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RCRE Extraordinary General meeting, 16th Feb 2011, Civic Centre

Called at very short notice, the Kennet room was full of people very concerned about what is happening.

 The Chair

Ejaz Elahi, opened the meeting with a description of the Reading Bough Cabinet decision. He told the meeting that the decision was;

  • A shock because there had been no warning or discussion with us about the possibility that we would be singled out for this devastating action.

  • Based on wrong and information. For example, the claim that RCRE did only race equality work is a deliberate untruth. RCRE had published many pieces of work in the last year which show clearly that we have handled all aspects of equality. He mentioned the Single Equality Scheme work and report published with the Ambulance Service. He also showed copies of the work with the Thames Valley Police concerning their Equality Standard, and other work.

  • Dr Elahi also confronted the suggestion that RCRE does no casework. Every one of our annual reports has a section concerning casework and is distributed to all Councillors and key council officers, including the grant liaison officer, He said this also showed that the Cabinet was mislead.

  Jane lane

Founder member Jane Lane described how the organisation was formed some 45years ago, and met with the same type of resistance that we are experiencing today. The problem then is the same as now, namely that some people in positions of power do not understand racism. Nor do they understand the pressure and hard work involved in keeping all communities together against the constant risk of extremism and tension.

The Director

Rajinder Sohpal, the Director described how he was informed of the decision on 7th January and events which followed. He also questioned some of the wilfully wrong statements made by council officers to the Cabinet and said that RCRE had served a Freedom of Information request to try to get to the bottom of what has been going on. He said that there had been a claim that RCRE has not provided quantifiable information, but this is not something that has been raised as a problem for more than a year. Previously, such a statement had been made, challenged and rested. Now, its seems the Council is digging desperately for anything. He read out figures for casework which have been published for the last 3-4 years and said more are available.

Rajinder then described the RCRE response, consisting of a petition, communication with the Council, legal advice, and much more including many letters of support from partners and the public.

 Councillors

All four political parties had been invited to address the meeting. Councillor Gareth Epps had sent his apologies because he was Chairing a scrutiny panel meeting at the same time in the Council Chamber. We did not have reply from Cllr Skeats.

Councillor Rob White expressed his support for the RCRE and said that he was working closely with RCRE, had attended the petition signing event in the Town Centre, and was working on a budget amendment which might restore RCRE funding.

Councillor Bet Tickner also expressed her support for the RCRE. She said that in any relationship, there had been challenging times between the Labour controlled council and RCRE, but respect for the independence of the RCRE. She said RCRE is needed now more than ever because of the increased risk of community tension because of the increasing unemployment and deprivation. An example was the appearance of extremist political organisations.

Discussion and debate

There were very powerful contributions form members, supporters and service users. Service users described how they had turned to the RCRE, even though other organisations were available, because they had been helped by RCRE. Representatives from local organisations described how their groups had been formed as a result of the help from RCRE. Many said that the cut in funding had been politically inspired and those responsible should be answerable at the local elections.

Rajinder said the Trustees had given him, fully supported by staff, that the RCRE will not close even if we have no staff. There was an overwhelming view that RCRE must take legal steps, if the Council continued its action to stop funding.

The Chair said that the Trustees (Executive committee) would not allow the organisation to close, he thanked everyone for the massive support we have received and called on everyone to continue this support. He said he would ensure that everyone is kept informed. The meeting was closed.

January 2011: RCRE facing devaststing funding cut...

The Reading Borough Council Cabinet has decided to discontinue funding for the RCRE. This is a devastating blow to us and the decision seems to be based on rather spurious reasons and carried out without any consultation with us or our stakeholders.

For more information, please go to 'ABOUT RCRE' page ..........

January 2011: RCRE confronts the threat of the extremist

English Defence League

    

On Wednesday 12th January, the RCRE brought together people representing the cross-section of our community in Reading to assert solidarity and support for harmonious community relations, in the light of the extremist activites witnessed in recent times.

Councillors, faith leaders, community leaders along with ordinary citizens signed a plegde to continue to work in favour of unity. the statement said;

'We want tolerance, peace and respect for all our citizens who live and work in Reading.

We support the freedom of expression, and reject all forms of extremism which aims to divide our communities'

 

 

October 2010: RCRE supports the concert in aid of the victims of the recent flooding in Pakistan

Rajinder Sohpal, Director of the RCRE said

"The concert  includes top class artists representing a spectrum of taste. It is fantastic value in its own right, but the cause is a very good one too. Though the publicity of the impact by the flooding has now disappeared from our TV screens, people in Pakistan will be suffering from the disaster for a long time. I want to encourage everyone to support this important event"

Reading Action for PAKISTAN FLOOD APPEAL

31st OCTOBER Rivermead Leisure Centre
open 6.30 RICHFIELD AVENUE, READING RG1 8EQ
FUNDRAISER CONCERT

Download details

'Friends, not Flames' Reading unites against extremism

People from Reading united on 9/11 to express solidarity against extremism.

Download our short news rleaese

Also, see the coverarge by ITV Meridian by pasting the link below in your browser;

http://www.itv.com/meridian-west/remembering-91109353/

 

 

RCRE Annual General Meeting

RCRE will be holding it's AGM on Wednesday 28 July 2010 in the Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Reading RGI 7TD. Guest speakers include Marta Skrzypczak and Marcin Malecki members of the new Polish Community in Reading; and representatives from the recently formed Coalition Administration of the Council where they will discuss............. (See Flyer & Agenda.pdf)

 UNI Regioinal BME Network

Uni Network is now a Registered Charity No. 1133358 and Private Limited Company No. 6895840 and invites membership applications from BME Community Groups. For details about membership eligibility, please read the membership criteria and rules document.doc