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We will continue our Be Interculture photo campaign. We have already spoken to and t...
Interculture - Let's Bring People Together!
Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Aim
To bring people together through events to reduce Other, fear, build empathy, awareness and help people tell their Interculture story.
What we do
We bring people together to reduce the Other ( them and us)- the idea that some groups of people are inherently inferior and less human than others. Our belief is bringing people together leads to a reduction in fear and an increase in empathy and understanding. We build on intercultural awareness and sensitivity by creating safe spaces for dialogue around cultural matters and breaking down perceived cultural barriers.
We strongly believe that fear and displaced anger is the root of the problem. We all have unconsious and conscious bias through socialisation ( influenced by society)
We Are Inclined to Make Decisions by Putting People into Different Groups.
“Unconscious biases are our unintentional people preferences, formed by our socialisation and experiences, including exposure to the media. We unconsciously assign positive and negative value to the categories we use.”
So let's talk about it!
We aim to make everything as inclusive and accessible as possible.
Our goals:
- We strongly believe that communication is key and bringing people together is the way forwardWe aim to join the dots in Bristol and beyond to create a more interculturally friendly society
- We intentionally do not have a target demographic as we aim to make everything we do as inclusive, diverse and accessible as possible
We bring people together to talk about:
Conscious and unconscious bias
Diversity, representation and inclusion
Identity and Otherness
Individual and shared experiences
With your money we will put on 3 projects:
Being Mixed Race
We want to put on an event and make podcasts around Being Mixed Race. The main event will be a full day of panel discussions, speakers, round table discussions, short films, stand up comedy, spoken word by Lyrically Justified and artwork.
‘Mixed Race’ people are the largest growing demographic in Bristol, and the UK. As cultures blend and mix in all kinds of ways, what effect does this have on the individual from a multi-heritage background?
Having listened to over 100 people who define themselves as mixed race, there are themes that keep coming up, identity, feelings of not belonging, other people telling them who or what they are, as well as the positives of having multiple heritage.
Working with local radio, Interculture plans to make a series of podcasts to further spread the word and increase understanding for all around being Mixed Race.
Black Men Talking
This project will provide Black Men from diverse backgrounds with a platform to talk about what it is like to be black in the UK. How racism affects them and their individual and shared experiences.
We will also discuss stereotypes, misrepresentation and how to be an ally.
We have spoken to many people both black, white and other people of colour about this subject. We are all affected by socialization, negative stereotypes portrayed in the media, and by politicians. At Interculture we believe in order for us to move forward there is need for conversations around unconscious and conscious bias and to listen to lived experiences.
We will collaborate on a full day event and podcasts with Mandem and other groups who are already working on changing perceptions, increasing representation and having these conversations.
“If you don’t think representation is important, then you’re probably very well represented.” —Mariko Tamaki
Let’s Talk About Whiteness
If you have got this far I am assuming that you are aware that in order for there to be inequality and disadvantages in our society for people of colour , there are advantages and therefore privileges to being white. We want to explore what part we might play in that as white people.
Since seeing Robin Diangelo talk about her controversial book, White Fragility, we have been researching and talking to many people about this topic. And yes, some white people have got defensive and taken it as a personal attack. I admit, I found it challenging , when I was first told that I could be part of the problem, but after listening, researching and reflecting I have come to accept it and have gained a deeper understanding.
“The simplistic idea that racism is limited to individual intentional acts committed by unkind people is at the root of virtually all white defensiveness on this topic.”
Robin DiAngelo- Author of White Fragility / Why It’s So Hard To Talk To White People About Racism.
White fragility refers to white people's defensiveness when spoken to about racism. Over the years when people find out what I do, numerous people have said to me immediatley ' Well black people can be rascist too', without me accusing them of anything. We all have unconscious bias, and form ideas about people based on their ethnicity, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, accents etc... We all make assumptions and we want people to reflect and have conversations about it.
The Bristol Old Vic have asked us to put on an event about Whiteness in March and with your help we want to turn it into a series of events, collaborating with academics and groups who are also interested in this topic.
As a white woman who runs Interculture.I believe it is not healthy or productive to only focus on People of Colours experiences , but also to reflect on how I as a white person might navigate the world around me. When I talk about my work , sometimes other white people say things to me like...
I don’t see race, I don’t care if you are black , white, brown, orange or pink with blue stripes…’
At Interculture we do not believe that by talking about race, we are making the situation worse. Sometimes people have to get uncomfortable, before they get comfortable.
The Founder
I am the founder of Interculture Training, Events and Consultancy CIC. I have spent the last 5 years getting Interculture off the ground.
I grew up in Welland, a small village in rural Worcestershire. Growing up everyone was white with only a handful of people from diverse backgrounds. I got kicked out of college and got a one way ticket to Spain and spent the next 13 years living between Spain, Italy and short period in Turkey and Portugal. At 21 I became an English teacher and since then I have taught students from over 40 nationalities.
I moved to Bristol in 2005 and did a degree in Spanish and European Studies. The modules that stood out for me were The Rise Of The Far Right in Europe.
I then completed a Masters in Intercultural Communication. I became mildly obsessed with the Concept Of The Other (them and us). I looked at how thethe transatlantic slave trade was justified with the dehumanistion and demonisation by of Africans. The colonisers had to paint a picture of how Africans ‘less human’ and therefore inferior so they treat them inhumanely.
I looked at how this manifested post 9/11 with the Othering of Muslims. We all know that Muslims are demonised by mainstream media, films, social media and politicians.We know from the work of Tell MAMA that major terrorist attacks lead to a corresponding rise in sharp spikes of recorded anti-Muslim hate incidents. This is due to the fact that part of Othering is to treat a group as one and not treat them as individuals.
I have foster brothers who were unaccompanied asylum seekers, and I based my dissertation on the reaction of people in our village. My conclusion was that the fear soon disappeared once they got to know my brothers. People's negative feelings around the boys coming to live in the village was largely influenced by a lack of previous interaction with refugees, Muslims or other People of Colour. Their information came from mainstream media, friends and family and of course, social media.
I saw how years of othering Muslims could be reversed by sometimes even one interaction or conversation. I called this re-humanisation.
After travelling through Central America, I fell in love with Colombia and went to live there. Months after returning to Bristol, in January 2015 the Charlie Hebdoe tragedy happened. Deeply concerned about the peak in Islamophobic attacks that would follow, I put on a peace demo with Bristol Muslim Cultural Society. Stop the War, Women of the World and SARI spoke on the day. Inspired by the demo, I quit my teaching job and that is how Interculture began…
The Beginning
The biggest challenge has been my lack of experience in running a business. What has kept me going is my belief that if you bring people together it reduces fear, increases empathy, awareness and understanding. I've been on numerous business training courses ( Brave, Voscur, SSE) and have attended well over 150 events around Intercultural themes. This has been a huge help in informing Interculture on what has happened, is happening and what needs to happen in Bristol to create a more equal and interculturally friendly city.
What stands out most is the huge levels of inequality and lack of connectivity between like minded people. When I started Interculture I was not so aware of this, I was living in a bubble of rich diversity and was not aware of the lack of equality.
As Chair of Stand Up To Racism for 3 years - I had the pleasure of sitting on panels and meeting inspirational people who have dedicated years to combating racism, Islamophobia and other inequalities across the UK and Europe. I also helped organise and attended many demos in Bristol and London. I learnt alot.
It's been a massive learning curve. I just couldn't sit around and watch the rise in Islamophobia and not get involved. I had no idea that Brexit, Trump and Johnson would happen. This (as I studied) led to an increase in Xenophobia and the rise of the Far Right resulting in people being more openly racist.
So, I am sure you will agree that there is a real need for Interculture. I am not religious, however I do believe that Interculture is my calling, and what I am meant to do with my life, and privileges. We all need to think about our privileges.
The Data:
As the Runnymeade Trust Study published in 2016 showed that Bristol might be rich in diversity but shockingly poor in racial equality.
Bristol is the city out of England and Scotland with the highest levels of racial inequality.
https://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/CoDE%20Briefing%20Bristol%20v2.pdf
Tell MaMa’s Annual Report 2018
https://tellmamauk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tell%20MAMA%20Annual%20Report%202018%20_%20Normalising%20Hate.pdf
Tell Mama (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks) is a national project which records and measures anti-Muslim incidents in the United Kingdom.
The Team
We have been lucky enough to have a wonderfully diverse team including EU interns, long term unemployed, members of BAME and other communities, asylum seekers, refugees, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, homeless people and uni students.
We have done all of the following events on £2000 funding. Imagine what we could with £10000!
Projects so far:
Challenging Islamophobia
Our launch event Challenging Islamophobia was a successful all day event held at Trinity Community Centre.
An informative, creative mix of talks by activists, academics and wonderful Bristolians. There was workshops, spoken word performances, short films, live music, artwork and delicious food provided by Bristol hospitality Network.
Speakers:Tariq Modood. The founding director of Ethnicity and Citizenship Faculty at UOB and the first academic to pen the word ‘ Islamophobia,
Rizwan Ahmed. The Muslim Chaplin for the University of Bristol and Bristol Muslim Cultural Society,
Maz Saleem- Anti Racism Campaigner Zahid Gil- Totterdown Mosque, \community leader Hassan Mahamdallie- Director at the Muslim Institute , Writer and Theatre Director.Weyman Bennett- Stand Up To Racism and Founding Member of Unite Against Fascism,Dr Narazin Massoumi- Sociologist and AuthorJeremy Clarke- Stop the War
‘This was one of the best events I have ever been to… what an eye opener. The speakers were outstanding. It felt very safe and I was able to ask questions, that normally I would have been worried about asking , in case people thought I was being Islamophobic. Thank you so much Interculture’
‘It was wonderful to be in a room with such a diverse bunch of people. The speakers were mind blowing. I learnt a lot about the history of islamophobia. I feel like i am much better informed now on the topic and i made some new friends. More events like this please!
I feel inspired to keep challenging islamophobia’
‘Thank you! At times I wanted to cry, other times I laughed. I felt both uncomfortable and very comfortable. It is the first time I have ever been to anything like this, but not the last’
‘I am a Muslim. Thank you for putting on this event. It was very positive and it gives me hope.’
Muslim Women Talking : Clothing
Outraged by Boris Johnson's divisive comments about women who wear Niqab's, and knowing this would result in an increase of attacks against Muslims, we responded with this well needed event. We are also aware of the need for Muslim women's far too often unheard voices.
In the week after he made his Trump like comments, There was a 375% increase in attacks on Muslims . The majority of anti Muslim hate crime is directed at women. ( Tell Mama)
We Create Safe Spaces
Women Talking is space for women to speak and be heard, to improve intercultural awareness and a safe space to unpick some of the trickier conversations that we are often scared to speak about.
The first in our series was Muslim’s Women’s Clothing. An incredibly well-recieved event, with over 15 different nationalities attending, with a panel of muslim women shared their lived experience with us, some of whom had not spoken in public before.
Over 100 people attended this event on September 12th 2017 a the Malcolm X Centre, and many links were forged.
“I feel I’ve gained a lot on feeling comfortable with asking questions and breaking down some of these stereotypes through learning different words that are used within the culture”
“Diverse panel, interesting range of opinions, great energy, It was great to see how women on the panel were gaining confidence during the event”
“I feel these events can have very positive effects on communities as people are given opportunities to integrate and talk and share a space that without this event would not be able to happen.”
“It strengthens communities as it breaks the barrier of uncomfortableness”
The panel also give advice on how to challenge Isamophobia in a non-confrontational way and how to be an ally. These events help people reflect and question negative perceptions.
Throught this event we have built stronger relationships and consulted with with Somali Forum, WeRise ( Women Empowerment against Racism, Injustice, Sexism and Extremism), Women of the World Bristol, Bristol Women's Voice, Refugee Women Of Bristol amongst others.
Refugee Women Talking
As part of the Refugee Festival we were proud to put on Refugee Women Talking.
It was a unique opportunity to hear 5 inspirational women from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds speak about their hopes and inspirations, challenges they have faced, ways the have contributed to Bristol and plans for the future. There was a focus on how to be an alley and how to volunteer at the various refugee organsations. There were tears and laughter and many people who had never been to anything like that before.
We also had stall at City Of Sanctuary Refugee Month Celebrations in Queens Sq.
Women Talking : It’s All About The Women / Hair and Skin
This day was a rich mix of panel discussions, inspiring speakers, poetry and a delicious lunch from the Somali Kitchen ( a local Women's group)There was the chance to make new connections and find out how to get involved in the local community.
This was a collaboration with Up Our Street and The Network to celebrate International Women's Day.
Our panel discussed many topics from skin lightening, tanning, 'natural ' hair, dreadlocks, body hair, gingerism to human zoos ( the last one closed in 1968 in Belgium) , the idea that women's bodies - in particular black women's bodies were sometimes seen as public property that some people feel they can touch/ comment on and objectify
Mena Fombo spoke about her 'No, You Cannot Touch My Hair ' campaign...
No. You Cannot Touch My Hair! | Mena Fombo | TEDxBristol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLQzz75yE5A
Being LGBTQ+ Across Communities
We collaborated with Kiki Bristol ( an organisation for LGBTQ+ people of colour) and Emma Blackmore in this very much needed event where we invited people to listen to and discuss LGBTQ+ related issues in “cross culture communities”in a safe and non judgemental space. There was an interactive panel discussion followed by Q&A. and self-generating smaller group conversations as well as time to socialise and create stronger bonds in the local community.
At Interculture we believe it is essential to talk to different LGBTQ+ members from a variety of backgrounds in order to learn about the issues they are facing and to become more aware of stigmatised views and stereotypes that are harming LGBTQ+ members. We want to create an atmosphere to learn more and ask questions and give LGBTQ+ people the opportunity to respond ( as in our experience they are happy to - if given the opportunity). We believe it is important to discuss issues within our communities and in society. According to Stonewall reportThe LGBT community faces deep challenges with alarming levels of racism experienced by BAME, and a significant proportion of trans people, bi people, LGBT disabled people and LGBT people of faith feeling excluded within the LGBT community.According to this 2017 report : Half of BAME LGBT people (51%) face discrimination within the LGBT community.
Courses
Interculture ran an Intercultural Awareness and British Culture for people of refugee backgrounds. Knowing that diversity is an asset we invited other people to join the course to add to the richness of experiences and increase intercultural awareness. We discussed a wide variety of subjects including : Identity, Unconscious Bias, The Other, Islamophobia, Racism, Feminism, Colonisation, Hate Crime, Homophobia, Well Being, Mindfulness and Positive Thinking. The two courses ran from November to January 2018 at the Barton Hill Settlement. Due to the success of the first course and demand, we are planning on restarting the course in 2020. This time we want to charge local people to come on the course to subsidise it, this would be huge!!
Outcomes:
At Interculture we do not believe in one offs!
The panel and the idea for refugee Women Talking came from this course. At Interculture we believe that anybody with the right amount of support and preparation can be on a panel and do public speaking.
Michelle Roche- who codelivered this course is the director of The Wonderclub, put together a theatre group with some of the group.
- An increase in intercultural awareness for all participants , and facilitators!
- Lots of new English vocabulary.
- Reduced feeling of isolation for participants.
- Increased confidence in expressing opinions, asking questions, sharing experiences.
- Friendships were created and reinforced.
Feedback: “Thank you to Lisa and her team , I learnt so many new things about British history. I have started to watch many things on YouTube about British culture and history. It will help me a lot when my son is older. I have always worried that I do not know enough about the UK, now I know that if I need to know something I can just Google it or ask people without feeling stupid.“
“We all learnt a lot, and we laughed a lot. It was very relax atmosphere. This is good for learning.I also made good friends. I want to do more, I want to study and learn more. I also like that different people from Interculture came to the course. Apart from us there were people from Belgium, Brazil, Spain and UK. We learn many things from each other.’
"I am looking forward to helping my children with homework. I learnt many different things about British culture, for example about Easter, Suffragettes, colonisation”
“I really like that we had people who were not refugees in the course. I am bored of always doing things with other refugees. We have many things in common with other migrants and British people. It was completely different to anything I have ever done. Thank you Interculture. Let’s do more” Aminata
Interculture would like are very thankful to The National Lottery : Awards for All for funding this amazing course.
Bespoke Intercultural Training and consultancy
Interculture create bespoke intercultural awareness training courses for businesses, organisations and individuals. We consult with the organisation to ensure the training reaches their individual needs. We are hoping that this Crowdfunder will help with the marketing!
So far we have worked in schools, housing associations, foster care agencies and with individuals.
Themes include diversity as an asset, unconscious bias, refugee awareness and conecting in communities.
We have attended over 150 relevant events including :
Council, Race Equality Commission, Race Equality in Education, SARI, Stand Up To Racism, Justice for Judah, Black South West Network, Babbasa, Refugee Women of Bristol, Bristol Refugee Rights, Bristol Hospitality Network, Up Our street, The Network, Bristol Women's Voice, Somali Forum, Gran Ifta, Multi Faith Forum, City Conversations, NCBI, Burgess Salmon ' Building Bridges'
We have volunteered at numerous events to support other grassroots organisations.
WE HAVE DONE THIS ON ONLY £12,000 FUNDING.
We also need to continue our Be Interculture Campaign, where people can tell us their Interculture stories. We have taken over 300 photos but we want to speak to at least 2000 people and give them the chance to make a short video and have their voices heard. In the future we would like to make this a nationwide project.We will do this if you help us reach our stretch target....
I have dedicated my life to Interculture and subsidised it. Our dedicated team are all volunteers. We cannot continue without your help.
This is your chance to get involved!
This project successfully funded on 20th December 2019