Jun 222021
 

WHALE Arts, EH14 2SA

Large-scale painting of Talat Yaqoob on the side of the Whale Arts building
Talat Yaqoob
artwork by Kerry Wilson

Talat Yaqoob is an award-winning Scottish campaigner, writer, and activist working as an independent consultant in education, workplace equality, women’s rights, race equality and inclusion in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. With more than twelve years of experience in the third sector, she has extensive knowledge of campaigning, public affairs, political strategy and communications. Talat is the co-founder and chair of Women 5050, a national campaign striving for the equal and fair representation of all women in politics. Talat has also been involved in a wide range of campaigns, including the first national project on mental health and wellbeing for students in 2009, which is still running, and Pass the Mic, the first, and currently only, online list of women of colour commentators for the media, bringing under-represented experts into the spotlight to share their knowledge.

Apr 032019
 

Vantage Point on Castle Esplanade today

Castle Esplanade, Royal Mile, Edinburgh, EH1 2NQ

Facing north-west from our vantage point here, a monument on Castle Esplanade, you are looking towards the current offices of EVOC on Ferry Road. The modern day evolution of the Edinburgh Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, EVOC is the first point of contact for the third sector (voluntary and non-profit groups) in Edinburgh. Their mission is to support the third sector to build and enable resilient, sustainable, and inclusive communities and they carry out this mission in a number of ways including providing training for third sector organisations and developing partnership approaches, principles, and practices. Over the years, branches of EVOC and its predecessors’ work have been so successful that they have gone on to form independent bodies in their own right. One example of this is Volunteer Edinburgh. A register of people interested in volunteering was first created in 1920. This resulted in enterprises such as the UK’s first Volunteer Job Shop in 1975 before what is now Volunteer Edinburgh registered as an independent organisation in 2000.

EVOC office at 525 Ferry Road today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EVOC Staff Team, Christmas 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo credits: Lucy Ridley, Yasmin Duncan