Games brought massive gentrification to the London borough of Newham, with an influx of new homes, businesses, sports facilities, and the Westfield shopping centre. While no match for Westminster, Newham started to attract people in large numbers, many travelling via Stratford bus and train station as the borough's main entry access point. As a result, Stratford Square, situated between the bus stop and train station, became a notorious hotspot for all kinds of crime, but especially phone theft. The square with its famous steps soon became a destination point in its own right. Social media content creators, religious groups, protesters, homeless people, buskers, beggars, you name it and you will find it in Stratford Sq. Add the high volume of daily commuters passing through to get to work, shoppers to access Westfield, leisure seekers heading into the famous park, then the numbers spike even higher during a concert or when West Ham play at home. The sheer volume of people and phones passing through Stratford Sq makes it one of London's phone theft hotspots.  

 

 Method  

Thieves are using various tactics to get hold of your phones, from the old-fashioned methods, often called stealth stealing, which includes pickpocketing, distraction techniques, and the grab and run, to the modern and now notorious snatch and grab carried out by thieves on bikes/mopeds. Another method is shoulder surfing, where criminals closely observe their victim to see the password, then steal your phone, and lastly opportunistic phone crimes due to carelessness, leaving phones on tables or unsupervised etc.  

 

The growth of snatch-and-grab by criminals on mopeds allows thieves swift access to phones with a rapid getaway that is hard for police to combat. Last year London’s most notorious moped phone thief Sonny Stringer 28 from Islington, north London, received a two-year sentence after a one-hour phone crime spree that included the theft of twenty-four phones in one hour. 

 

The Phone Cycle 

Once thieves have your phone in their hands it is most often hastily moved onto another person and/or location. Phones can then be hacked to harvest confidential data, then sold to local dodgy shops or more often shipped overseas to be reset. Some phones can be sold as new, while others as refurbished or sold for parts. Phone crime is proving to be very lucrative. 

 

How to protect yourself 

There are steps we can take to help protect our phones, such as staying alert to the environment, especially in crowded areas, using anti-theft phone straps, activating facial recognition or fingerprint locks which are more effective than passwords. If you do use a password then create a strong one that is unlikely to be guessed or easily observed. It is advised to have phone tracking on and know your International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number; you can find your IMEI number by dialing *#06#

​

Insure your phone. 

If your phone is stolen, police advise that you call them and your network as soon as possible. Finally, remotely wipe your phone.  

 

Luqman Hakim 20, a resident of Newham said “I am not too worried about [phone] thieves, I know the value of my phone makes it and me a target, I kinda expect it to happen at some point, I guess."

 

Changes to the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, now allows police to access premises without a warrant to electronically tracked stolen goods. It came too late for Sekie but it is another tool against phone crime.   

​

​​

 

​

Loveit Coverit (2024) Mobile phone  

https://www.loveitcoverit.com/news/changing-world/mobile-phone-theft-a-new-crimewave/ (Accessed: 18 April 2025).

​ 

 

 

 

​

​

Newham turned 60 years old on the

1st of April 2025, however the area is actually quite old,

dating back to and beyond its first mention in the

Doomsday book.

 

Newham started out under the name

Hamme,

which means

"A piece of land in a river bend or low-lying marshland.

​

I took a closer look at Plaistow, an area within Newham.

​

.

​

​

​Link:

​

​https://url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/kBt5ClOoouYzPQguGf6czzwxQ?domain=youtu.be

​

​

 

​

​

My time at the University of East London has been very valuable to me. I am developing a better understanding of what a story is, how to create a story and how to share stories across different platforms, be it a news article, a magazine feature or a radio show.  My confidence in understanding what journalism is has shifted from thinking just of my own idea, to now consider writing in terms of the wider media industry. Being exposed to different styles of media on this course has led me to see the many and varied opportunities available in the employment field; editor, radio host, production etc.  

​

     I did wonder if I would have been better suited to a BA (Hons) Magazine and Publishing Degree, since magazines are my main area of interest and the media in which I would most like to work. I recently discovered that such a degree was available and am aware that I should place myself in the best possible educational space for my subject interest. However, as a mature student I also have other factors to consider; home life, travel time, childcare etc. I now plan to apply for the Magazine Journalism MA, to target my skill building with aims to develop a publication that allows for the exploration of identity, heritages, culture and pride and the legacy of those who came before. I am keen to gain more knowledge on how best to create content in this way. 

 

         I greatly admire the career of the late Australian journalist John Pilger. His career started with ITV’s World in Action in 1970, before I was even born. I find his work as a writer, filmmaker and investigative journalist to be honest, brave and inspiring. He stood up and informed many about human rights abuses, the impact of Western policies and imperialism on indigenous people. I was personally touched by his work to expose the horrors in Stealing A Nation, A Secret Country and Utopia. Most of Pilger’s films are now available to watch for free on his website; johnpilger.com. It is my intention to watch and read as much of his work as I can. I think that he was a man of intellect and principle with the skillset to expose and share stories that really needed to be told and heard. I strive to be a Jounalist that acts on principles, truth and connects with the audience in a way that they feel ready to reflect on my words and motivated into actions that make this world better. For me, accuracy and accountability need to be given extra focus as my ADHD can lead me to feeling overwhelmed then shutting down. I am also aware that I dislike rigorous fact-checking but recognise it is a must for me due to my dyslexia. 

 

Some of the papers I currently (skim) read are media that I would like to work in;                                                 First News,

                 The Week Junior,

                 The Happy Paper,

                 Dope Magazine,

                     Cocoa Girl,

                        Sade.

 

Also, free newspapers Newham Voices and the Metro and at times The Voice, The Final Call and The Gleaner UK edition. Other media sources I use are Sky News, RT UK, and Al Jazeera and I often listen to James O’Brien on LBC Radio. 

 

        Looking at my journalism journey so far at the University of East London, I am pleased with my progress regarding technology, my writing development and how my journalism portfolio is growing. Due to the nature of this being a practice-based course I now have an Instagram account, YouTube channel, Substack, and website, and improvements made to my writing skills. I am aware that all the aforementioned areas still need attention, especially my writing, but I am confident that if I remain on this path then I will continue to grow in the direction that allows me to find my natural writing voice and style. My technical skills, which now include use of the Sony X70 camera, booms and road microphone, radio studio decks, editing and how to run a social media campaign has developed from novice to beginner, I anticipate that I will continue to improve in year two and three at great levels and with better outcomes. 

​​