Bristol Representation at Committee of the Regions Event
Bristol was recently represented at an event that was led by the Committee of the Regions event as part of the 2010 European Year of Combating Poverty & Social Exclusion - ‘Local and Regional Responses to poverty and social exclusion’ in Brussels on the 8 June. Sheelagh Hatreed from Pax Pontis Ltd, a not for profit organisation based in Bristol, was chosen to present two projects that she is currently running in Bristol. The selection was made from 60 projects across the EU and the aim of the conference was to highlight best practice under three headings:
1. Making local services more accessible to all
2. Preparing people for integration into the labour market
3. Inclusive citizenship in urban & rural areas
The programme included 24 project presentations in groups of four per workshop, throughout the day.
The first presentation introduced ‘The Bristol Consortium of Migrant Community workers’ project. This was co-presented by Dalmar Osman from the Somali Development Group. The project has brought small local migrant community services and larger support charities together, in a virtual partnership which aims to enable mutual support, sharing of experience and resources, networking and information sharing on priority common agendas e.g. housing, health, education, citizenship, language, training, employment etc. Similarities are sought between race, faith, nationality, language, culture and politics. The project has representation from: Zimbabwe, Sudan, Somalia, Iran, Ethiopia, Kurds, Pakistan as well as a Somali Forum (of 18 organisations), A Somali Drugs & Mental Health service, a Somali service for young people on the edge of the criminal justice system, a Muslim young women’s group, a local refugee housing support service, an African organisation and The British Red Cross refugee and migrant section. The group aims to form a coalition which will be capable of submitting joint bids for scarce resources that would met the needs of several communities and make full use of the wealth of knowledge and experience held across the membership. This organisation is totally voluntary and exists thanks to the commitment to improving the lives of local marginalised groups.
The second presentation was introduced ‘Building a strong identity in Somali Young Women’ which is funded through The Somali Development group. The work aims to increase the confidence of young women, growing up in Bristol and at secular schools while coming from the rich tradition of their Somali roots, with strong faith, culture and traditions. As part of the project a fashion show was created that celebrated traditional dress, dance and feelings about Somalia.
In response to a question in what could be fed back to the panel of experts who opened the conference, Sheelagh requested that each time they talked of a ‘challenge’ they implied how they would be tackling it,as practitioners are keen to see leaders moving beyond the rhetoric into practical action.
Further information on the event, including a link to an interview with Sheelagh can be found here.
