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Events & News Bridging Change are reflecting on the issues that impact Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic people in Brighton and Hove. Here you will find news, events we are organising as well as featured articles, publications and reports. Join our team: PROJECT DEVELOPMENT WORKER for Brighton and Hove Black and Minoritised Ethnic Infrastructure Network Do you share a vision of a ‘by and for’ BME infrastructure for BME community groups and organisations in B&H? We are looking to recruit a worker who has a passion and commitment for building on this vision. The Project Development Worker will develop a BME infrastructure network to ensure BME groups and organisations can become sustainable, thrive and become more resilient by building on their strengths and skills as well as tackling the needs and gaps identified. To apply please complete the application form and Equality and Diversity monitoring form and send it to bridgingchange@outlook.com by 5pm on 21st January 2025 . Please note: there has been an amendment to the salary banding for this post. Project Development Worker Job Description Application form Equality and Diversity monitoring form Join our team: PROJECT SUPPORT WORKER for Brighton and Hove Black and Minoritised Ethnic Infrastructure Network Do you share a vision of a ‘by and for’ BME infrastructure for BME community groups and organisations in B&H? We are looking to recruit a worker who has the skills, passion and commitment in supporting the project development worker in the development of a BME infrastructure network. To apply please complete the application form and Equality and Diversity monitoring form and send it to bridgingchange@outlook.com by 5pm on 21st January 2025 . Please note: there has been an amendment to the salary banding for this post. Project Support Worker Job Description Application form Equality and Diversity monitoring form VCSE Alliance Newsletter July 2024 Bridging Change's very own Dr Anusree Biswas Sasidharan features in the July 2024 issue of the VCSE Alliance Newsletter. Read the newsletter here. Community Voices Group Upcoming meetings: Wednesday 22nd January 2025 Topic: Older People's Health and Wellbeing See the flyer here Bridging Change, in partnership with the Hangleton and Knoll Project, Sussex Interpreting Services and the Trust for Developing Communities, invites you be part of the Community Voices Group, please click here for more information. We also have this information in different languages, please contact us directly about this. Please email hellobridgingchange@outlook.com for more information . Sewell Report Runnymede Responds Runnymede hosted a snap event to discuss the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities' findings and why it has failed to address structural and institutional racism in the UK. If you missed it, catch it on YouTube Bridging Change Opinion Read Bridging Change's response to the Sewell Report here. Brighton and Hove becoming an anti-racist city The council has pledged to be an anti-racist council. Brighton and Hove City Council has said that they will work in partnership with Black and Minority Ethnic people including council staff, residents and community groups to directly shape our anti-racism strategy through their lived experiences and diverse perspectives. You can find out more from their website .

Infrastructure Past newsletters More can be found about May's newsletter here. More can be found about July's newsletter here . Please see more about the BRM Network Newsletter for October 2025 here .

COMMISSION ON RACE AND ETHNIC DISPARITIES' FINDINGS: BRIDGING CHANGE RESPONSE The report from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has been deeply disappointing. This report after reflecting on the impact of education, community, health (including COVID-19), employment, crime and policing on minoritised ethnic people concluded that institutional racism does not exist. Bridging Change strongly disagrees with the validity of the findings, its conclusions and the "changing the narrative" motivation which has sought to undermine the experience of racism of minoritised ethnic people in Britain. Whilst reading the report we have chosen not to make a detailed response at this time, as the problematic framing of issues in the report are too extensive to broach here. However, this response will draw on a few of the report's findings. In every area the Commission examined disparity, they constructed imaginative ways to excuse racial or ethnic disparity, suggesting instead that they were due to factors such as: . . . living in a densely populated inner-city area, socio-demographic characteristics (deprivation and occupation) living in larger and multi-generational households. The report also blames poorer outcomes for Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic people with: poor and/or lone parenting; co-morbidities; counting methods or simply not liking the numbers. The report, for example, describes stop and search figures from Devon (where there are lower numbers of Black and Asian minoritised ethnic people, specifically Black people) as 'skewed' - but the fact remains, not liking the odds does not diminish simple mathematics. Suggesting that the 'national relative rate is not always accurate' at measuring stop and search rates is problematic, it appears in this report 'not always accurate' refers to when facts do not suit the Government's narrative. Whilst the report acknowledges the disparity of maternal deaths for Black (5 times higher) and Asian (2 times higher), it calls for using absolute numbers, as not to do so was 'unfair to expectant mothers everywhere'. Previous commentary have contextualised the figures in terms of per 100,000, in absolute numbers and/or disparity is attempted to diminish the significance and importance of disparity. It does not change the fact the Black women are 5 times more likely to die in childbirth compared to white women; Asian and mixed heritage women are almost 2 times likely more likely to die in childbirth than white women. Further, disparity in maternal health is symptomatic of negative outcomes faced by men, women and children from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic groups, particularly those minoritised ethnic people who are not white. Using the highly divisive stereotype of 'model minority' as if this was an antidote to racism is a privileged and uninformed construction of meritocracy. This 'model minority' construction was pitted against other minoritised ethnic people who were constructed as living with family breakdown, being unprepared and demotivated to succeed, as were 'attitudes to integrate'. Both stereotypes are equally damaging in suggesting that one group of minoritised ethnic people are hapless whilst the other minoritised ethnic group simply floats through British life without barriers or experiencing racism. Outrageous still is the polling by British Future for the Commission who heralded their poll as 'encouraging' around perceptions on anti-Black prejudice, which asked respondents if they 'saw a lot' of prejudice against Black people. They asked people who were not Black if there were increased level of prejudice for Black people. The only people who can credibly pass comment on the Black experience of racism is Black people , how can any other ethnic group assume to know how racism is experienced by another ethnic group? The report is constantly looking for creative adjustments, reframing, excusing and attempting to undermine disparity for Black and Asian minoritised ethnic people. The report is outrageous in its findings, in its bid to 'change the narrative' and to conclude that institutional racism does not exist is astonishingly inaccurate, premised on creative, misleading evidence and lack academic rigour. At Bridging Change we will focus on the reality of instititional and systemic racism and move away from the Commission's misleading conclusion in its attempt to 'change the narrative'. We want to reclaim the narrative which acknowledges the impact of the 'hostile environment' and the disproportionately negative impact and outcomes for Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic people in the the UK.

Membership CONNECT WITH US If you are interested in becoming a networking member or would like to support us as an ally, please fill in the membership form .

Infrastructure Past training

Infrastructure Introduction This Infrastructure Project is a 'by and for' project that is run by and for BRM/BME community groups and organisations . The aim is to build robust support for existing vibrant BRM/BME community organisations to grow and thrive in the city. Several BRM/BME community group and voluntary sector organisations (with the support of Brighton and Hove City Council) have been working for two years to develop infrastructure support, leading to its launch in January 2025. Free training and network events The next Bridging Change/ BRM Infrastructure network events takes place on: early 2026 Please also find past training here : Newsletter Please see more about the BRM Network Newsletter for December 2025 here . Please also find past newsletters here : Reports and Useful Resources Background and history In this section, please find all the reports and presentations to give more background to this work. Out of these findings, some of the key support needs defined so far have been: Governance support (constitutional and trustee support and training); Funding, Monitoring and evaluation; Networking and partnership brokering. Communications; Finding venues and resources. Please let us know if you want this support or any other type of support in the getting involved form here . Reports and findings Brighton Hove BME CVS Infrastructure 05 12 24 BME CVS Infrastructure Network Findings Final CAG BRM CVS Infrastructure Support Presentation Final BRM CVS Infrastructure Options Appraisal External Resources Please find links to free additional external resources: Governance (click for more info) Fundraising (click for more info) Get involved Please take the time to fill in this form as you can tell us what you need and be part of this journey. Interested in Infrastructure? For more information about Ageing Well contact: development@bridgingchange.co.uk

How we operate Here are the policies that help us to operate. For more information, please contact bridgingchange@outlook.com "Click on any policy below to view the document" Financial Procedures Bridging Changes' Financial Procedures as a Community of Interest Company (CIC). Research ethics Bridging Change carries out research projects. Understand the ethical principles we uphold. Privacy and Data Protection Understand the type of personal information we collect, and how and why we collect it. Safeguarding Read about our commitment to safeguarding practices when we organise group activities in the wider community.