The Race on the Agenda office currently is curently closed as a precaution to protect staff, visitors and our wider communities from the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus.

All staff are still working (from home) their normal hours and are available on their usual email addresses (staff's first name @rota.org.uk).

Please note: our office telephone number is temporarily unavailable as we manage a new solution to enable staff to work remotely. If you have a general query, please direct it to rota@rota.org.uk.

We apologise for any inconvenience, although we are confident our members and colleagues will understand our reasoning.

Our forthcoming events/meetings have also been affected and we have adapted the use of online technology, Zoom web conference where possible. Please keep an eye on our Twitter feed and our website. We will also announce the reopening of the office via these methods of communication.

We urge everyone to stay safe and take measures to protect vulnerable members of our communities in these uncertain times.

Wishing good health to all.

The ROTA Team

After seven years as head of ROTA Andy Gregg has announced that he will be retiring at the end of August. Ali Ahmed, ROTA’s Chair during this period said “Regrettably I am sorry to announce Andy’s departure from ROTA. Andy continued to build our work on put race equality at the centre of the policy agenda, he helped expand our partnerships and collaboration with front line BAMER communities. Since taking office as a ROTA CEO in 2010, Andy developed the organisation and commitment to challenging all forms of racism. We will miss him and wish him all the best.”

ROTA’s Board of Trustees has begun the process of ensuring the continuing leadership of ROTA in the difficult climate we are all now in with COVID 19. More information will shortly be available on this process.

Andy’s period as Chief Executive of ROTA coincided with the Government’s hostile environment policies that have done so much to reinforce racism and discrimination throughout the UK over the past few years. The results of this disastrous policy can be clearly seen in the disparities and discrimination that is now daily being uncovered with the COVID 19 pandemic. BAME key staff and patients are significantly much more likely to suffer serious infections and die of the virus. All of this has happened in a climate of a serious economic downturn which is about to be made even worse by the likelihood of Britain crashing out of Europe later this year in addition to the recession caused by COVID lockdown. The Brexit debate has injected so much hatred and bile in to the system over the last few years with substantial spikes in racial hatred and harassment and anti migrant discrimination. The recession that is now looming will have a substantial negative impact on BAME communities and is likely to further exacerbate racism and xenophobia.

In the post-COVID world, businesses have closed, people have lost their jobs, and charities are struggling to survive.  Will these smaller charities survive the lockdown, and will they still be solvent when the lockdown finally ends?

At this critical time, it is vital for organisations to raise their profile and create fresh income streams. This media training workshop will focus on how to raise the visibility of your organisation – even if you are not currently doing much in the way of service delivery!

So how do you raise your visibility? In two ways – on-line and I.R.L. (in real life). This training will deal with both.

This workshop will show you:

• how to connect on-line with organisations and people you haven’t even met.
• how to get local media like newspapers and radio stations to promote your organisation without having to pay for an advert.

CRÈME is a three-year project to work with small race equality organisations in London to help them better engage with the media.

This workshop is free to join and will take place on-line on Wednesday 3rd June from at 3 till 4:30pm using ZOOM.

Register your interest and be sent an invite.

The Runnymede Trust and Race on the Agenda (ROTA) are looking to hire a joint Policy Officer.

The role will involve raising awareness of racial equality issues in policy and Parliament; co-ordinating the APPG on Race and Community and building relationships with community and voluntary sector organisations, MPs and relevant policy-makers.

This is a full time, 1 year fixed-term role with a possibility of extension depending on further funding.

The closing date is 8 June 2020.

Following the prime minister’s speech on Sunday evening, the government has published Our plan to rebuild: the UK government’s covid-19 recovery strategy.

The document is intended to provide further details about the government’s proposed plan to ease the lockdown and rebuild the economy and society as we get through the worst of the pandemic.

Grants between £500,000 and £1m, and to ensure that people staying at home does not need to lead to loneliness.

National charities providing frontline services in England can apply, but services will focus on groups particularly at risk of loneliness and groups that have a track record of successful delivery.

This Fund is to help smaller charitable organisations in the UK affected by the impact of Covid-19.

Grants of up to £10,000 are available.

Connect with @Money4Youth and listen to their podcast: 4 Minutes in Fundraising (@FundraisingPod).

New episodes are out every week and this is the season for grant makers and grant seekers.