Join Up Our Street for a packed four hours of film, poetry and discussion, plus a delicious shared lunch cooked by Bristol Hospitality Network. What does it mean to be Bristolian in 2018? Includes exclusive local premiere of 'There is Black in the Union Jack' by Black South West Network.

BSWN would like to invite you to our Annual General Meeting ( AGM) which will be followed by an event entitled ‘ Inclusive Growth- A Mechanism for Addressing Inequality?'

This event highlights the vibrant networks of Asian and African activists, intellectuals, and artists who met and interacted in the era of decolonisation.  The event will launch an exhibition and digital visualisation - in partnership with the Watershed's Pervasive Media Studio - that maps their journeys.

Walking on the 'White' side of the street - An Introduction to the History and On-going Impact of British 'Whiteness'

Talk and Q & A Session with member Matt Jacobs.

In this talk we will explore the history and construction of 'Whiteness' as a phenomenon that structures and conditions society and social relations.

As part of the Bristol Somali Festival 2017 and its themes, local Somali actors will bring together the stories previously gathered in 4 separate workshops throughout August and September 2017. There, Bristol Somali mothers, fathers, sons and daughters each had their own space to talk about the pressures they’ve faced adjusting to life in Britain and what they would really like to discuss with other family members. For more information about this free event and on how to book tickets, please click on the event title above. 

The second day of the festival will take place on Saturday the 28th October in the form of a large family day, an opportunity for families with young children to participate and enjoy being surrounded by Somali culture. There will be several attractions organised, including a fabric and craft store, craft tables, Somali kitchen for an experiences of blending spices, and an exhibition of Somali cultural artefacts. For more information about this event, please click the title of the event above. 

The Bristol Somali Festival is a sister to the week-long Somali Festival in London that is curated by Ayan Mahamoud. This is year’s festival focuses on the concept on Identity, Belong and role of culture within the diaspora community. Thanks to the success of the last year’s Bristol Somali Festival, BSWN in partnership with M Shed and other partners are able to bring Somali Festival to Bristol once again for two days of discussion and activities aimed to celebrate the Somali community in Bristol. The festival will be launched on the evening of 27th October with an event hosted in partnership with M Shed. Key note speaker: Osman Mohamed Ali. Speakers include: Dr Idil Osman, Artan Mohamed, Abira Hussein, Zahra Kosar. Followed by poetry reading from renown Somali poet Xasan Daahir Ismaaciil Weedhsame translated by Martin Orwin. For more information and to book tickets, click the event title above.

What does it mean to be Black and British in modern Britain? First, we will show the documentary produced by Black South West Network in partnership with 8th Sense Media on our Heritage Lottery Funded project #ThereISBlackInTheUnionJack that is focused on the relationships between heritage of race, identity, and belonging for the Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) community in Bristol. Then we will engage the BME community on their views of the documentary and where Bristol as a city is headed in terms of racial politics, heritage, and belonging. Speakers include: Dr. Edson Burton, Sado Jirde, Kunle Olulode, Delano Gourmet – Moore, Michael Jenkins, Desmond Brown, and Councillor Estella Tincknell. For more information and to book tickets, click the event title above.

#ThereISBlackInTheUnionJack – a film and history project by BSWN– looks at the relationships between heritage, race, identity and belonging for the Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) community in Bristol.  Charting the changing nature of BME identity in the city through conversations with BME Bristolians across generations and genders (with the help of trained BME volunteers from the community), the documentary features interviews with members of the community, activists and political leaders. Speakers include: Deputy Mayor Asher Craig, Afua Hirsch, Maya Goodfellow, Omar Khan, and David Olusoga. For more information and to book tickets, click the event title above.

This event marks the beginning of a series of events organised or facilitated by Black South West Network as our contribution to the Black History Month and the Festival of the Future City 2017. 

Historically and currently – from the civil rights movement in the US to the contemporary global movements around Black Lives Matter – women of colour have often been at the forefront of campaigns to create more humane and integrated policies and places. The #ThereISBlackInTheUnionJack project (launched on 19th April 2017 and funded by Heritage Lottery Fund) looks at race in Bristol through the generations, including women of colour. What can this – and historic and global movements for change – teach us about the future of cities? Speakers include: Dr. Madhu Krishnan, Dr.Sumita Mukherjee, Aisha Rana-Deshmukh, and Nicole Truesdell. For more information and to book tickets, click the event title above.

We would like to invite you to a discussion around how effective community anchor organizations can be in fostering and promoting community cohesion* and what we can to improve and develop this work. 

This session is one of three network events entitled Future Places* led by Locality. This event is co-hosted by Locality in association with The Black South West Network.

This year, Black South West Network is getting involved in the annual Stonewall Season, a week of LGBT Events run by supporters and organisations promoting equality. 

You are invited to Taking Action on Race Inequality round table event to be held on Thursday 28th September at City Hall. This is a joint event between Black Training & Enterprise Group ( BTEG) and Manifesto for Race Equality Leaders Group to launch and discuss national and local data on racial disparity. Nationally, BTEG, is proposing to establish a shared platform to link and support organisations that are taking action on race inequality in the UK. Speakers include: Alison Comley, Mayor Marvin Rees, Deputy Mayor Cllr Asher Craig and Jeremy Crook. For more information and to book tickets, click the event title above.

As part of the ongoing process of improving relations between the police and local Black and Minority Ethnic communities, on Friday 2 June 2017 BSWN hosted a Round-Table Meeting between Police & Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens and leaders from the local Muslim communities in the aftermath of the terrorist incident in Manchester when 23 people lost their lives and many more were injured. One of the key outcomes was the need for a workshop to explore a community led approach to addressing extremist radicalisation. Speakers include: Dr. Therese O'Toole, Moestak Hussein, and Sado Jirde. For more information and to book tickets, click the event title above.