In 2019 Dorset Chamber member Beyond This ran two STAND UP Human Rights Conferences for schools across the south west. Secondary school students from 40 schools came together to learn about human rights issues impacting our world: they heard from Richard Ratcliffe and his on-going struggle to free his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe from detention in Iran as well as engaging with issues from modern slavery to climate change. They left inspired and motivated to effect change.
This year Lytchett Minster School are hosting FREE & EQUAL? exploring the on-going and systemic inequality experienced by people of colour in the UK and beyond. And this time it’s going national. The entire conference will be filmed and streamed LIVE to secondary schools across the country enabling schools and students to hear first-hand of the reality of growing up in the UK as a person of colour. They will learn and reflect on how prejudice, unconscious bias and unfair practices continue to perpetuate injustice in society and they will be equipped to dialogue about difference and challenge unfair systems.
Beyond This founder and conference director Peter Radford says, “Our society is losing the ability to listen openly and dialogue with people who have a different experience to our own. Due to the algorithms of internet search engines and social media platforms we are increasingly fed viewpoints that reinforce our prejudices in sound bites that usually exacerbate conflict and distrust and hinder positive engagement.”
The conference, being run in liaison with Amnesty International UK and Unicef UK’s Rights Respecting School Award, will aim to inspire change through growing awareness and emphasising the value of every human person: Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It is a sad fact, however, that this truth is yet to be realised.
FREE & EQUAL? is pleased to welcome Lee Lawrence as keynote speaker. Lee was 11 years old when his mother Cherry Groce was shot in front of him by police officers in Brixton in 1985. Lee will speak of his own journey in seeking justice and his work promoting Restorative Justice as a means to bring people and cultures together. Also speaking will be Aisha Jawando who plays the lead role in Tina! The Tina Turner Musical as well as many others.
The conference is a not-for-profit venture and Peter is appealing to Chamber members to get involved in sponsoring the event and taking part in the conversation about systemic racism. “Nothing like this has ever been done before in the UK,” says Peter. “We have the chance here to shift mindsets and promote greater harmony and understanding as well as celebrating the rich and beautiful diversity of our world.”
Details of the conference can be found at www.beyondthis.co.uk/stand-up-conference or email Peter at standup@beyondthis.co.uk .