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For more information about MENTER Projects, please click one of the links below:
MENTER Consultations
BME access to skills, employment and enterprise
Equalities
Partnership Development Project (PDP)
Pathways to Employment (P2E) Project
Other
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Regional Equalities Forum – to be or not to be?
A new research project funded and supported by the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) is being carried out in the East of England between January and March 2010 seeking to assess whether there is a need for a Regional Equalities Forum or other structure which would facilitate the communication between regional stakeholders around equality work development in our region. For more information, please click to download the Regional Equalities Forum Information document. If you would like to get involved, or be part of this research, please contact by mid February 2010 the project manager at: Adelina “at”menter.org.uk (replace “at” with @”)
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Employers survey
The East of England is one of the most vibrant, inclusive and rapidly changing areas of the UK. What role do employers in the region play in promoting equality and diversity?
You are invited to participate in this short survey of employers operating in the private, public and the third sector. This survey is being conducted to find out more about current equality practice in the East of England Region. In particular, the importance employers place on equality, whether employers have found particular policies or practice that work well for their business/organisation and what employers have found to be the business benefits of good equality practice.
By completing this survey you will inform what shape future services and employment practice can take in the region. This can bring benefits to your customers/beneficiaries as well as the people you employ.
This survey will take less than ten minutes to complete. By completing this survey, you will be entered into a prize draw. A prize of £100 will be given to the winners in each of the 3 sectors as follows: private sector, public sector and third sector. To access the survey please click on the link below:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=1cB_2fJ_2bVfrUFdERNkg4YEmA_3d_3d
This survey is part of a research project commissioned by MENTER, a leading equality organisation. For more information contact us at: equalitiesintheeast”at”googlemail.com (replace “at” with @)
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Frontline Engagement through Regional Infrastructure (FERI) project
October 2009 will see the launch of regional infrastructure services through the Frontline Engagement through Regional Infrastructure (FERI) project, which is funded by the Big Lottery Fund. This project covers the whole of the East of England. FERI will be delivered in the county and unitary authority areas of Bedfordshire and Luton, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Essex, Southend on Sea and Thurrock, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk.
FERI will achieve increased frontline engagement, more consistent access to increased ICT resources, and improved regional infrastructure support, both specialist and generic. It will ensure better reach and support to faith and rural groups particularly with regard to improving ICT access and use. FERI will define and deliver appropriate regional infrastructure, improve evidence and access to information/policy briefings. FERI services seek to add value not duplicate local and national infrastructure provision.
For more information about the project, its partners, services and beneficiaries, please click here.
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MENTER member survey 2009
MENTER, the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Network for the Eastern Region is conducting a survey of its members to develop a better understanding of the trends that affect the BME sector e.g. the reduction in grant funding and the expectation that some of this may be replaced by, contracts/service level agreements. We are also updating the member survey that we undertook in 2004 to revisit what you do, what your organisational needs are and what you expect from MENTER. For more information about the 2004 survey and the final reports, please click here.
As localised community groups and /organisations that serve the most disadvantaged members of the community, BME Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) members could also be feeling the impact of the present recession in different ways that need to be well documented and shared with the relevant regional strategic partners. This could cause difficulties such as the need to cut down on staff, less support for volunteers, problems with premises, increased demand on your services etc. Solutions and appropriate help need to be identified.
By taking part in this study you will ensure that the trends affecting BME organisations in the East of England, especially small and medium-sized ones, are well documented and you can help MENTER develop ways to support the sector as well as raise issues with relevant policy makers and funders.
We have asked you for your organisational details, this is to check against our database and make sure that it is correct. If you are not on the database we will ask your permission for your details will be added. For the purpose of this research no organisations will be identified. All answers will be anonymous.
To download the 2009 survey:
2003-2007 Word version, please click here
2009 Word version, please click here
pdf version, please click here
Please send completed questionnaires to Tony Lindsay via E-mail: tony“at”menter.org.uk (replace “at” by @) or by post to our Cambridge offices: 62-64 Victoria Road, Cambridge, CB4 3DU.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us on (01223) 355034.
Thank you very much for your help and support.
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ARCHIVE
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Promoting and Celebrating Good Practice
Partnership Development Project 2006-2009
On 19th February 2009, over 60 people from all over the Eastern Region, gathered in Cambridge for the finale of MENTER’s Partnership Development Project, which was funded by Connecting Communities Plus from June 2006 to March 2009.
At the conference the final project report was presented. The report summarised and highlighted the project’s achievements from 2006 — 2009. MENTER supported eleven local Multi-Agency Forums (MAFs) to identify, prioritise and implement action to address BME issues, in particular refugee and migrant worker issues. The project contributed to the development of local and regional (integration) strategies, such as the Regional ESOL Strategy. The project steering group comprised of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), the East of England Regional Assembly Strategic Migration Partnership (EERA SMP), The Refugee Council, Government Offices East (GOEast) and the Voluntary Sector Refugee Network East of England (VSRN-EE). One of the greatest successes of the project was the formation of the Regional Multi-Agency Chairs’ Forum, which brings together local MAF Chairs and relevant regional stakeholders.
At the conference there were talks and presentations given by Ian Beattie (EERA-SMP Senior Policy Officer), Sheila Childerhouse (Chair of EEDA’s Migrant Worker Steering Group), Allison Coleman (Suffolk MAF) and Daisy Line (West Norfolk MAF), and Ila Chandavarkar (Chief Officer, MENTER). They explained in different ways the positive impact that the MAFs have had and continue to have on the lives of migrant workers and refugees. They also painted a picture of the migrant workers and refugee sector in the East of England and its current developments.
Keynote speaker Olivia Fellas from Islington Borough Council spoke on behalf of the National No Recourse to Public Funds Network (NRPF). The national NRPF network was set up in 2006 with funding from UKBA. The aim of the network is to influence and facilitate discussion on reimbursement by national government and provide guidance on NRPF cases. Evidence from a survey that they conducted suggested that local authorities deal with NRPF cases in different ways and subsequently also keep records in different ways. This makes it difficult to paint a national picture.
For more information about the MAFs, the Partnership Development Project, the regional NRPF or for a copy of the final report, please contact Pa Musa Jobarteh, on (01603) 617076 or Email: pamusa”at”menter.org.uk. (Replace “at” by @) A PDF of the report can also be downloaded from www.partnershipdevelopmentproject.org.uk.
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Recent activities and achievements of the Pathways to Employment Project
Information, advice and guidance for refugee health professionals:
The Pathways to Employment project is working in collaboration with the NHS East of England Deanery (http://www.eoedeanery.nhs.uk/page.php?page_id=827) to provide information and guidance as well as financial support to the East of England Refugee Doctors’ Group members. The project has also facilitated contact between clients and specialist projects in other parts of the UK (ARRIVE, RAGU, REACHE). As a result, clients have attended Personal Development Plan workshops and specialist IAG sessions. The project has also supported individuals to apply for grants to charitable trusts such as BMA Charities.
Information, advice and guidance for other refugee clients interested in health and social care work:
In Norwich, the project has engaged with 25 refugee clients. We facilitated three information workshops in October-December 2008 (see the October 2008 issue of MENTER newsletter). In February 2009, we started weekly group sessions with 12 clients to improve their job search skills. In June 2009, The British Red Cross and MENTER will offer First Aid training to participants of this group.
If you are a refugee health professional or you would just like to know more about the Project, do not hesitate to contact Béatrice Humarau, Project Support Officer, on (01603) 617076 or Email: beatrice”at”menter.org.uk. (Replace “at” by @)
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Engaging young people in the production of a film about faith
March 2008
MENTER, the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Bedford and Momentum Arts received funding from the Government’s Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund in 2007 for an exciting project. The project is designed to develop understanding of the different faiths by engaging young people in the production of a film. The film, entitled “What am I supposed to believe” will be launched on 2nd April in Bedford.
Elements of the project have developed understanding of shared citizenship and participation in local democracy. The project has been advised by the East of England Faiths Council and Bedford Council of Faiths. It is funded by a Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund grant through the Community Development Foundation who are sponsored by the Communities and Local Government (CLG).
Details of the launch night of the film which included presentations by Member of Parliament for Bedford, Patrick Hall and local boxer Matt Skelton will be appearing here shortly.
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Group starter Pack
Setting up a new community group or voluntary organisation will involve a variety of work and there are a number of things you will need to consider before you start. MENTER’s Shaila Bibi has collated in the starter pack the essentials, from sample constitutions, to environmental policies as well as project sheets. Click here to download the pack.
If you have got any comments, or suggestions please e-mail Shaila, on Shaila “at” menter.org.uk (replace “at” by @).
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Resources available from the Partnership Development Project and EERA SMP
Spring 2008
Since 2004, the Partnership Development Project of MENTER, which focuses on assisting with the integration needs of asylum seekers, refugees and migrant workers in the East of England, has been working in partnership with the East of England Regional Assembly’s Strategic Migration Partnership (EERA-SMP) and other organisations to produce resource packs for the Multi Agency Forums (MAFs) in the region.
We are pleased to announce that the following resource packs are ready and available for distribution to network members. The packs will initially be available in electronic copies only, but printed copies can be available on request:
· Community Participation Guide -aims to help improve asylum seekers’, refugees’ and migrant workers’ participation and engagement with MAFs
· Refugee Integration Guide -identifies key areas of work which will guide MAFs in their work in helping to integrate asylum seekers and refugees
· Racism Awareness report with recommendations for MAFs - a short report based on an informal assessment of the awareness amongst MAF members of the needs and problems associated with racism towards asylum seekers, refugee and migrant workers with recommended action
· LAA Guide by EERA-SMP-is a set of guidelines which are linked to the LAA national indicators which aims to help regional network members develop LAA’s that respond positively to the opportunities and challenges created by the arrival of asylum seekers, refugees and migrant workers
· Information pack available on the CLG website written by MENTER and Loretta Hurley Development Consultant- an information template and how-to guide for developing welcome packs for migrant communities. Go to www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=7917246 for downloading.
The resource packs can be accessed from the project website from 16th June at www.partnershipdevelopment project.org.uk , by tel. 01603 617076 or by email request to the project staff: pamusa “at” menter.org.uk and beatrice “at” menter.org.uk
The Partnership Development Project is funded by Communities and Local Government.
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Review of ethnicity in the East of England
The MENTER review of ethnicity in the East of England was published in Spring 2006. The review, which uses census data, focuses largely on health and housing but also covers older people, experiences and fear of crime and pattern of employment and economic activity.
The research looks at the health of BME groups in terms of disproportionate rates of mental ill-health, long-term illness and poor health and life expectancy amongst BME groups. It also looks at tenure and links between housing, racial incidences and other issues such as overcrowding.
The report includes a useful route map that has links to websites and existing reports and data on ethnicity. The route map is a live document. The intention is that the user adds new reports or useful links to the route map as they become known.
Both the research and the route map are available to download
Final Research Report
Route Map
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Results published of survey of BME groups
The results of a survey of Black and minority ethnic (BME) voluntary groups in the East of England have been published. The research was carried out on behalf of MENTER by BMG Research in 2004. 397 organisations were initially mailed the questionnaire and in all, 90 organisations responded, which represents a response rate of 23%.
The overall picture of the sector is one of many small organisations operating with few staff, with a bias towards unpaid voluntary staff (44% have no paid staff). These organisations provide a variety of services from health to community development and advice on race discrimination/ harassment. Three-quarters of respondent organisations are membership organisations. Most organisations have a predominant BME group among their trustees – only 11% have no majority group. In addition to services provided, staffing and trustees, the 12 page report can be also covers funding, organisational status, sector support and planning for the future.
To download the report, click here
Along with the survey MENTER also commissioned a series of in depth interviews across the East of England. Six BME target groups were identified: young people aged 16-24, women, Travellers, refugees, people from newer communities and those living in rural areas. This report is available here.
MENTER is conducting a similar survey in Summer 2009. Click here for more information.
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BMET (Black and Minority Ethnic Trainers) Directory
During the year you may have read articles on the progress of the BMET project. MENTER worked in partnership with the project initiator, Jim Thakoordin, CRNe, Go-East, the Refugee Council and other partners to promote the work of BME Trainers and Consultants. It was felt that there is a pool of expertise that is under-utilised, usually because training and consultancy contracts are awarded through invisible, informal networks that do not include BME people. Where contracts are awarded these are often related only to equalities work, even though BME trainers have other useful skills e.g. in project management, community development, voluntary sector development and regeneration. The lead organisation for the project was Community Renewal Network East (CRNe). The project team was advised throughout by Jim Thakoordin. The promotion of the project took two routes: (1) Consultation events in Bedford and Luton (2) work with agencies in the region to assess training and consultancy requirements and to highlight the publication of the directory.
The final copy of the BMET Directory includes “good practice” guidelines on writing a brief, contracts and appointing a trainer or consultant. It also includes relevant legislation referring to appointing trainers or consultants and finally the bulk of the directory is focused on details of BME trainers and consultants from the Region. We are pleased to confirm that the directory is available to down load by clicking on the link below:
BMET directory
Although this project was heavily advertised we are aware that some consultants and trainers might not be included. Therefore they can download a questionnaire and include their details in the directory which will be updated quarterly. We would like to thank all those who have supported this project and hope you enjoy using the directory.
For further information please contact:
Shaila Bibi or CRNe (01842 754 101)
Disclaimer: Whilst MENTER have sought to provide advice in this Directory on appropriate and transparent contracting processes, MENTER or any of the partners involved in this project are not responsible for any action or inaction by providers at any stage in the process of recruiting and/or supporting trainers and consultants from any background.
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