Motion #19
2022-Greens-of-Colour-AGM-Minutes-to-share
Due to further developments, including candidacy for external elections and changes in personal circumstances, currently, the Greens of Colour Committee consists of:
On Sat 19 Aug 2023, Greens of Colour will be co-hosting a stand at UK Black Pride in collaboration with the LGBTIQA+ Greens GPEW Liberation Group.
Greens of Colour (GOC) is currently looking into our role in working out strategies and processes that can support local parties to have a more diverse group of officers and target / non-target candidates, and build understanding that this depends on a more consistent and long-term approach to reaching out more widely and diversifying their membership. Following consultation with local party organisers, staff members, GPEx Local Party Support Officer and Equality and Diversity (E&D) Spokesperson, Naranee Ruthra-Rajan, Non-Portfolio Officer, has developed a suggested action plan that emphasises the need for genuine respect rather than tokenism, an understanding of intersectionality and the need for collaboration with GPEW Staff, other liberation groups and local parties. We aim to take a practical, supportive and holistic approach broken down into three main areas:
a. Authentic community engagement - principles and in practice b. Anti-racism and intersectionality c. How to recruiting and support a more diverse set of candidates
We are pleased to note that this will join up with other efforts being made in the party to look at issues of class and the protected characteristics more widely. Discussions with GPEW staff have started and will continue in September 2023.
The Deyika Fund board continues to meet and assess applications received and discuss how we can support more members. We have also explored how to make our application process more accessible including accepting video applications. We have continued to promote the fund and utilised Spring conference to distribute leaflets to local parties to encourage their members to apply. We will continue this at Autumn conference with a hope to receive a surge in applications in the run up to the general election.
Greens of Colour had an active presence at Spring Conference. We held a very popular stall where we launched our Recruitment drive. Local Parties joined the GOC campaign to increase the cultural diversity of their membership by 10 members in 2023. These fantastic local parties have signed up to accept the challenge to recruit a minimum of 10 new cultural diverse members in 2023 - 2024. To show their commitment they each bought 10 GOC badges from our stall: Sandwell, Peterborough, Ealing, North Lancashire, Newham, Sheffield, Isle of Wight, North Hertfordshire and Stevenage, Worcester, Headingley, South Tees, Southwark, Maidstone, Manchester & Hackney.
Greens of Colour Gypsy Roma Traveller Officer, Virgil Bitu, spoke in on Sat 18 Mar in observance of the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in front of BBC in Portland Square, to the restrictions on refugees being increasingly introduced by the UK Government.
Greens of Colour led on two sessions, and supported two further sessions:
Also:
Greens of Colour have been liaising with GPEW colleagues to help with this update. We provided a definition on racism for the GPRC Equalities, Inclusivity and Equity working Group to consider in their September meeting.
Greens of Colour have participated and supported candidates in local elections. Committee members have supported and campaigned with GoC candidates with some committee members also running as candidates themselves. Committee members have also visited Local Parties to engage in conversations about diversification of the party.
Members of the GoC committee have also had success at local elections along with Amanda Onwuemene being appointed as a GPEW spokesperson and Antoinette Fernandez being selected as a candidate in the London Assembly elections.
This was submitted by the 2023 Committee on behalf of the 2022 Committee.
Greens of Colour has regularly sent a representative to GPEW Political Committee meetings, usually the Chair or a representative on behalf of the Chair of Greens of Colour.
Paul Beswick as Treasurer has done dedicated work since being appointed Treasurer at the 2022 Greens of Colour EGM to re-empower access to the Lloyds Bank account.
You can support the work of Greens of Colour as a Liberation Group of the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW) in many ways:
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Last updated on 2023-10-21 at 11:41