Good Afternoon
AND thank you to NWAMI- “North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration” for inviting me to speak at today’s event NWAMI's International advisory panel meeting.
North Wales Association for Multicultural Association and the Centre for Cultural Engagement is a community interest group registered as a Non-profit making organisation. They have no paid staff but run by the directors and volunteers. Their members come from diverse ethnicity, vulnerable and deprived population including lonely, homeless and both physically and mentally disabled group. They seek funds for different people and empower the members to plan and implement their own learning and engagement projects under supervision of directors.
Whilst NWAMI is the Charity’s registered name, its operational name is the Centre for Cultural Engagement. On the 16th June 2015 the Centre for Cultural Engagement was formally launched in the Senedd at an event which was well attended by AMs and a wide range of organisations, focused on building community cohesion and a tolerant society through cultural engagement.
On the 3rd June 2016 I was then honoured to speak at the official opening of NWAMI/Centre for Cultural Engagement’s Multicultural Community Partnership Premises in Colwyn Bay, providing space for people and organisations to engage in a wide range of Multicultural activities.
The 2007 Commission on Integration and Cohesion report “Our Shared Future” outlined practical proposals for building integration and cohesion at a local level. It stated that we should adopt a new definition of an integrated and cohesive community.
It also proposed four key principles to underpin a new understanding of integration and cohesion:
Firstly, the sense of shared futures which we believe is at the heart of our model and our recommendations – an emphasis on articulating what binds communities together rather than what differences divide them, and prioritising a shared future over divided legacies
Secondly, an emphasis on a new model of rights and responsibilities that we believe will be fit for purpose in the 21st century – one that makes clear both a sense of citizenship at national and local level, and the obligations that go along with membership of a community, both for individuals or groups
Thirdly, an ethics of hospitality – a new emphasis on mutual respect and civility that recognises that alongside the need to strengthen the social bonds within groups, the pace of change across the country reconfigures local communities rapidly, meaning that mutual respect is fundamental to issues of integration and cohesion
AND a commitment to equality that sits alongside the need to deliver visible social justice, to prioritise transparency and fairness, and build trust in the institutions that arbitrate between groups.
The 2007 ‘What Works’ in Community Cohesion Research Study conducted for Communities and Local Government and the Commission on Integration and Cohesion stated that “community cohesion is a multi-faceted concept, requiring cross-cutting, multi-pronged approaches. There is consensus that cohesion relates to encouraging positive relationships between different groups (all groups – not just on ethnic lines, for example). This is usually regarded as more positive than simply avoiding problems and tensions, and respect for diversity and meaningful interaction (rather than mixing per se) is seen as key within this. This finding supports the increased recognition of the importance of the quality of interaction in the recent literature, such as by the Commission for Racial Equality”.
Last May, I had a meeting in the Assembly with the Welsh Refugee Council, the North Wales Association for Multicultural Integration and the personal support service CAIS to talk about how we can work in partnership to break down barriers and increase understanding of each other's cultures.
We must recognise the vital work been carried out by frontline community and third sector organisations to promote multicultural integration in Wales.
I recently spoke in an Assembly Debate on the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
The Convention covers the rights of all people to enjoy civil, political, economic and social rights, without discrimination on grounds of race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which the UK ratified in 1969.
I extensively quoted the Chair and Founder of NWAMI, Dr Sibani Roy, and stated:
"Some of the people think that when you talk about integration, you mean assimilation. We have to explain to people that integration is not assimilation”.
“We have to respect the law and culture of the land.
She added "What we need to do is educate people and say we are all human beings, we're friendly and we should try to understand each other's culture.
"When they learn about other cultures, then they will possibly become friendly."
“Change will happen very slowly, Tit for tat is not the way to change people.
"By talking to people and educating people - eventually by convincing them that human beings are not all bad.
"It doesn't matter - it's individuals.
"And that is what I've always believed myself: that we treat them as individuals - it doesn't matter what the background is, their faith or colour”.
It terms of Brexit – when people voted to leave the EU, they were voting for control, not extremism.
Some extremists have sought to highjack Brexit for their own ends.
However, at this critical time, we must remember that this is not about a soft Brexit or a hard Brexit, but an open Brexit, one that ensures that the UK is still turned outwards, and more engaged with the world than ever before.
We need to build a cohesive community and integrated society in Wales in the 21st century.
To achieve this we need to promote an understanding and respect of this country’s diverse cultures through cultural engagement and interaction, education and training.
As I have said many times, this is about celebrating our glorious diversity together.