Sheffield City Council has announced that it has launched a new partnership to make progress on eradicating racism in the city, with this coming during Race Equality Week.
Aiming to bring people and organisations together to support race equality in the city, the Race Equality Partnership for Sheffield will be an active and collaborative network. The partnership has been established by a group of partners, including public sector organisations, local businesses, and community groups in the aftermath of the publication of the Race Equality Commission report in July 2022.
Following the commission’s report, a number of recommendations were made, with the partnership being a key part of delivering on those recommendations, as well as securing a legacy from the work that was done.
Leader of Sheffield City Council, Cllr Tom Hunt, commented:
“Racism has no place in Sheffield or anywhere and I will do all I can to help eradicate all forms of racism in our city, which is why I welcome this partnership and all it stands for.
“Working with residents, community groups, and partner organisations, our job is to support our diverse communities to come together and create an inclusive city for all, free from discrimination, where everyone can thrive.
“Through REPs, we have an opportunity to think strategically about how we work together to share learnings and best practice on race equality and to hold each other to account, in our pursuit of long-term change.”
Some of the organisations that were involved in the establishment of the partnership include:
- Sheffield City Council
- South Yorkshire Police
- NHS South Yorkshire
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
Richard Stubbs, Chair of the group that established the partnership, also said:
“The launch of Race Equality Partnership for Sheffield is an incredibly important milestone towards making Sheffield an anti-racist city.
“There is clear commitment from our communities and our institutions to collaborate and work together to support Sheffield’s journey. The launch event is just the start and there will be many more ways to get involved in REPS' work.”
As the partnership moves forward, an agreed set of principles will guide the work that it does. These principles include accountability and action, independence, openness, and transparency, working together and challenging each other, communicating, celebrating and educating. This will ensure that a space is available for residents, communities, and organisations to hold each other to account and share their learnings.
Image credit: iStock
Video credit: Sheffield City Council
