Memorandum by David Holloway OBE, Non-Executive
Director, Tolerance in Diversity (TiD) (SOC 78)
BACKGROUND
Between 1979 and 1994 I worked as a youth and
community worker in East London. Community relations was integral
to the job, with ethnically diverse and growing Bangladeshi communities
and NF and skinhead activity an ongoing issue. In 1993 the BNP
and Combat 18 stepped up its activity, racial incidents increased
and the BNP candidate Derek Beacon was elected as councillor for
Millwall Ward in the Isle of Dogs. Young people, particularly
those from the Bangladeshi community, responded by demonstrating
but each time, their planned peaceful protest was hijacked and
ended in violence and arrest. Eventually in frustration a core
group came together to consider a new response. Their answer was
a project they named Tolerance in Diversity and as the
youthwork facilitator for the group it became my principal concern.
TOLERANCE IN
DIVERSITY (TID)
Initially TiD projects involved both young peer
leaders and youth workers who worked to bring together groups
of white, black and Asian youth and through programmes of activities
and social education systematically addressed prejudice and division.
TiD projects operated mainly at an estate and youth club based
level but in 1994 TiD initiated a project with youth people in
Los Angeles. As part of this project Steven Spielberg commissioned
a video documentary filmed in both countries and narrated by Danny
Glover. The video is distributed in the UK by the National Youth
Agency. The project was a watershed for the young TiD members,
who decided to take the lead and develop TiD into a youth led
organisation. In 1999 TiD was registered as a company which now
has charitable status and an annual budget of £60,000 per
year. The organisation employs a professional coordinator and
all Trustees apart from the Treasurer are under 26 years old.
The work today consists mainly of a methodical
recruitment and training programme for members. On completion
of training, members become paid workshop facilitators and run
community cohesion workshops in schools, colleges, community centres
and youth clubs. These mainly target young people, an average
of 1,000 beneficiaries each year, but recently members have delivered
intergenerational workshops in cooperation with Age Concern, and
succeeded in exercising demons that have festered for years.
Alongside the East London workshop programme,
TiD has responded to events in other parts of the UK, mentoring
new peer trainers and facilitating workshops in Bradford, Liverpool
and Oldham. TiD were also invited to run workshops and represent
Britain at EXPO 2000 and the European and Durban international
conferences on racism. TiD members addressed the world from Canada,
via TV satellite link, when they won an International Millennium
Year "Stop Racism 2000" Award and were invited to meet
President Clinton for breakfast at the White House. However,
while this international profile is an honour it also begs the
question: "why does TiD get so many opportunities and what
are other young people doing?" Finally, in the past year
our outgoing Chair, James Hurrell, was awarded the Whitbread Young
Achievers Award.
CROSS FERTILISATION
TiD has grown alongside and influenced other
work that I have been involved in:
— Summer University (CRE LARA Award
winner 1996) and summer education schemes including the concept
and role of the "Peer Motivator" as front end stewards,
marketing and reception teams.
— CityZen: young people trained to
run citizenship workshops; active in developing the UK Youth Parliament
and regional youth parliaments and forums and Connexions youth
committees.
— Youth on Youth: video research, working
alongside CityZen doing peer research for Connexions, LEAs, The
Industrial Society, regeneration agencies and in 2002 for the
Government's Summer Plus street crime initiative, including hate
crime in Bradford and Oldham.
— Summer University Ambassadors Millennium
Award Schemes: two schemes offering a total of 200 Awards to train
and mentor youth ambassadors and provide community based projects.
All these initiatives involved TiD members and
the ethos of young people empowered and directly involved in decision
making, project management and budget control.
WHAT WORKS
FOR YOUNG
PEOPLE
"I enjoyed the session because we played
games and said what we wanted to say. The good thing about Jimmy,
Roxy and Shahanaz was they were young so they understood what
we said."
What is interesting about young people is their
stubborn resistance to imposed rules and dogma in relation to
social tolerance and integration but their ability to fast track
personal and peer group change when they control the dialogue
and agenda.
"I thought the talk was really good and
everyone explained how they felt on the matter. There was also
no friction between the pupils, we were just opening out to each
other."
The methodology and practice that has proved
successful for TiD includes:
— The less adult involvement the better.
Ideally none
— Well trained, cool and street-wise,
confident and supported peer facilitators, with well structured
and planned sessions, exercises, activities and materials
— No restriction on what participants
can or cannot say but a firm set of ground rules negotiated at
the outset
— Mixed ethnic and gender groups, engineered
where necessary
— The school or college environment
is conducive to workshop success but only where the sessions are
free from teacher involvement as this stifles free speech and
action
— The citizenship curriculum is ideal
for the work but citizenship is still seen as a second class subject
and the single period sessions normally allocated are too short
to deal with the subject and facilitate closure, which most is
important when dealing with these sensitive and potentially volatile
topics
— Risk taking is good -doing nothing
because of the risk is not the safe option
"We should be targeting this at conflict
zones via schools."
— In an estate based or similar community
environment where there is conflict between different groups,
or gangs, a longer term project based method is more effective
in this case:
— a balanced programme of activities,
dialogue and theory is designed;
— the programme is adequately resourced
and risk assessed with robust health and safety strategies;
— the activities programme budget
should be given to the groups and used as a carrot to spend within
a framework conducive to the programme objectives;
— the two groups need to be matched
in terms of numbers;
— the groups should brought together
slowly and systematically within their own time; and
— well trained professionals should
work alongside the peer facilitators but the peer workers should
take the lead to capitalise on the role model effect.
"The radical talk was fun. I thought
I could really say what I think and believe to some stranger,
but they understood. Thank you."
Quotes from TiD workshop participant evaluation
sheets
OBSTACLES TO
SOCIAL AND
COMMUNITY COHESION
PRACTICE
Over the 10 years that I have been involved
in TiD and associated community and social cohesion initiatives
practices have changed considerably. In the mid 90's denial was
the status quo, institutional racism was pandemic and the work
seen as incitement. In its early days TiD struggled to be able
to deliver its workshops, programmes were often cancelled and
we were often accused of fuelling racism. Today TiD works in most
secondary schools in Tower Hamlets and in some, the programmes
has become a routine part of the citizenship curriculum. However
the work is still not mainstream and TiD receives no core grants
or youth service funding. Outside of London attitudes are still
entrenched, with local officials and professionals nervous and
frozen into inertia.
Obstacles include:
— Fear of incitement: statutory agencies
worry about criticism or upsetting certain groups. Don't rock
the boat syndrome.
— A dogmatic approach to racism and
equalities:
— standard, judgemental and prescriptive
definitions of racism;
— rigid policies that stifle dialogue
and offer only punitive action responses;
— policies that don't respond to
demographic or cultural change, particularly where young people
and youth subcultures are concerned;
— overzealousness, lack of fun
or sense of humour where appropriate; and
— lack of tolerance, understanding,
forgiveness, sensitivity, imagination and strategy.
— segregation, ghettoisation and mono-ethnic
service provision that is not absolutely essential for the social
and community development of the group in question
— Assumptions based on stereotype or
misinformation:
— placement of a black or white
worker in specific situations;
— separate provision for certain
groups;
— an assumption that a "community
leader" represents the majority of the community; and
— any assumptions made about a
community or individual is likely to be wrong.
"People think that community cohesion
is about race alone but it's not it is much more complicated.
Its also about economics, opportunity and class. Prejudices works
in different ways and the stereotypical perceptions are rarely
correct."
Tarhir Majid, Project Coordinator, Allerton
Young People's Project
— Inability or reluctance to take positive
action:
— lack or research or argument
to back positive action;
— ill-thought out positive action
leading to backlash;
— lack of political will or expedience;
— silos, interest groups and general
inertia;
— fear of risk taking (doing nothing
is usually far riskier).
"We should continue as a group. Unless
you know some of them [members of the other community] it's not
going to happen [good community relations], it's just gonna all
start fighting and kickin' off."
— Inadequate or out of date research:
— fast changing demographics, community
issues, youth attitudes and subculture need response; and
— peer research is needed to explore
the "real deal" in terms of youth attitudes.
— Inadequate resource materials:
— general lack of good quality
materials and training resources, out of date materials, lack
of accessibility for what is available; and
— lack of research and development
investment in new resources: so new materials are being developed
without attention to what's there and without adequate funding,
resulting in replication of poor quality resources.
— Lack of sustainable and adequate
mainstream core funding for innovative initiatives like TiD.
— Lack of recognition or mainstreaming
from Youth Service or Connexions for the work: TiD gets no Youth
Service or Connexions funding
POLICIES AND
PRACTICE FOR
A COHESIVE
SOCIETY AND
COHESIVE COMMUNITIES
— A continuing clear and consistent
message from The Government that social cohesion is a priority.
— Scrutiny at all levels of government
to ensure that policy and practice supports social cohesion.
— Identified good practice and a standardised
set of guidelines developed for public services: education, environmental,
community services etc.
— Some form of inspectorate and advisory
body that can assist local government, statutory and voluntary
service providers to ensure that policy and practice are supporting
good practice (potentially via the community safety units who
are already fulfilling this function in some areas).
— Joint departmental strategies in
areas of racial tension.
— The use of experienced practitioners
or an advisory service in areas of racial tension or emergency
situations.
— A consistent open and transparent
ongoing dialogue at all levels to inform a strategic response
to social cohesion.
— A continued demand and funding for
community safety units.
— Political and practical support for
groups like TiD.
— Mainstream core and development "Future
Builders" funding for groups like TiD.
— Recognition of the diversity and
dynamic fast changing nature racism and prejudice.
— Recognition of the value of diversity
throughout society as in the CRE "All Different All Equal"
programme.
— Consistent use of the statutory and
legal apparatus that supports social cohesion.
— Training for social and community
cohesion practitioners.
"We just don't mix, we keep to our areas
and they keep to theirs."
"The discussion highlighted the huge impact
[of racism] on society today."
"If an Asian person moves into an estate like
this they get their windows bricked in."
"I learned of other peoples' beliefs, opinions,
and views on racial issues."
Comments from a TiD/Rainbow workshop group in
Oldham 2002.
In schools:
— Policy support for social cohesion—specifically
race and community relations education—within the citizenship
curriculum
— Innovative incorporation of social
cohesion into the humanities curriculum
"I do not at all like that city. All
sorts of men crowd together there from every country under the
heavens. Each race brings its own vices and its own customs to
the city"
Richard of Devises, in a 12th century chronicle
on London
— Policy support for social cohesion
to be addressed with in the social infrastructure of the school,
outside the classroom and within out of school hours provision
— Policy that supports mixed community
schools and that sets social cohesion objectives for schools that
are predominantly mono-ethnic:
— activities between schools so
that groups can mix—this fits the specialist schools and
14-19 Green Paper (2003) models where pupils travel to access
lessons and facilities unavailable in their own school; and
— use of programmes like "Kick
it Out" (community sports), TiD and mixed residential experiences
and visits to exemplar diversity community schools to raise awareness
— Consistent, on going and structural
pupil centred cohesion strategies.
— Continued development of learning
resources from the Citizenship Foundation etc.
— Use of specialist external providers:
TiD, LEAP Confronting Conflict etc.
"When we were on the residential we did
ice breakers and got to live together and we are good friends
with them now."
In the Youth, Connexions and Youth Justice Services
and in Community Regeneration Projects:
— Policy, directive and funding that
supports social and community cohesion work and strategy.
— A strategic implementation of positive
action on social cohesion.
— Use of innovative activities and
education programmes to promote social cohesion.
— Use of arts and cultural projects
on positive imaging and multicultural projects via music, photography,
video and digital media.
— Use of sports and innovative outdoor
pursuits: "Kick it Out" etc.
— Mainstreaming, programme purchase
and funding for specialist agencies involved in promoting social
cohesion: TiD, LEAP Confronting Conflict etc.
— Incorporation of training for the
delivery of activities that promote social and community cohesion.
— Inspection and management to ensure
youth and Connexions services and workers do not implement practice
that reinforces social and community division and segregation.
— A continuation and improvement of
the policy of involving of young people in the decision making
process.
"Given the strength of feelings it was
quite a job to get the groups to participate at first and they
kept to their own groups. As the programme progressed they were
forced to interact and they began to realise that they shared
common issues. After this they started talking openly about racism
and the situation in their communities".
Graham Bowman, Coordinator, Rainbow Project
Oldham
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