Reflection on our highlights and challenges – End of 2021 message from Yvonne Field, Founder and CEO of The Ubele Initiative
As 2021 draws to a close, and Covid-19 continues to dominate on our daily lives, I reflect on some of our highlights and challenges. Just as our team begun to explore the real possibility of a hybrid working from next month, new government guidance recommends that those who can work from home should do so. The small window of […]
A growing community – Ubele’s Young Emerging Leaders Collective (YELC) by Aisha Khan
The Young Emerging Leaders Collective (YELC) is a growing community for young Black people, people of colour and racialised people, committed to racial and social justice. The Collective is a space to exchange ideas, support and care; learn and build capacity and resilience; and work together in anti-racist and anti-oppressive action. From establishing the TL2 […]
The Enterprise Development Programme steps up a gear in 2022 by Yvonne Witter
The Black and Minoritised Communities Enterprise Development Programme (BMCEDP) will contribute to one of the key delivery objectives within The Ubele Initiative’s new five year strategy. As part of this strategy, we will establish the first ever National Strategic Alliance, the aim of which is to support Community Wealth Building within Black and Minoritised communities. The second round for BMCEDP applications will open in Spring 2022. On the […]
The Phoenix Way: a unique collaboration emerging from Covid-19 by Yvonne Field
Covid-19 has been the worst of all possible times. It has also, strangely enough, been a time of new opportunities, creativity and, in some instances, celebration. It has hastened well-recognised life cycles of death and new beginnings: of people, ideas and ways of being. I encountered and witnessed struggles with Covid: my own, my […]
Finding Purpose in Ghana by Richelle Bailey
Ghana allowed me to fully embrace my purpose working with young girls and their facilitators as I extended myself beyond UK Borders. My journey was initially intended to be just a holiday with a friend; however, I had a strong compulsion, a gut feeling, that I had work to do. I messaged both Yvonne Field and Michael […]
My Journey with Prostate Cancer by Brian Quavar
As we approach International Men’s Day (19th November), I thought it would be a good idea to share my journey with prostate cancer which started around 2016. After having the dreaded digital rectal exam, I was told that my prostate was slightly enlarged but with no apparent abnormality- so I wasn’t particularly concerned at the […]
Decolonising Menopause by Dr Yansie Rolston
Let me start by stating the obvious – approximately half of the world’s population will experience menopause, and that’s a fact! So why then do we need a special day – October 18th World Menopause Day – to raise awareness for something that affects half of the world’s population, and how is it that menopause […]
What does mental health mean to you? by Kerry-Jane Bunting
Mental health – the words that can conjure up images of unhinged, violent and scary individuals that should be avoided at all costs for your own personal safety. The words that rarely have positivity linked to them, the words that can induce fear, stigma and shame, none more so than within the black community. As […]
Black History Month 2021 – Proud to Be by Dr Yansie Rolston
Dr Yansie Rolston When I was asked to complete the sentence Proud to Be… my immediate reply was Proud to Be An Unapologetically Black Woman, but I was then asked to think of something else. I paused, took a deep breath, and reflected on some of my more recent accomplishments. Then it came to me – I […]
Sharing Reflections of Ubele’s Community of Practice by Peggy P. Warren
The Community of Practice was part of MEL Europe programme co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. Who is the woman who attends a community practitioner conference in South Africa where she is the only person of colour amongst the delegates and pledges there, that she is going to find a way to […]
Black on Track Entrepreneurs creating pathways
The Mission – Purpose The Black on Track Community Enterprise Development program, training for entry-level community-based entrepreneurs has left an indelible mark on the lives of over twenty (20) people from Black and minority ethnic groups and their communities. The program was running as a 10-week collaborative learning lab in community entrepreneurship followed by opportunities […]
Announcing the Harakati Project
Harakati: “Movement” – Towards a flourishing and fortified infrastructure The Ubele Initiative is launching Harakati, a new project to explore opportunities to strengthen and expand the infrastructure that supports anti-racism movements in the UK. The name “Harakati” for this project is derived from the word “movement” in Swahili and Arabic. The profound changes of the last year […]
