Union commits to supporting liberation officers

Imperial College Union has started on plans to review how they currently work with their Liberation Officers, with the aim of improving the support available.

The Liberation Officers – nine elected students who each coordinate a particular ‘Liberation Zone’, e.g. LGBT+ Officer – have been discussing future plans with the Union. The Union has said that “we want to empower students and groups to make positive changes to student life, to Imperial, and the wider world.” The move comes following the deliverance of a Liberation Report, which was commissioned by the Union, and completed over the summer. The Report – which was done to “enable an understanding of the current challenges facing [Liberation] work, and what might be preventing ICU from supporting sector-leading quality” – outlined ten key recommendations for the Union in the future. These included development of training for Liberation Officers, and an emphasis on staff support.

A Union representative described the Report as “an ambitious and sector-leading programme for change at the Union, touching everything from officer training, to communication strategies, to staff recruitment.”

Staff from the Union have since met with Liberation Officers to prioritise the recommendations generated. Plans have been made for the remainder of this academic year, and several have already begun or been completed.

In a statement for Felix, a Union representative said that “We are pleased to say that the Liberation Review has shaped how we have supported our Officers already this year, and we are making good progress on our Liberation Action Plan which guides our work through to the end of 2018/19.”