Elvia Doghem-Rashid

Welcome to the first ERN Newsletter!

As part of the ERN remit to gather and disseminate information on how best to operate in this growing area of research, the focus of the newsletters is to:

• Give you information about ethnic minority groups
• Keep you up-to-date on the latest news that may impact on ethnic minority communities and/or specific areas of research
• Review and discuss media representations of ethnic minorities

The reason - to aid understanding of ethnic minority groups by researchers and clients, and so improve research.

As Editor-in-Chief it is my great pleasure to bring you this newsletter after many months of hard work by myself (Elvira Doghem-Rashid), the rest of the editorial team and the MRS: Karen Roberts (Connect Research), Zahir Khan (TNS), Jackie Lomas (MRS) and Sue Trenhaile (MRS). A special thanks to all involved.

All that remains for me to say is – happy reading! Look out for the next issue in May.

Please email me your comments, contributions and ideas at ERNN@mrs.org.uk.

Karen Roberts

Aisha King

'Common Good' Research - Overview
Author: Karen Roberts, Connect Research

The research (funded by COI Communications, 2003) looks at hard-to-reach audiences (incl people from Black, South Asian, Chinese and Mixed backgrounds) and provides insights to government departments and public bodies to improve communications planning. When communicating with ethnic minority audiences, some of recommendations included:

• Use relevant images
• Use positive role models
• Don’t assume you have to use only specialist media
• Use specialist ethnic media to reach niche audiences
• Use multicultural images when communicating with young people
• Use local and regional media

Read the full article

The Experiences of Jamaican Postgraduate Students in Britain: Cultural Adaptation, Homesickness and Resilience
Author: Aisha King, Ipsos

Aisha King (Ipsos), winner of the 2004 MRS Accredited Masters Prize (sponsored by BMRB International), gives us a summary of the research that won her the award.

Read the full article

… the Black African Community in the UK

1. Black Africans constituted 0.8% of the total population and 10.5% of the ethnic minority population in the 2001 Census - making them the fifth largest ethnic minority group in the UK.
2. Black Africans were also the fastest growing ethnic minority group, having more than doubled in size between 1991 and 2001.
3. British celebrities with a Black African heritage include Martin Offiah (Rugby League player), Paul Boateng (MP for Brent South), Oswald Boateng (fashion designer), Kanya King (founder of the MOBO awards) and the Fashanu brothers (ex-footballers).
4. Black Africans are often highly qualified academically but they suffer high levels of unemployment. In 2001/2, around one in seven Black African men was unemployed (15%) compared with 5% of white British men.
5. Black Africans recorded the lowest proportion of self-employment (as a percentage of all in employment), compared to other ethnic groups, at 6.7% (in 2001/2).

More facts about the Black African community

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.

Read the full presentation

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.

Read the full presentation

Deadenders
14 February 2005, The Voice

My African heritage is proud part of Britain, insists Amos
13 February 2005, The Observer

Live & Kicking
11 February 2005, The Voice

White blokes rule the British film industry
10 February 2005, The Guardian

New commissioner considers controversial quota system for ethnic minority recruits
9 February 2005, The Independent

Filthy, racist, violent - what man in charge thinks of London jails
9 February 2005, The Times

BNP ban urged for probation officers
1 February 2005, The Guardian

Racism 'ingrained into prison culture'
30 January 2005, The Observer

Equality in the eyes of the law
27 January 2005, The Independent

Let whites decide who can live here
26 January 2005, The Guardian

Every race, colour, nation and religion on earth
21 January 2005, The Guardian (part of a Special Report – What is Britain?)

Islam, Race and British Identity (Special Report)
21 January 2005, The Guardian

Black and Asian people still live in poverty
19 January 2005, The Independent

Black boys do better
13 January 2005, The Independent

The Great British Asian Invasion
Channel 4, 7 October 2004, repeated 19 December 2004
Review by Zahir Khan, TNS

The Great British Asian Invasion was a great programme to watch, speaking from the point-of-view of a 2nd generation Pakistani born in Britain. I was a little apprehensive about the title of the programme, perhaps thinking that it had connotations of Enoch Powell’s 'Rivers of Blood' speech, but eventually thought that the title was appropriate.

For someone living the 'best of both worlds' who is combining two cultures – British and Pakistani, not to mention being a Muslim, I must admit that I learnt a lot from the programme, although I did disagree with some of the stereotypes conveyed.

Read the full review

Book Review: Dictionary of Race, Ethnicity & Culture
Edited by Guido Bolaffi, Raffaele Bracalenti, Peter Braham, and Sandro Gindaro, Sage Publications, 2002
Review by Elvira Doghem-Rashid, EDR Research

Race, ethnicity and culture are all concepts that are discussed and written about daily, using a wide array of words and terms. Sometimes de-coding the terminology, as well as the associated historical debates, and integrating them into the context can be challenging. Sometimes it can be just downright confusing.

Read the full review

The Steering Group has been very busy in the past 18 months, here are some of the highlights of what they have been up to:

Drawn up a set of Guidance Notes: How to Apply the MRS Code of Conduct in Ethnic Research.

Created a successful session at the 2004 MRS Conference, which was contributed to by several members of the steering group, particularly: Anjul Sharma (Synovate) who chaired the session, Karen Roberts (Connect Research) and Christine Roberts (COI) who contributed a paper to the session, and Debbie Chan (Camden Council) who came up with the name for the very popular debate 'The Benetton Effect has gone too far'. Anjul was also presented with the Best Contribution to Conference Award at the Conference Awards Dinner, for her work on the session.

The Steering Group also organised and held two free presentations during 2004, further details can be found on the ERN pages on the MRS website.

And, of course, there is this newsletter!

This is where you have your say. We want to stimulate debate and are not afraid of (constructive) criticism or including strong opinion. Of course, we aren’t adverse to the odd compliment either! So let us know what’s on your mind.

Send your letters to: ERNN@mrs.org.uk.

Ethnicity and Employment in the Private Sector: The role of legal regulation in promoting race equality in the private sector
Policy Studies Institute, 1 March, London, more...

BMESpark Conference 2005
3 March, Central London, more...

Raising Achievement Among Ethnic Minority Pupils: Building a culture of success
8 March, London, more...

Stop the Beatings: Suffering in Silence
Domestic Violence within Asian Communities, 10 March, London, more...

Tackling Community Conflict Conference
5 April, Central London, more...

Religion, Ethnicity and Political Participation
Political Studies Association, 6 April, Leeds, more...

Trauma - A Cross Cultural Perspective
25 April, Northampton, more...

MRS Ethnic Minority Research training course
26 May, Central London, more...

Let us know about an event, send details to ERNN@mrs.org.uk.