October is Black History Month. We spoke to Abdul Abubakar, Co-Chair of Beyond Differences (Elysium’s Race and Ethnicity Employee Resource Group), about how the month is being marked across the organisation.
“This month is a chance to really mark a significant part of what our group is all about and what it stands for, celebrating people from diverse backgrounds and from all cultures.
“The theme for our activities across Elysium is ‘Your Site, Your Celebration How Will You Stand Firm’. This is line with this year’s national theme, ‘Standing Firm in Power and Pride‘, which invites us to reflect on the strength, resilience, and brilliance of Black communities past and present
“We’re asking people to get involved in their way. We’re asking people to think about how they would stand firm and how they would celebrate diverse cultures.
“Throughout the month, services will be holding cultural celebrations and international food events. They’ll share dishes from our black cultures and cuisines, and showcase music and histories.
“As an organisation, we also have a range of training packages on related subjects such as culturally appropriate care, and we’re encouraging teams to refresh on this important subject by using existing resources.
“Importantly, we’re inviting and encouraging people to share their stories. As well as celebrating well-known people, legends and historical figures, for example, we want to celebrate people from black backgrounds who work in our organisation who have done so well, and recognise them too.
“We want to go beyond historical, we want to live in the moment. We’re encouraging sites to reflect, action and recognise and be actively involved in cultural celebrations.
“We have already hosted a Black History Month online session which was really well attended by people from across the organisation. As an ERG, we have been working on the anti-racism policy and anti-racism toolkit which is being developed, and we shared information about those too.
“We’ve had a Q&A session with our Chief People Officer and we plan to also hold a webinar towards the end of the month. So there has been lots of digital ways to engage in the activities.
“Ultimately we want to share stories of black excellence in our work places, to celebrate our cultural diversity and learn, have fun and recognise our colleagues.”