SRtRC Celebrate Windrush Day
Below you will find a roundup of all the activities SRtRC was involved with on
Windrush Day 2023!
Windrush 75 in Newcastle:
SRtRC attended an event hosted by the North of England Refugee Service (NERS) to mark both Windrush Day on its 75th anniversary and refugee week.
The event took place at the NERS office over three floors of stalls, displays, film showings, food and music. Introducing the event we heard from speakers including Mohammed Nasreldin, director of NERS and Smajo Beso who spoke of his experiences arriving to the UK as a child refugee, the pollical choices that lead to migrant deaths, the history of connections between the north east and the Bosnian community and more.
The event was a well-attended, diverse and vibrant celebration of multiculturalism which culminated in a march through Newcastle to the city centre where a rally took place with a number of speakers including our HR director Simone Doyle.
FA Celebration:
Our CEO, members of our board of trustees and some of the southern team visited the FA’s Windrush celebration event at Wembley stadium along with the overall winner of this year’s SRtRC School Competition. The event was organised as a celebration of the contribution of Caribbean heritage players, coaches and match officials to the game. An incredible evening of laughter and contemplation attended by legends of the game.
Over 350 guests were met with a drinks reception and entertainment provided my Mr Silky Skills upon entering the event before hearing speeches from the niece of Brendan Batson and a video message from the Debbie Hewitt, Chair of the FA, who wasn’t able to attend in person.
The event was organised by Keah Forino-Joseph, Omari Elliott and Paul Elliot; all of whom have a personal connection to the Windrush generation. Paul took attendees on a journey of the history of Windrush as well as his own personal story in relation to it, before being joined by a panel including Luther Blissett who moved to Britain himself as part of the Windrush generation and Hope Powell and Jermaine Defoe who are 2nd and 3rd generation decedents respectively.
Attendees got to enjoy Caribbean flavours by ‘Cummin Up’ who provided their catering services, as well as the musical of talents Kaiso and Jermaine Jackman who topped off the night with a standing ovation.
Wales:
Show Racism the Red Card Wales is delighted to announce our Windrush-themed education pack, “Windrush Then and Now”, containing anti-racism resources and activities for pupils. These resources have been designed to link messages of anti-racism and the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush arriving in Britain. The activities within the pack are aligned to the new Curriculum for Wales and can be used within their lessons in the lead up to, during and after Windrush Day on 22nd June 2023.
You can read more about the pack and how to access it here.
