Bookself Mojatu.com Mojatu Nottingham Magazine M028 | Page 8

8 mojatu .com News & Sports Final Statements & Actions Positives in the current agenda In terms of ‘soft’ indicators of integration (e.g. feelings of belonging, attachment to British identity -albeit hybrid British-Italian/British-Pakistani etc identities-, social mixing, trust, volunteering, levels of prejudice, and adherence to democratic values), the general trend under multicultural policy in the UK is that the majority of the people seem to perceive their communities as rather cohesive and there appears little evidence of a growing ‘lack of cohesion’ or cultural integration in UK communities. In particular, second generation migrants across minority groups show expected trends of a lessening of differences and are becoming more like their host counterparts in the country they are born into, while still maintaining attachments to their heritage. This general trend does not mean that there are no problem areas in the UK, but means that overall, these areas commonly documented - do not represent the bigger picture across our country. Suggested Improvements to the current agenda Acceptance of greater host community responsibility and actions required -- despite the idea that integration is a two way process often being used to demonstrate that immigrants are failing to make the effort to become part of the host community’s that they join, the assembly also considered how the majority host community in the UK is in many ways failing to provide a receiving environment conductive to integration, with particular examples discussed being: The general segregation of white British (and not minority) communities in UK communities not allowing for meaningful social contact between diverse communities (Alita) The failure to address socio-economic disparities and allow equal participation in British society - for example in education or labour market opportunities (so called hard measures of integration) between White British and ethnic minority communities (Magda) The continuation of discrimination institutionally (e.g. the most recent example being the deportation of Windrush generation citizens), as well as rising levels in our societies (e.g. hate crime in our communities) Finally, the public narrative/culture of threat in our national media and political circles towards issues like immigration and diversity in recent years which create an “us” vs “them” mental state on lines of nationality, race and language in UK society. The assembly therefore suggested that some of these issues need to be addressed before an environment conducive to a genuinely integrated society can exist in the UK. Multicultural Nationalism - In discussions, many agreed multicultural policy - supporting the accommodation rather than the erosion of difference in our communities - was the way forward for the UK given the successful contribution of diversity to our culture and identity for hundreds of years. They also agreed however, that multiculturalism should not be mistaken for saying that there should not be a strong integration policy in place to unite British citizens as a people, but other than language proficiency which was felt to be particularly important for new citizens to grasp, “Britishness” was hard to pin down for the assembly and was felt to be something which needed to be narrowed down in the future. To read the full resources, click on the link; http://docdro.id/XdFddGh) Continued from page 5 “ DEAR VANESSA Thank you for your application and interview preparation for one of the lead roles in the new Student Ambassador Scheme. We were thoroughly impressed with both your letter and interview and are delighted to offer you the position of Curriculum Lead. We are really excited about working with you and hearing more of your ideas. We were impressed by your enthusiasm for developing skills and confidence within your peer group, which combined with your excellent communication skills make you the ideal candidate for role... Kind regards Mr Barton and Miss Crawford“ MM: You are a member of the senior leadership team in your school, tell us more about it, what is your role? different groups of young people in different sports activities and events both in school and out of school Vanessa: I am the Curriculum Lead Ambassador in my school which is equivalent to Deputy Head Girl and so my job is more towards what is taught in school, in and out of lessons and equipping students with more than just GCSEs at the end of their time at South Wolds Academy and Sixth Form MM: Just a final couple of questions, otherwise we will be here forever because you seem to be involved in a lot of things and very good at them, so just give us a summary of your other awards… MM: You are also good at athletics, and that you a Sports leader….? Vanessa: I actually stopped pursuing a career in athletics some time in year 8 but decided to become a Sports Leader which is a qualification called the Sports Leadership Award. This teaches us how to lead Vanessa: My other awards include my Bronze DofE and Arts Award which are both nationally recognized qualifications. My school awards range from Outstanding Student Awards and Gold Award which recognise amazing school students for their work in curricular and extra-curricular activities MM: We understand that you are in your local Church choir, praise team, attends the CoE young leadership