Asian community leaders criticise Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games lack of diversity
Asian community and cultural leaders in Sandwell are demanding organisers of Birmingham 2022 improve diversity at the Commonwealth Games.
Signatures include radio station bosses, historians, the board of MELA wrote an open letter to organisers and Birmingham highlighting the low numbers of minorities on Games committees and four out of five staff are white.
They also complain funding for accompanying cultural programme has "sidestepped Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities".
However, Games organisers disagreed with the open letter and claimed Birmingham 2022 was "a shining example of inclusivity "
The Asian community leaders said: "We thought at last an opportunity for all communities to come together to showcase their collective contributions in making Birmingham a truly diverse city.
"Birmingham City Council sought to ensure that diversity and inclusive growth would be baked into the process throughout by setting up an Overview and Scrutiny Games Committee (O&S), with the key remit of using the Games to redress the roles of Colonialism and Empire. A stakeholder’s group was to be set up to ensure no-one was left out. However, the latter group has still not seen the light of day.
"Only one person of colour was on the Games Organising Committee Board (OC) at the outset. Given the pledges the City Council had made about these being the “Diversity Games”, the initial makeup of the OC was even more surprising given that the Leader of the Council was on the board."
They added: "Questions were asked at the Games’ Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Forum (EDI) as to where and how Birmingham’s diverse communities have benefitted, if at all.
"We see, from the funding distributed for the Games Cultural programme, that the Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities seem to have been sidestepped and major contributors to this local culture and business innovation ignored.
"Surely this direct investment should have been a catalyst for change, rather than “business as usual”; where white-led organisations share Black, Asian and minority stories they do not own. This is not the Colonial Games where inclusive growth is merely a slogan.
We believe it is not too late to turn this around, but both the Games OC and the City Council have some urgent questions to answer. Our communities will not forgive yet another example of promises unfulfilled and the feeling that “we’ve been lied to again”."
Martin Green CBE, chief creative officer, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, defended the diversity of the Games.
He said: "The Birmingham 2022 Festival is a shining example of inclusivity and creativity, and we believe that this will be a glowing reflection of the city, the region, and its people.
"The festival programme also includes 107 artist led community projects. The Creative City Grants programme, generously supported by Birmingham City Council, has enabled 107 community groups to stage their own festival events. Many of these projects will be led by and, like the entire festival, engage South Asian communities."
