£406,667 has been awarded to seventeen large projects to increase diversity in politics, the Minister for Women has announced. A number of these projects have Asian connection especially Ashiana Community Project, It's Your Life, First Step North East and Xenia.
The new support, from a £1.5 million government fund, will back local projects supporting women and young people, especially disabled people, LGBT people and those from black and minority ethnic groups, to get involved in democracy and politics.
The organisations will set up a range of programmes directly benefitting at least 2347 people – including making documentaries celebrating women’s involvement in social groups, participating in a mock House of Commons debate, and building a website encouraging people with learning disabilities to vote.
Minister for Women, Victoria Atkins, said, “The brave women who fought for the equal rights of women and men to vote must be honoured. Today we have the highest number of women in history sitting in the House of Commons. However, at only 32% women MPs we have a long way to go before we see true equality.
“By funding these innovative projects we will inspire women and young people across the country to become active participants in our democracy. We want to see a new generation of women raise their voices, get stuck in and see how they can make a difference in their local communities and across the country.
“This year, we are not just celebrating the achievements of the women who came before us – we are helping women here and now to take action to benefit the women of the next hundred years.”
The grant scheme is part of a £5 million centenary fund to open politics to the public – celebrating the centenary, educating young people about its significance, and encouraging more women to get involved and have an equal voice in the decisions that affect them.
The rest of the funding is being spent on the first ever statue of a woman in Parliament Square – Millicent Fawcett, local events and activities in the Centenary Cities (seven cities and towns in England with a strong suffrage history), a suite of education programmes and resources that engage young people with democracy, initiatives to encourage more people to participate in politics such as an Ask Her to Stand event for potential women politicians, National events celebrating the centenary including the suffrage Processions this June in the four capital cities of the UK and the closing ceremony of the Great Exhibition of the North – the North Star
The Women’s Votes Centenary Grant Scheme’s objectives are to fund projects that celebrate the centenary, encourage young people to engage with democracy and increase the number of women participating in politics. It has a total pot of £1.5 million and is administered by Ecorys UK in two funding streams for large and small projects.The final round of the Grant Scheme will run Tuesday 4 September to Tuesday 16 October and is for small events to celebrate the centenary, particularly the anniversaries of the Act allowing women to stand for Parliament (on 21 November) and the General Election of 1918 (on 14 December). The Scheme is particularly keen to encourage applications from eastern regions in England including the South East, East Midlands, East of England and North East as they are currently underrepresented.
The eight large projects already funded by the Grant Scheme earlier this year include:The Step up to Democracy project led by Saathi House who received around £68,972 earlier this year to offer training and political leadership programme for Bangladeshi and Pakistani women who want to become local leaders in three locations, Birmingham, Bradford and Keighley. The participants are currently halfway through the programme and, as part of their leadership training, will go on to mentor other women in their communities.
The Essex Diversity Project which is using their £60,025 grant to run events across Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk from August to December 2018 celebrating the life of prominent suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh. The events include academic talks, creative writing workshops, a touring exhibition, a new theatre piece, and a women’s history conference. Around 10 have taken place already with a further dozen events planned.
This year's BAME winners include names such as:
* Ashiana Community Project (£20,000) a charity based in Sparkbrook, Birmingham, that aims to improve the social, physical and economic wellbeing of local people. The project will provide research, archiving and film making workshops for 30 young women from BME backgrounds who are disengaged from politics and civic engagements. They will learn about the women’s suffrage movement and create short documentaries celebrating BME women in social movements. The films will be shown at community venues and through social media.
* It's Your Life (£16,800)a registered charity based in Tower Hamlets providing mentoring programmes. The project will increase BME women’s knowledge of UK democracy and it importance, covering how young people can register to vote, how the government and local democracy works, and the history of voting rights in the UK. The project will visit sites linked to the Suffrage movement as part of this. Participants will be awarded a certificate in ‘Understanding Government and Local Democracy’ at a celebration event and produce a tapestry depicting the women’s suffrage journey.
*First Step North East (£15,240) a registered charity based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne that delivers learning opportunities to BME women. The structured and accredited training programme of activities will build participants’ skills and knowledge, encouraging them to participate more fully in civic life and local decision making. It will examine the suffrage movement, gender parity and the barriers to engagement with themed workshops on ‘local women for local politics’ led by inspirational local women, and a Citizens Jury panel with invited speakers. The course will be documented on social media and finish with a celebration event.
* Xenia (£2,864) a voluntary community group that helps women, many of whom are BME and/or speak English as a second language, to improve language skills and participate in activities. A series of workshops focus on women role models and political leaders, the centenary of women's voting rights, learning and practicing the structure of how to debate, campaigning and volunteering, and practical guidance on how to respond to an open consultation exercise.
