Voice4Change-England has announced the take-off of its Catalyst London project which is focused on supporting BME Communities to Develop Resilience and Influence.
Funded by City Bridge Trust, the 5-year London wide programme is designed to develop and strengthen BME communities through the delivery of a series of free, in-person, interactive, resilience building workshops as well as 1-2-1 consultations to identify needs and provide tailored infrastructure support. It will also involve resource sharing and signposting while offering opportunities for networking with other BME organisations across London.
The project was announced on Thursday August 24, 2023, at a virtual soft-launch event moderated by Deputy Director, Sharmin Shajahan with Grants’ Officers Sara Kathrada and Jana Kovariova. The trio shared the objectives of the planned project with a diverse audience made up of scores of members and invited guests.
Outlining details of the project they noted that Year 1 which will take off on Monday 25th September in the London Borough of Newham will focus on the broad theme of “Addressing Inequalities” with planned sessions proceeding along four core areas: a) collecting evidence of race inequalities and building collective action to promote race equality in the current environment, b) improved understanding of how to conduct needs assessment and using those to design and improve services, c) how to monitor for impact, avoiding common mistakes and giving your data context and then d) how to develop and show impact of marketing, communication and social media strategies.
Subsequent years will focus on other broad themes: “Securing Income” in 2024; “Asset Building and Sustainability” in 2025; “Developing Networking and Collaboration in 2026 and “Influencing Decision Making” in 2027
The 5 year project is expected to positively impact the ecosystem by providing project development support to 70-100 BME organisations, improving resources, strategic planning, efficiency, communication and impact, helping organisations’ beneficiaries get improved services to meet needs, enhancing sustainable assets in local communities, helping organisation increase influence and engagement in local, London-wide and national policy and decision-making and enable Londoners experiencing inequalities and disadvantage to secure greater wellbeing and independence while making sure their voices are heard.
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