By Eric King-
Events and activities commemorating the outstanding contribution of the Windrush Generation will be bubbling this summer in remembrance of the Windrush Generation, the British Government has said today.
Communities across the country will receive a share of £500,000 to educate, commemorate and celebrate the outstanding contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants, Communities Minister Lord Bourne has said today. The move is a welcome initiative to appreciate the contribution of the Windrush generation after a Home Office blunder last year in which many people from the Windrush generation who lost their passports were deported to their homeland, and traces of their citizenship were lost.
£350,000 will be exclusively provided via local authorities, whilst £150,000 will be available for charities and community groups. The minimum amount available is £2,500 and the maximum is £25,000. The total amount provided by the government will not exceed £25,000. The government says that bidders proposing projects of a value higher than £25,000 will need to seek and demonstrate additional sources of funding.
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CRITERIA
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it reserved the right to only
fund projects that meet the eligibility criteria. Funding will be discretionary based on the perception of the applicant’s credibility and credentials in their community. Successful bidders will be those who have demonstrated a capability to deliver community led projects and who have a credible community presence.
Eligible applicants will be part of an organisation, be a local authority,registered charity or community group with a charitable purpose.Local authorities may include a county council; a district council; a parish council; a combined authority; a London borough council;Local authorities may include a county council; a district council; a parish council; a combined authority; a London borough council
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Windrush Day on 22 June, marks the anniversary of the arrival of MV Empire Windrush at the Port of Tilbury, near London, on 22 June 1948. The arrival of the Empire Windrush over 70 years ago marked a seminal moment in Britain’s history, representing the rich diversity of this nation.The people who arrived on the Empire Windrush, their descendants and those who followed them, have made and continue to make an enormous contribution to Britain.
The Ministry Of Housing, Community and Local Government say the contribution was not just in the vital work of rebuilding the country and public services following WWII, but ”in enriching our shared social, economic, cultural and religious life.Overcoming great sacrifice and hardship, the Windrush Generation and their descendants have gone on to lead the field across public life, in business, the arts and sport. Britain would be much diminished without their contribution.
Funding from the government will support school projects, street parties, theatre, exhibitions and workshops to take place in communities across the country on June 22 and throughout the year. Blackburne House Education will run a project about the female descendants of the Windrush Generation who arrived in Liverpool.
The plans include a series of workshops with local women, with the focus on men from the Windrush Generation who married local women and how those inter-racial marriages were received at the time. Through the workshops, participants will create a documentary using archive footage, photography and oral history, and develop new skills. The project will be run in partnership with local community groups and historians, as well as the Museum of Liverpool.
Thurrock Council, which is home to the Port of Tilbury where the Empire Windrush docked over 70 years ag will run a series of educational workshops for children and residents, followed by a celebratory Windrush Carnival. There will be 92 creative educational workshops in dance, flag-making, and puppetry between April and June, which will be hosted by schools and community venues. The materials created in these workshops would then be used for the celebratory Windrush Carnival in July
The selected community groups and local authorities will use the funding to lead school projects, street parties, exhibitions, talks and workshops, to recognise and honour the great legacy of those who stepped ashore at Tilbury Docks over 70 years ago. The money will be used to support funding for educational workshops from Bristol to Birmingham and Liverpool to Leeds, and will include cultural festivals, theatre productions, community gardens and more.
Communities Minister Lord Bourne said:
The Windrush Generation fought for and supported Britain during the war, and then went on to rebuild Britain. They are the story of modern Britain and learning about their contribution is a vital part of our shared history and heritage.
Their legacy lives on in their children and grandchildren and the communities they have built up and down the country.
I am proud that those communities and the nation as a whole will have the opportunity to commemorate and celebrate the Windrush Generation and their descendants’ key role in Britain’s history.
In June 2018, the government announced an annual Windrush Day to encourage communities across the country to commemorate the Windrush story on Windrush Day (22 June) and throughout the year.
The national celebration is backed by a £500,000 Windrush Day Grant Scheme overseen by a Windrush Day Advisory Panel of community representatives.
The Windrush Day Grant Scheme was launched in November 2018 and received over 400 bids for funding from community groups, charities and local authorities across England.
There was a wide range and variety of applications with successful bids confirmed in Devon and Broxbourne reflecting the breadth of enthusiasm in communities across the country to mark Windrush Day 2019.”
Dr Joe Aldred, Churches Together in England, Windrush Day Advisory Panel Member said:
Those enterprising youngsters from the Caribbean who stepped off the Empire Windrush on 22 June 1948 are part of a historic movement of people that has demonstrated fortitude and faith in building a future for themselves, their communities and this country.
Windrush Day 2019 provides a great opportunity for the nation to commemorate and celebrate this ongoing contribution to multicultural Britain. I congratulate those groups that have been successful in their funding applications and will lead this year’s commemorations, adding to the many others that will do the same self-funded.
I look forward to joining in and keeping this rich Windrush legacy alive this year and for many years to come.
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