Anti-Racism or Cultural Competence: Issues for Service Delivery in an Increasingly Plural Society
When was it? November 2004
Organised by? Ethnic Research Network

In November 2004 Roger Ballard, of the Centre of Applied South Asian Studies at the University of Manchester, presented a paper titled 'Anti-Racism or cultural competence - issues for service delivery in an increasingly plural society' to a meeting of the Network. Roger's lively presentation style led to an interesting and thought provoking afternoon.

The paper took us through the history of 'plural Britain'; explaining how British society has always drawn on migrant workers first from Ireland and Eastern Europe, and then from the Caribbean, South Asia, Africa and China. Over time this has led to the multi-cultural Britain that we have today.

Roger then put forward the view that though the make up of Britain is multi-cultural, most local and central government policies and guidelines are not themselves plural – seeking to produce a single community, rather than a number of communities that live in harmony.

When looking at service delivery in the public sector, public and professional services in urban Britain often find that they have a multi-cultural clientele. Training for service providers – teachers, policemen and women, doctors, probation officers etc. – rarely covers values and conventions of different cultural groups, leading to a poor service for some groups. What we need are service providers who deal with clients on their own terms, rather than the terms of the service provider.

Roger ended by arguing that acquiring the competence needed for a plural society was not as difficult as it may appear – it was a matter of 'awareness' rather than 'knowledge'.

I highly recommend everyone reading the full presentation.

Summary by Richard Hyder, Transport for London

Reaching for Sanctuary: Providing Good Mental Health Services for Refugees
When was it? 3 December 2004
Organised by? MIND

A collection of three presentations, given at a one-day conference, covering: overcoming difficulties in providing mental health services to refugees in London; integrating the asylum processes with the health service to provide greater support; and a case study from Plymouth Primary Care Trust.

The full presentations can be accessed from the MIND website.