Equalities

Introduction

Voscur is committed to encouraging and promoting good Equalities Practice, and supporting Equalities Communities in Bristol.

On the Voscur Equalities webpage you will find good practice documents and information to assist you in your work. This includes the Bristol Equalities Toolkit that Voscur has developed in partnership with Bristol City Council's Regeneration Department and a selection of Voscur Equalities Training documents.

Relevant information such as the Hate Crime Strategy Action Plan is also displayed on the web-page. Voscur has developed this strategy by working with the Safer Bristol Partnership and member organisations from Bristol's voluntary, community & social enterprise (vcse) sector. You will also find reports from the Bristol Equalities Network, facilitated by Voscur through work with the Equalitites Action Group and Bristol Equalities Partners. Many other useful documents are on the web-page to help inform your work.

Through the year, you will find information on our web-pages about Black History Month; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Month; International Women's Day; Refugee Week and other relevant events.

If you would like to include any other equalities information then please contact Grace Deathridge at Voscur on (0117) 909 9949 or email: grace@voscur.org

News

Legacy Commission Community Commissioners sought

Bristol City Council has agreed to establish a Legacy Commission to take forward the work started during 2007 as part of Abolition 200.

The Commission will be made up of three councillors, nominated by their political parties, and nine community members.

>>Click here to read more & for details on how to apply

GERI Project seeks role models

Bristol City Council are providing support to the GERI (Gender Equality & Race Inclusion) Project who are putting together a portfolio of role models in the south west to be used in colleges, schools and other youth organisations. The campaign, is designed to tackle work-based stereotypes and prejudice by promoting equality and diversity, and producing a DVD featuring interviews with people from a range of professions, all chosen to provide positive role models to young adults.

The DVD will be shown in schools, colleges and by learning and guidance professionals across the UK in an effort to break down the gender and racial stereotypes which govern many professions. Examples include female motor mechanics, engineers, fire fighters and police inspectors to male nurses, hairdressers and carers. They are requesting help to identify any person who is working in a gender stereotyped job who might be interested in taking part in the project.

Click here for a leaflet with more information. Please contact Lorraine Gibbs with names, email addresses and numbers. Email Lorraine.Gibbs@bristol.gov.uk or phone (0117) 9222 749.

“No-one else is doing anything like it”

Several years ago, Voscur activists organised two conferences in inner city Bristol. One of the outcomes of these conferences was specifically funded Equalities and Information work in Voscur, supported by the Big Lottery’s Community Fund. But what do we mean when we talk about Equalities work? ‘Equalities work’ is often invisible and goes unrecognised. Earlier this year Voscur commissioned an evaluation of its Equalities work. Click here to read the Evaluation report (121kb pdf).

ChangeUp equalities and diversity service

The Women's Resource Centre has won the tender to provide the new ChangeUp equalities and diversity support service. They plan to set up nine regional consortia to bolster existing regional equalities and diversity infrastructure and develop new resources where necessary.

http://capacitybuilders.org.uk

Muslim women advisors

The National Muslim Women's Advisory Group (NMWAG) has been set up by the government to give Muslim women a voice and help the government understand what needs to be done to support them. It is part of the Preventing Violent Extremism - Winning hearts and minds Action Plan. www.communities.gov.uk

Guidance for Local Authorities on Translation of Publications

This guidance document forms part of our response to the Commission on Integration and Cohesion's final report, Our Shared Future. It sets out the steps local authorities can take when they are considering translation of their publications into other languages than English.
www.communities.gov.uk

Citizens' Day Framework

The Citizens Foundation has launched new guidance for local authorities on how to set up citizens’ days. The guidance offers advice, examples and useful contacts to develop activities for bringing together people from different backgrounds and illustrating what they have in common.
www.communities.gov.uk

New Commission for Equality and Human Rights

The new Commission for Equality and Human Rights opened its doors on 1st October 2007. The Commission was established by the Equality Act 2006 as the Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR). As of 1st October, the Commission is now called the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The South West Regional office is based at 2 Rivergate, Templequay, Bristol BS1 6EH. Tel (0117) 900 1765

The Commission is a statutory body established under the Equality Act 2006 and takes over the responsibilities of the Commission for Racial Equality, Disability Rights Commission and Equal Opportunities Commission.

The Commission is the independent advocate for equality and human rights in Britain. It aims to reduce inequality, eliminate discrimination, strengthen good relations between people and promote and protect human rights.

The Commission will enforce equality legislation on age, disability, gender, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender status and encourage compliance with the Human Rights Act 1998. It will also give advice and guidance to businesses, the voluntary and public sectors and to individuals.

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