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Anti-racism education charity, Show Racism the Red Card, has secured funding from the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for North Wales, Andy Dunbobbin, for a project to tackle racism in the region. Money for the project comes from the PCC’s Innovate to Grow fund, which supports new and innovative ways of solving problems that can often lead to criminal behaviour in communities.
The project, called Leaders of Now, aims to challenge racism by enabling ongoing conversations within secondary schools about racism and anti-racism. The project will be pupil-led and tailored to each school group to help young people feel confident in challenging racism within their own spaces and to be actively anti-racist in their communities.
The plan is for Show Racism the Red Card to work with four secondary schools in Flintshire, with each school entitled to send up to five pupils on the course. Ownership lies with the pupils, but is guided by Show Racism the Red Card. It allows pupils time to discuss and reflect on anti-racism in a shared space and to then drive change within their own schools. The team will work directly with older pupils to support them in becoming anti-racist leaders in the school space, but they hope that children from every year group in the secondary school will benefit, as a key task for the ambassadors will be to set up in-school anti-racism groups, open to all ages.
A project like this is important because, according to the UK government, there were 109,843 police recorded hate crimes that were targeted at victims based on race and 8,730 based on religion in 2021/22. Race hate crime has risen 19% and religious hate crimes by 37% since the previous year, with 70% of all hate crimes related to race hate alone (not including religion).[1]
North Wales Education Worker for Show Racism the Red Card, April Herzog said: “Each of the schools we're working with will be at different points on their anti-racism journey. They will be supported to deepen their knowledge and understanding of racism and to conduct research in their own settings to identify where any targeted attention may need to be focused. We're really looking forward to working with our young leaders to challenge the issues which are important to them in their settings, to give them confidence and a voice with senior leaders in order to effect change, and to encourage long term proactive anti-racism activism within their schools and beyond."
Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, Andy Dunbobbin, commented: “Delivering safer neighbourhoods and supporting victims and communities are cornerstones of my Police and Crime Plan for North Wales and fighting racism is crucial to this. Young people are our future, and the leaders of tomorrow, but it is hugely important that they learn about the dangers posed by racism and how to combat it today. Welsh Government wants to see an anti-racist Wales by 2030, which is an aim I support. Projects such as this from Show Racism the Red Card are an innovative and powerful way of achieving this target.”
Show Racism the Red Card is an anti-racism education charity established in 1996. They work predominately with schools throughout Wales delivering anti-racism and hate crime workshops to more than 20,000 young people every year and have a track record of delivering on projects for Welsh Government, local authorities and other funders.
The Innovate to Grow funding initiative complements the priorities within the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan, as well as his Community Oriented Police Service (COPS) approach to serve all communities across North Wales. Examples of projects eligible for Innovate to Grow support include those covering youth services, early intervention, and adverse childhood experiences; drug, alcohol and substance misuse services; and organisations working to combat domestic abuse, sexual violence, and violence against women and girls. The important thing is that they offer new and innovative ways of solving the problems that can often lead to criminal behaviour.
Andy Dunbobbin has allocated £100,000 to Innovate to Grow to support projects for up to one year, with the main focus being on innovation. A maximum of £5,000 is available for each project; however, should the project be delivered across two or more counties, a maximum of £10,000 will be offered.
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be not-for-profit and must complete a business plan. The plan must align to one of the Commissioner’s policing priorities. All organisations also need to ensure they have a Welsh Language, Equal Opportunities and Social Value policy in place and show how they will be integrating these areas into the delivery of the project. For further information on the Innovate to Grow project and how to apply, visit: www.northwales-pcc.gov.uk/innovate-grow
[1] www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2021-to-2022/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2021-to-2022