Migration. Making Britain Great. – TUC Conference 2023
On the 11th of September, SRtRC will be hosting a meeting alongside the NEU as part of the TUC conference in Liverpool, marking the next phase of launching our ‘Migration. Making Britian Great’ campaign.
Attendees will hear from speakers including:
Ken Monkou – Former Southampton, Chelsea and Huddersfield player
Paul Kearns – Director of Operations Show Racism the Red Card
Emma Rose – President of the NEU
Elizabeth Cameron – SRtRC North West Advisory Committee
Ian Taylor – CWU NEC
John Barnes – Former Liverpool, Watford and England player
Using education, facts and sporting role models, the recently announced campaign aims to challenge and address many of the myths surrounding migrants and celebrate the enormous contribution made by those who have sought asylum and sanctuary in the UK.
SRtRC are working alongside sector partners IMIX and Migrant Voice on this innovative new initiative. Sport is well known as an area that transcends barriers, builds friendship and trust, positively impacting people’s opinions and perceptions. The campaign will take learning from SRtRC’s current education programme, IMIX’s sector expertise in narrative change with Migrant Voice providing contributions from people with lived experience.
Nazek Ramadan, Director at Migrant Voice, said: “Diversity and immigration have always played a crucial role in the history and heritage of Britain. That is seen in the way in which 70 nations coming together have helped make the Premier League one of the greatest football leagues in the world. Recognising how migrants are part of our communities, and the strength which they bring to us all, has never been more important. There is a lot of misinformation and hostile rhetoric around immigration, however, migrants are our friends, our family, our neighbours and our colleagues. Working together makes us all stronger. At the heart of it all, migration makes Britain great, and we should celebrate that.”
Ged Grebby, CEO at SRtRC, said: “The Premier League is the best league in world and much of that is due to the diversity of talent playing in it, with 70 nationalities across 20 clubs, it’s what makes the Premier League great. Show Racism the Red Card have over 27 years of experience in producing anti-racism educational resources using the high profile of professional sports personalities.
“Many of these players have expressed a wish to follow Gary Lineker’s lead in standing up in solidarity with some of the world’s most vulnerable people. SRTRC have a long track record of working with both Gary Lineker and Migrant Voice on a series of films to combat racism towards asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. We are proud to stand in solidarity with refugees and work with our partners to change the narrative around immigration being a negative for our society. The opposite is true: immigration makes Britain great, and we should be celebrating that.”
