Today we announce the Independent Commission on Inclusion and Belonging in Multi-Ethnic Newham, which aims to review how residents in one of the most diverse places in the UK can live well together, whatever their background. Over the next 12 weeks, everyone in Newham will have an opportunity to share their views with the Commission through an open survey to proactively seek out the views of local residents on ideas and priorities for change.
The Commission is chaired by Sunder Katwala, Director of integration thinktank British Future and a leading public voice on inclusion and belonging. Mayor of Newham Rokhsana Fiaz, commissioned the independent commission. The group of Commissioners include expert voices across a range of fields, ranging from civil society and local government to health and business. They include include: Professor Darren Sharpe, Associate Professor at the University of East London; Radhika Bynon, Grant Portfolio Manager, Impact on Urban Health; Jared Shurin, strategic communications professional; Mavis Amankwah BEM, award- winning entrepreneur and diversity coach; Jeremy Crook OBE, Chief Executive, Action for Race Equality; and Jacqui Broadhead, Director of the Global Exchange on Diversity and Migration. The majority of the expert Commissioners live in the borough of Newham and they are joined by Resident Commissioners Fahmida Nidhi, Jacqueline Delventhal and Asha Mailapalli recruited through an open process and reflecting views across the different generations of those living in Newham.
The Commissioners, who have already met several times, will consider the evidence gathered before drafting recommendations to the Council and other actors in the borough.
“ We’re looking forward to hearing from people across Newham about the strengths of the community and the challenges of inclusion and belonging here.”
Newham is the most diverse and fastest-changing borough in the capital city. That places it at the heart of one of the central challenges of our times: how we respect our differences, handle change fairly and bring people together in a changing and increasingly diverse society.
“I’m delighted to have such a strong group of Commissioners working with me to consider the evidence we gather and decide our recommendations to the council” Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future
Take the open survey
If you are a Newham resident, we are keen to hear your views and ideas! You can take the ten-minute survey by clicking on the link below:
https://qualtricsxml86vqtd2v.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9ozIVYF85Qqss6y
Click here to find links to the survey in other languages: including Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Arabic and Polish.
Open call for evidence
We are also opening a call for evidence to hear from any organisations and experts in the borough working to strengthen inclusion and belonging, to inform our ideas, suggestions on good practice and recommendations. Any responses, however brief, are greatly appreciated to learn from what is currently working well and to better understand existing gaps.
For more information on submitting responses please download the information attached: Call for evidence – Commission on Inclusion & Belonging
