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How to participate in Anti-Racist Workplace Week
More and more organisations throughout Northern Ireland now recognise the importance of tackling racism in the workplace not simply because of their legal obligations but because it makes good business sense. The Anti-Racist Workplace Week initiative provides employers, trade unions and Black and minority ethnic groups with an important opportunity to put in place effective measures to support a more culturally diverse workforce and customer base and reduce the risk of racism occurring.
There are lots of possibilities open to organisations who wish to organise an event or activity during the week, click on the links below or scroll down the page for examples:
Sign the Unite Against Hate Petition
Avail of Free training - ´Ending Hate in our Community´
Send myth busting emails to your employees during the week
Utilise a free Training DVD and resource pack to deliver an anti-racism training workshop.
Review your policies and procedures regarding the provision of interpreters for employees or customers
Review your policies and procedures for providing translated information to employees or customers
Develop a welcome pack for ethnic minority employees or service users
Other ideas for events and activities during the week could include:
Informing us if you wish to participate in the week
Sign the Unite Against Hate Petition.
For more information about this campaign and to add your name to the petition click here.
Avail of Free training - ´Ending Hate in our Community´
SEEDS and the Center for the Prevention of hate Violence (CPHV) have worked in collaboration to deliver ´Ending Hate in our Community Training´ in Northern Ireland. This training is free of charge and there are currently 66 trainers throughout Northern Ireland who are available to conduct a 3 hour Ending Hate Workshop. The objectives of the training are to:
- Understand the extent of bias, harassment and hate crimes in the community
- Explore the impact of bias and harassment on those who are targeted
- Learn practical skills for response and prevention
Here´s what previous participants have said about the training:
´All was effective and useful. Fantastically delivered and helped me reach beyond what I thought my limits were.´ ´I´ve new tools to challenge bias and more confidence in intervening´
´I got a tremendous amount from this training and am very excited about participating more actively in trying to develop our society for the better´
´I would be able to intervene in situations much quicker than before. I see how the smallest things could affect someone negatively and that I could take action to change them.´
Send myth busting emails to your employees during the week
You can copy the myth busting facts below and send one to your employees every day during Anti-Racist Workplace Week. These facts were put together by the good relations team in Belfast City Council:
Monday
Northern Ireland - A History of Migration 1
Q. What do the following people have in Common?
- Roy Keane
- Ronaldo
- Madonna
- Billy Connolly
- Terry Wogan
- Pierce Brosnan
- Colin Farrell
Keep your workplace a Racism-Free Zone
This has been sent to you in support of the Equality Commission´s Anti-Racist Workplace Week campaign 19th - 23rd October. For further information about this initiative click onto: www.equalityni.org
Tuesday
Northern Ireland - A History of Migration 2
Q. What do the following People have in common?
- Bernardo O´Higgins, First President of Chile
- Chaim Herzog, 6th President of Israel
- Ronald Regan, 40th President of the USA
- Alvaro Obregon, President of Mexico 1920-24
- Che Guevara, Argentine Marxist Revolutionary
- James Callaghan, Layout PM of UK 1976-79
- Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison of the Beatles
- Bruce Springsteen, song writer, performer and political activist
- Liam Gallagher and Noel Gallagher of Oasis
- Judy Garland, actress and legendary singer
- Peter O´Toole, actor
- Johnny Rotten (b. John Lydon), lead singer of the Sex Pistols
A. They either migrated from the island of Ireland or their ancestors did. Herzog was actually born in Belfast.
Keep your workplace a Racism-Free Zone
This has been sent to you in support of the Equality Commission´s Anti-Racist Workplace Week campaign 19th - 23rd October. For further information about this initiative click onto: www.equalityni.org
Wednesday
Northern Ireland - A History of Migration 3
80,000,000
The number of people estimated to be in the Irish diaspora. The Irish diaspora consist of Irish emigrants and their descendants throughout the world, e.g. United States of America, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and the states of the Caribbean and continental Europe. 80,000,000 is over 14 times the population of the island of Ireland itself.
Irish people are still emigrating at the rate of 17,000 a year. (´Challenging Myths and Misinformation about Migrant Workers and their Families´, MRCI & NCCR)
From mid-2005 to mid-2006, 385,000 people left the UK on a long term basis i.e. for more than one year. (Economic and Fiscal Impact of Immigration´, Home office, Oct 2007, p5)
Keep your workplace a Racism-Free Zone
This has been sent to you in support of the Equality Commission´s Anti-Racist Workplace Week campaign 19th - 23rd October. For further information about this initiative click onto: www.equalityni.org
Thursday
Northern Ireland - A History of Migration 4
Do migrant workers get priority in the allocation of social housing?
Allocation policies do not discriminate on grounds of race or ethnicity. Social housing providers will establish migrant workers eligibility for housing in Northern Ireland and their housing needs will be assessed in the same way as any other applicant under the Rules of the Housing Selection Scheme. Anyone applying under this scheme will be visited and assessed, registered on a Common Waiting List and allocated property according to the rules of the Scheme.
353 migrant worker households were tenants on 31st July 2008. The Equality and Human Rights Commission has produced a report that states that only 2% of social housing tenants were immigrants who had arrived in the past five years.
This has been sent to you in support of the Equality Commission´s Anti-Racist Workplace Week campaign 19th - 23rd October. For further information about this initiative click onto: www.equalityni.org
Friday
Northern Ireland - A History of Migration 5
Love
War
Work
Better life
Support family
Be reunited with family
Adventure
Study
Career
Lifestyle
Climate
Health
To escape persecution
Survival
Throughout history and the world, people have migrated from place to place for these and other reasons.
What about you?
Where did you come from?
Keep your workplace a Racism-Free Zone
This has been sent to you in support of the Equality Commission´s Anti-Racist Workplace Week campaign 19th - 23rd October. For further information about this initiative click onto: www.equalityni.org
Utilise a free Training DVD and resource pack to deliver an anti-racism training workshop.
The ASCC (Association of Social Care Communicators) national award nominated ´Don´t Get Me Wrong´ DVD and Resource pack - was developed by Health and Social Care organisations in conjunction with ArtsEkta and supported by the Equality Commission. This training resource is only for use by trainers who are experienced in delivering anti-racism sessions.
The overall aim of the "Don´t Get Me Wrong" resource is to use a creative thought provoking drama as a training medium. It explores the way in which racism and sectarianism are manifested and exposes how racist language in the form of nicknames or labels and stereotyping based on appearance is used within the everyday vocabulary of people in the workplace.
Whilst the drama depicts racism and sectarianism within a health and social care setting the applicability of the messages is much wider. The hospital setting is one which most people will be familiar with as most of us will have some experience of either being in or visiting a hospital. Hospitals are also environments in which we would all expect to be treated fairly. The setting is therefore one which we can all relate to and so makes it relevant to a wide range of other organisations.
The resource notes for trainers include a number of different strategies for delivering the workshop embracing discussion, drama, team building, and partnership working to explore personal communications and the issues at the heart of the DVD.
To find out more about this resource please contact:
Anne McGlade on Tel: 028 90 316732, Email: anne.mcglade@hscni.net
or
Nisha Tandon on Tel: 028 90 231381, Email: info@artsekta.org.uk
Review your policies and procedures regarding the provision of interpreters for employees or customers
Click here to see best practice guidelines on the use of interpreters produced by the Developing Best Practice Working Group of the Migrant Workers Thematic Sub-Group.
Review your policies and procedures for providing translated information to employees or customers
Click here to see best practice guidelines on the use of translation produced by the Developing Best Practice Working Group of the Migrant Workers Thematic Sub-Group.
Develop a welcome pack for ethnic minority employees or service users
Click here to see the best practice template produced by the Developing Best Practice Working Group of the Migrant Workers Thematic Sub-Group.
Other ideas for events and activities during the week could include:
- Convening a focus group of Black and ethnic minority workers to explore their needs and how best to meet them.
- Organising an information session for migrant workers on employment rights.
- Providing or giving information on English language classes.
- Translating key information materials into relevant languages.
- Organising a training event for employees on the issues of racism and cultural diversity.
- Forming a committee with representatives of management, trade unions and employees to prepare and promote an action plan for an Anti-Racist Workplace.
- Organising an induction course for migrant workers.
- Surveying employees to explore attitudes to cultural diversity and experiences in a culturally diverse workplace.
- Reviewing equality policies to ensure that they adequately reflect a commitment to achieving full equality in practice for black and minority ethnic employees.
- Using internal communication systems to inform all employees about the week and the commitment of your organisation to an intercultural workplace.
- Participating in events and initiatives organised by representative organisations during the week - see the Events and Activities 2009 section to see what events are being organised in your area.
Informing us if you wish to participate in the week
Please let us know if your organisation is planning an event or initiative during Anti-Racist Workplace Week 2009. This helps create visibility and awareness throughout Northern Ireland and can provide inspiration to other organisations wishing to participate in the initiative.
You can do this by posting, emailing or faxing us details of:
- Your organisations name
- Contact details
- Details of event / initiative
- Indication of whether you would like us to publicise your event or initiative on our website
Our contact details are:
Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
7-9 Shaftesbury Square
Belfast
BT2 7DP
Telephone: 028 90 890 890
Fax: 028 90 248 687
Email: information@equalityni.org (please put ARWW in the subject bar of your email)
Website: www.equalityni.org
Textphone: 028 90 500 589
Telephone: 028 90 500 600 Textphone: 028 90 500 589 Fax: 028 90 248 687
Enquiry Line: 028 90 890 890 Email: information@equalityni.org
