ROV’s work
begins on the basis that the period of chattel
and colonial enslavement left
an indelible imprint on society. It set in place
a particular way that cultures and people’s
understood each other and related to each other.
It accentuated the differences
between groups and forged hierarchies based on
race. This has continued until today
and led to deep-seated conflicts, lasting mistrust
of each other, broken relationships
and divided communities.
Today international, national,
regional and local policies are being introduced
to bridge
gaps between communities and to reduce racial
tension. Many frameworks exist to
address different contemporary social problems.
But, are they looking to what is at
the root of the problem or are they simply addressing
the symptom? Can they ever
really find the solution if they don’t know
what is causing the problem?
ROV ascertains that the tension,
anger, mistrust and violence between communities
is a brutal consequence of historical injustices
which have not been addressed, and
of wounds that have not yet healed. Our work aims
to strengthen relevant policies and
frameworks by advancing the understanding of some
of the root causes of division
between communities, in connection with the legacies
of chattel and colonial
enslavement. There is an urgent need to create
alternative frameworks for these
connections to be understood within the wider
context of how they impact upon a
number of factors such as socio-economic realities
for different communities, educational
attainment, patterns of behaviour, learned reactions
to each other and cultural memory.
ROV’s work beings to address some of the
‘missing links’ in international,
national and
local policies, which fail to explore the linkages
between historical experience and
contemporary social realities. We look in particular
at policies around youth and cross
community integration, cohesion, regeneration,
empowerment and active citizenship with
the aim of working towards their successful implementation.
This would be evidenced in
the longer term by transformed relationships between
communities and a social
environment which works for all of us, whoever
we are, wherever we are from and
whatever our beliefs are.
Listed below are links to some of the policies
and frameworks within and beyond the
UK, which we believe are most pertinent to repairing
the harm caused by the 500 year
legacy of chattel, colonial and neo-colonial enslavement:
Improving Opportunity, Strengthening Society:
The Government’s strategy to increase
race equality and community cohesion This strategy
sets out one strand of the
Government’s overall drive to improve fairness
and opportunities for all in Britain; how
we will ensure that a person’s ethnicity
is not a barrier to their success and how we
will foster the cohesion necessary to enable people
from minority and majority
communities to work together for social and economic
progress.
Community Cohesion: SEVEN STEPS A
Practitioner’s Toolkit
Community cohesion describes the ability of communities
to function and grow in
harmony together rather than in conflict. It has
strong links to concepts of equality
and diversity given that community cohesion can
only grow when society as a whole
recognises that individuals have the right to
equality (of treatment, access to services
etc) and respects and appreciates the diverse
nature of our communities. The Community
Cohesion Pathfinder Programme aimed to test and
evaluate new methods of developing
social cohesion and community participation in
a wide range of different communities
across the country.
Community Cohesion: Area Based Initiatives
Guidance
This document provides advice on how best to address
cohesion within both new and
existing ABIs, to ensure that relations between
recipient communities and their neighbours
are not damaged. It is intended for Government
departments, Government Offices for
the Regions, Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs),
Regional Development Agencies (RDAs),
Local Authorities, and the many statutory and
nonstatutory organisations involved in
the development, delivery and monitoring of ABIs
and regeneration programmes. It will
also be of interest to community representatives
involved in regeneration activity. http://communities.homeoffice.gov.uk/raceandfaith/reports_pubs/publications/race_faith/
abi_guidance.pdf?view=Binary
"Working together": Co-operation
between Government and faith
Communities Progress report
The Government is committed to working closely
with faith communities to build strong
active communities and foster community development
and civil renewal. This report
explores ways that Government Departments can
work more effectively with faith
communities in policy areas where their perspectives
are relevant.
On 18 July 2005 the Government published the Youth
Green Paper, Youth Matters. It
addresses key issues relating to how we support
and challenge our teenagers. The
Government is seeking to consult young people,
parents and professionals on the proposals.
Building on the ambition of Every Child Matters,
which promotes the idea that all young
people should achieve five key outcomes (being
healthy, staying safe, enjoying and
achieving, making a positive contribution and
achieving economic well-being), Youth
Matters aims to radically re-shape services for
young people.
A New Commitment to Neighbourhood
Renewal: A National Strategy Action Plan
This strategy sets out the Government's vision
for narrowing the gap between deprived
neighbourhoods and the rest of the country, so
that within 10 to 20 years, no-one
should be seriously disadvantaged by where they
live. http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/publications.asp?did=85
