Learning event sets out steps for a more inclusive community
More than fifty people representing a wide range of community organisations attended Positively Diverse, a learning event organised and co-hosted by Forth Neighbourhood Partnership and the Living in Harmony group at Spartans Community Football Academy last week.
The event was organised to give local organisations an opportunity to look at how they operate and to encourage them to be more inclusive.
Keynote speaker Dr Giovanna Fassetta is a leading member of Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migation Network (GRAMNET).
http://www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/gramnet/
Rather than bamboozling the conference with high-brow academic research, she started by asking delegates how they make a cup of tea, and where they store their jam and their eggs!
The responses showed that there is no one ‘right’ answer – that different people prefer to do things differently and that we often just do things the way we’ve always done them. There are a number of ways of doing things that can be equally successful – and that is also true for working well across different cultures.
Dr. Fassetta (above) has a wealth of experience, both as an academic and as a volunteer (including sessions at Dungavel detention centre), and she used a string of anecdotes to get her key points across:
- that people of all cultures are usually happy to talk – about faith, about language and about themselves and their families
- That you should never make assumptions – don’t think you know all about someone’s culture – ASK.
- that while language is important, body language can be just as important as a communication tool in making people feel safe and welcome
- Don’t expect people to adapt to your way of doing things – their way can be more effective and is often more enjoyable
- Difference is a normal part of life – it’s ordinary. It’s the fear of difference that causes problems and where we start to go wrong.
Dr Fassetta concluded: “So you don’t need to be an expert to be able to respect different cultures and understand diversity. What you have to do is relax, be curious, be open – and ask. Ask questions. Yes, you may feel uncomfortable at first but these feelings can be overcome – and that can make you grow as a person.”
North Edinburgh has a proud history of welcoming people into the community, and conference delegates saw a short documentary on the successful Muirhouse Against Racism (MARC) campaign.
Back in the 1990s MARC was a grassroots reaction to the emergence of racism in the area. Local people came together to support a black family who had been subject to abuse from racists and campaigned to change thinking and letting practices within the city council’s housing department.
It was as a result of this campaign that the Black Community Development Project (BCDP) was formed in North Edinburgh. BCDP later became CORE (Community Organisation for Racial Equality) but that community organisation was forced to close due to a lack of funding in 2012.
The closure left a void – the need for an organisation to work to support the BME community and encourage community integration remained as great as ever, and Pilton Community Health Project established the Living in Harmony group to meet this need.
The Positively Diverse event, while recognising achievements of the past, concentrated very much on the present – and, in particular, what individuals and organisations can do to create a welcoming community.
Local residents (above) shared their sometimes painful stories of life in their new communities – of barriers, of lack of opportunities and of the frustration of being unable to find employment suitable to their skills and abilities.
But although challenges undoubtedly remain, many organisations across North Edinburgh have been successful in adapting their programmes and services to become more inclusive and welcoming.
Speakers from Muirhouse Medical Centre, Create at North Edinburgh Arts, North Edinburgh Libraries (below) and Spartans Community Football Academy (their promotional film was particularly well received) all told participants about the range of things they have done and are doing to create a more inclusive community: it’s clear that good things are happening – sometimes small, simple things – and that the will is there to become even better.
Conference delegates were asked to make pledges, and in the spirit of taking practical steps towards a more inclusive community, Forth councillor Vicki Redpath made three pledges on behalf of the local council office.
She told the conference: “We’ve heard so much today to make us think. We don’t know everything and we must all constantly reflect on what we’re doing and think of ways we can do things better.”
She went on: “Things have changed, things are changing but we must not become complacent – there are still challenges out there. And that’s why I am so encouraged by what I’ve heard from the organisations represented here today.”
And on the pledge theme, Cllr Redpath (above) concluded: “As we’ve all been asked to make pledges, here are some I will make on behalf of the council.
“We provide a lot of housing, and our tenants pack contains pretty basic information at the moment. We could be adding information about medical practices, dentists, libraries, schools, youth clubs and sports facilities to the tenants pack – and update it regularly.
“Employment problems have been raised today: one simple thing we can improve is the notice board system at the local office. We can make it simpler with a nice big headline – JOBS – and underneath it a bulletin of vacancies. Let’s put job vacancy notices outside, too, let’s get information out there – and not just council jobs.”
“And finally, speakers today have talked about difficulties in accessing services and getting information. We do equalities and diversities training at the council, but I want to make sure this training is effective and up to scratch. Our people are brilliant and they want to provide the best service they can and I will be working with colleagues to ensure that we improve our service.
“If we all do a little, we can all go a long way to improving the lives of the people who come to live here in the great North Edinburgh community.”
Commenting after the event, PCHP’s Anita Aggarwal (above) said: “A big thank you to everyone who contribute and helped it be such a successful day.
“We will be producing a report of the day which we will send out as soon as possible. If people are looking for further information about the barriers that BME residents face there are two reports on our website: ‘Living in Harmony’ 2012 http://pchp.org.uk/resources/living-harmony-report and ‘Talking about our Health’ 2009 http://pchp.org.uk/resources/talking-about-our-health-participatory-research-project-health-needs-bme-community-greater
“The next Living in Harmony forum will take place on Wednesday 28 October from 5 – 7pm at PCHP – all welcome and crèche available if booked in advance.
“We will be running Equalities and Diversity training three times before the end of March – 20th Nov, 22nd Jan, 25 March all from 9.30am – 1pm at PCHP – further information will be available on our website.”
So, to recap: what we can do next
Make A Pledge
If you couldn’t attend Positively Diverse or didn’t get a chance to fill in a pledge postcard but would still like to, please fill in the postcard below and send it back to lih@pchp.org.uk
And if you filled in a postcard but might have forgotten to put your name and address on it (yes, there were a few of you..!) please let us know and we will try to match you up with your card!
Join the Living in Harmony Forum
All are welcome to come along and it would be a great place to follow up conversations that were started at the event. The next Forum meeting is on Wednesday 28th October 5-7pm at PCHP (73 Boswall Parkway).
Equality and Diversity Training
Delivered by ELREC – if you didn’t get a chance to sign up for one of these FREE sessions there are still spaces, so please do email lih@pchp.org.uk to book a place for yourself or a colleague.
The dates for the training sessions are 20 November, 22 January and 25 March – all 9.30am -1pm at PCHP (you only need to attend one session!)
More pictures will appear on our Facebook page later
