Many of us have been deeply moved and humbled by the activity of the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by police in Minnesota. Unequivocally, Children in Wales stands in support of Black Lives Matter and in solidarity with anti-racists in Wales and around the world.
However, actions speak louder than words. We know that there are deeply-engrained issues of racism and prejudice here in Wales.
The recent report by Show Racism the Red Card highlights the racism and prejudice experienced by children and young people in schools across Wales. This is a stark reality. We must all do more. As an organisation we are committed to taking action, not just in the short-term but over the long-haul. We will be reflecting and having frank and open conversations about the steps we can take as a charity. Here are a few initial actions we will be undertaking: We will be reviewing and updating our Equality Policy, ensuring an renewed focus upon equality, diversity and inclusion across all our activity. We will establish an internal working group to undertake a review of all aspects of our work, making recommendations in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion with a rights based approach. And we are committed to working in partnership with our members and the children & young people we work with across Wales in order to take steps to address the issues of racism together.
The steps listed above are a start, not an end in themselves. It is vital we maintain an ongoing dialogue and we would very much welcome any thoughts, comments, suggestions or ideas.
Owen Evans
Chief Executive, Children in Wales