Diversity Days 2020
On 26 November Naz Legacy Foundation held a Diversity Day with the Metropolitan Police. This was an extended, interactive virtual ‘school trip’ which lasted half a day. We were able to welcome an amazing 215 students from six schools across London, who all engaged brilliantly.
The session provided a space for a diverse group of young people to interact with members of the police and have open and honest discussions about their views and experiences of the Met Police, as well as providing them with positive diverse role models and learning about career opportunities.
The pupils completed a pre-session activity where they shared their perceptions of the Met Police and what they would change about it if they were given the chance – these ideas were then discussed at the beginning of the session.
The session also involved smaller breakout room discussions between students and police officers on issues which are relevant to young people, such as Stop and Search and vulnerabilities such as child sexual exploitation. They also learnt about their rights in these situations.
The session provided a space for a diverse group of young people to interact with members of the police and have open and honest discussions about their views and experiences of the Met Police, as well as providing them with positive diverse role models and learning about career opportunities.
The pupils completed a pre-session activity where they shared their perceptions of the Met Police and what they would change about it if they were given the chance – these ideas were then discussed at the beginning of the session.
The session also involved smaller breakout room discussions between students and police officers on issues which are relevant to young people, such as Stop and Search and vulnerabilities such as child sexual exploitation. They also learnt about their rights in these situations.
Finally, the session ended with a careers panel where the students learnt about several career paths within the police service, including forensics and serious crime investigations, including a Q&A with representatives from each area.
Supporters
On 1 October 2020 the Naz Legacy Foundation held its first ever virtual Diversity Day – as required by COVID-19 restrictions. The session was with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Services (FCDO Services), which provides a range of secure services worldwide to the FCDO and other UK government departments, as well as managing the UK National Authority for Counter Eavesdropping (UK NACE), helping protect UK assets from physical, electronic and cyber attacks.
FCDO staff spoke and answered questions from over 50 students about their work on cyber security, the wide array of career opportunities and routes in to working at FCDO Services, and diversity and inclusion within the UK Civil Service.
By introducing a diverse group of young people to the range of STEM-related career opportunities available to them, including an excellent apprenticeship scheme, the session aimed to inspire young people to pursue a career in the Civil Service that they may not previously have thought was open to them.
FCDO staff spoke and answered questions from over 50 students about their work on cyber security, the wide array of career opportunities and routes in to working at FCDO Services, and diversity and inclusion within the UK Civil Service.
By introducing a diverse group of young people to the range of STEM-related career opportunities available to them, including an excellent apprenticeship scheme, the session aimed to inspire young people to pursue a career in the Civil Service that they may not previously have thought was open to them.
To find out more about FCDO Services’ apprenticeship scheme and career opportunities, visit their website.
Supporters
On Wednesday 3rd March 2020, the Naz Legacy Foundation held a Diversity Day at the University of Cambridge with over 50 young people from five London boroughs. Intersectionality, where several factors such as ethnicity, social class and gender are considered in widening participation, has resulted in Universities working towards encouraging and supporting pupils who fall into one or more of these categories to aspire towards a University education. Cambridge University hosted this Diversity Day so that pupils could experience University life and find out more about the range of higher education opportunities at Cambridge University.
The young people learnt about the application process, engaged in a Q&A session with current students from East London and took part in a critical thinking session. More photos from the day can be viewed here.
Feedback from the pupils demonstrated that the Cambridge University experience was valuable in presenting a picture of university life at Cambridge and beyond. The advice on bursaries available was also appreciated and for some opened up avenues that they thought might be closed off – one pupil commented, “this encouraged me to think about applying”. Another pupil reflected “it has made university feel more attainable and an opportunity for me” (Female, age 15).
The young people learnt about the application process, engaged in a Q&A session with current students from East London and took part in a critical thinking session. More photos from the day can be viewed here.
Feedback from the pupils demonstrated that the Cambridge University experience was valuable in presenting a picture of university life at Cambridge and beyond. The advice on bursaries available was also appreciated and for some opened up avenues that they thought might be closed off – one pupil commented, “this encouraged me to think about applying”. Another pupil reflected “it has made university feel more attainable and an opportunity for me” (Female, age 15).
Supporters
On Wednesday 29th January 2020, the Naz Legacy Foundation held its first Diversity Day of 2020. We were joined by over 50 young people from over five London boroughs at the Tower of London to learn about the rich heritage of diverse communities in British history. Of the pupils who attended the Tower of London Diversity Day, only 3% were frequent visitors to arts and heritage sites, 57% were infrequent visitors (1-3 trips per year) and 40% never visited arts and heritage sites.
Cultural organisations, like The Tower of London, are working hard to encourage greater engagement and wider participation for all minority groups.
The Tower of London hosted a Diversity Day for pupils to learn about the history of the Tower, to explore the unique collections (including the Crown Jewels) and learn about the diverse number of roles that are connected to working in the Arts, heritage and museum sector. Additionally, pupils attended a workshop on spoken word poetry, facilitated by renowned artists Ms Yankey and Fusion. The pupils were given the opportunity to write spoken word exploring the role diverse communities have played in Britain historically. Pictures and examples of their spoken word can be watched here.
Cultural organisations, like The Tower of London, are working hard to encourage greater engagement and wider participation for all minority groups.
The Tower of London hosted a Diversity Day for pupils to learn about the history of the Tower, to explore the unique collections (including the Crown Jewels) and learn about the diverse number of roles that are connected to working in the Arts, heritage and museum sector. Additionally, pupils attended a workshop on spoken word poetry, facilitated by renowned artists Ms Yankey and Fusion. The pupils were given the opportunity to write spoken word exploring the role diverse communities have played in Britain historically. Pictures and examples of their spoken word can be watched here.
Supporters