The BEN Rainbow Project

THE BEN Rainbow Project 2009/10 to 2010.11

The BEN Rainbow Project is funded by the Tackling Race Inequalities Fund, DCLG (Department for Communities and Local Government)

What the BEN Rainbow Project will do

BEN has put ethnic minority environmental participation on the agenda of mainstream organisations, but the level of engagement is constrained by the lack of resources for outreach work. There is a clear role for empowering members of ethnic minority communities to initiate and enable environmental activities.

The Tackling Race Inequalities Fund gives BEN the stability to commit to a strategic programme in England enabling us to:

• Identify potential Community Environmental Advocates (CEA) from ethnic minority communities for training to represent their wishes and needs using BEN's existing expertise and resources
• Train Environmental Professionals to work effectively with ethnic minorities
• Strengthen the BEN Network through focussed development of local networks and partnerships across the regions in areas of ethnic presence

The Community Environmental Advocates will be trained to:

• Know the range of environmental organisations and what they offer
• How to use environmental opportunities to meet the social, cultural and environmental needs of ethnic minority communities
• How to negotiate with environmental professionals and organise activities safely
• Influence policy and represent issues and the wishes of ethnic minority communities
• How to take action to protect and improve the local environment

In parallel, the training of Environmental Professionals will complete the picture. Environmental Professionals will be trained to work effectively with ethnic minorities. They will acquire insight, knowledge and skills to:

• Understand the context of working with diversity
• Market the environmental opportunities offered effectively to ethnic minorities
• Work effectively with ethnic minorities, confidently meeting the social, cultural and environmental needs of ethnic minority communities

The overall additional impact will be increased environmental participation among ethnic minority communities with the capacity, through having Environmental Advocates, to continue to generate new activities on their own terms and stronger local support networks to deliver community initiatives.

The additional impact will be reported using our existing methods of monitoring and evaluation. These include information from meetings and minutes, attendance sheets, verbal feedback, evaluation forms, participant training records, logbooks, focus groups and questionaires.

Application for Training Places
We have a limited number of places. If you would like to express your interest in being considered. Scroll down and read through the information below for Community Environmental Advocates and for Environmental Professionals. Simply e-mail   james@ben-network.org.uk  to say you are interested and he will contact you.

When and where will the Rainbow Project Training Programme be run in 2010?

The in depth training programme ( 2 training sessions plus a full day visit) for 2010/11 across England on a region-by-region basis will be:

We are also offering 1 day training course and 1 day visit for South West

Please be aware that places are limited so let us know you are interested ASAP. There is a selection process but suitable candidates will be given places first come first served. 

BEN Rainbow Project
Community Environmental Advocates Training Programme

Why does BEN want to do this project?
The opportunities that the environmental sector offers can make a significant difference to the quality of life of ethnic minority communities and enable them to take action to improve their local environment in the way they want.

But, many community groups feel that they need support to get the knowledge, information and skills to represent and develop activities for their communities.

This is what this exciting and important project is about - providing training that results in informed, skilled and confident Community Environmental Advocates who will be able to unlock all the benefits that ethnic minority communities can gain from environmental opportunities.

What kind of training will be provided for Community Environmental Advocates?
Community Environmental Advocates will be trained to:

• Know the range of environmental organisations and what they offer
• How to use environmental opportunities to meet the social, cultural and environmental needs of ethnic minority communities
• How to negotiate with environmental professionals and organise activities safely
• Influence policy and represent issues and the wishes of ethnic minority communities
• How to take action to protect and improve the local environment

What does a participant doing the full course need to be committed to do?
Community Environmental Advocates in all regions except South West will be committed to:

• Attending 2 half-day training sessions in the afternoon, plus a full day visit to an environmental site. These are once a week except for where we have adjusted the dates to avoid half-term. If there is a demand for evening sessions we will offer them.
• Complete an assignment between the training sessions. It is estimated that this will take around 3 hours.  This will consist of some reading, plus either an activity or a piece of writing showing that you have been thinking through the subject matter.
• During the course or within one month of finishing, initiate 2 activities with members of your group to demonstrate what you have learnt. You will be supported and mentored to develop these.
• Participate in evaluation of the project to help us see how well we have served you and to improve on what we do.
• South West participants are being offered 1 full day training plus 1 full day visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many courses are there across the country?
The project courses start in October 2009 and finish in February 2011. There will be one in each region, rotating across the country. The first group is in the Northwest Region. See the website for the latest dates.

Are expenses paid?
Yes, travel expenses can be claimed back if you cannot afford them.

What else are you providing?
We will provide you with training notes, publications and printed examples of good practice. You will also have a logbook to demonstrate your progress.

What if we miss training sessions because of circumstances outside our control?
We will mentor you to catch up in between, but we will also expect you to attend the missed session on the next training course in another region because the sessions are a group learning experience and cannot be fully replaced through mentoring and reading on your own. We will pay your expenses to attend.

Will we be meeting environmental professionals?
We will be offering half-day training sessions for environmental professionals to enable them to gain knowledge and skills to work effectively and sensitively with ethnic minority communities. Their training will be on the same day as the training for Community Environmental Advocates. Advocates except for the South West will be training in the afternoon, and environmental professionals in the morning. We would like you to come for lunch, as they will stay for lunch as well. So you will be networking with them every time you come to your training session. They will be bringing leaflets and information about what they do, as well as make small presentations during lunchtime.

Will we be recognised for what we have learnt?
At the end of the training and the satisfactory completion of the required assignments and activities, you will receive a Rainbow Award certificate to recognise what you have learnt.

BEN Rainbow Project
Environmental Professionals Training Programme

Why does BEN want to do this project?
The opportunities that the environmental sector offers can make a significant difference to the quality of life of ethnic minority communities and enable them to play their part to protect or improve their local environment in the way they want. This is especially important since we are soon expecting, around 2010, the first cities in England to have ethnic minority majorities.

But, many environmental professionals feel that they need support to get the knowledge, information and skills to work effectively with members of ethnic minority communities in order to make full participation a reality

This is what this exciting and important project is about - providing training that results in informed, skilled and confident environmental professionals who will be able to work effectively with ethnic minorities to unlock all the benefits that they can gain from environmental opportunities, and release their vast missing contribution.

What kind of training will be provided for Environmental Professionals?
Environmental Professionals will be trained to:

• Understand the context of working with diversity
• Market the environmental opportunities offered effectively to ethnic minorities
• Work effectively with ethnic minorities, confidently meeting the social, cultural and environmental needs of ethnic minority communities

What does a participant doing the full course need to be committed to do?
Environmental Professionals, except for the South West, will be committed to:

• Attending 2 half-day training sessions in the morning plus a full day visit to an area where ethnic minorities live. These are once a week except for where we have adjusted the dates to avoid half-term.
• Complete an assignment between the training sessions. It is estimated that this will take around 3 hours.  This will consist of some reading, plus either an activity or a piece of writing showing that you have been thinking through the subject matter.
• During the course or within one month of finishing, initiate 2 activities with ethnic communities to demonstrate what you have learnt. You will be supported and mentored to develop these.
• Participate in evaluation of the project to help us see how well we have served you and to improve on what we do. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How many courses are there across the country?
The project courses start in October 2009 and finish in February 2010. There will be one in each region, rotating across the country. The first group is in the Northwest region. See the website for the latest dates.

Are expenses paid?
No, your organisation will have to pay for your own expenses. This will not be prohibitive as it will be within your region.

What else are you providing?
We will provide you with training notes, publications and printed examples of good practice. You will also have a logbook to demonstrate your progress.

What if we miss training sessions because of circumstances outside our control?
We will mentor you to catch up in between, but we will also expect you to attend the missed session on the next training course in another region because the sessions are a group learning experience and cannot be fully replaced through mentoring and reading on your own.

Will we be meeting members of ethnic minorities?
Except for the South West, we will be offering half-day training sessions for ethnic minority Community Environmental Advocates to enable them to gain knowledge and skills to work confidently with environmental professionals Their training will be on the same day as the training for environmental professionals. Advocates will be training in the morning, and Environmental professionals in the afternoon. We would like you to stay for lunch after your session, as they will be coming for lunch before their session. So you will be networking with them every time you come to your training session. You are encouraged to bring leaflets and information about what you do, as well as make small presentations during lunchtime.

Will we be recognised for what we have learnt?
At the end of the training and the satisfactory completion of the required homework and activities, you will receive a Rainbow Award certificate to recognise what you have learnt.

The Legacy of the BEN Rainbow Project
The infrastructural work of BEN is to achieve a critical mass of skilled environmental personnel and ethnic minority community groups with the capacity to continue the work into the future across England. This is achieved by leaving a dynamic legacy at every stage.

The exit strategy is therefore to deliver our work in ways that ensure the following outcomes:

1. Support and train environmental personnel
         Legacy:
         •Committed skilled environmental personnel
         • Partnerships for further joint work
2. Reach out to ethnic minority community groups
         Legacy:
          • Newly interested ethnic minority community groups motivated   to continue to access environmental participation
3. Identify and train Community Environmental Advocates
         Legacy:
          • A network of skilled Advocates stimulating further engagement   within ethnic minority communities
4. Produce good practice and guidance
         Legacy:
          • Significant knowledge and skills captured for the future
5. An annual Community Environmental Advocates workshop at the BEN 
    Networking Conference
         Legacy:
          • Maintain the momentum of Community Environmental    Advocates
          • Standards maintained by attending to identified needs
6. Strengthen Network services
         Legacy:
          • A stronger and more active network at local, regional and    national level
7. Contribution to policy
        Legacy:
          • BEN's work on committees and advisory groups will bring    policy, strategy and actions closer to the needs of ethnic    minorities into the future
8. The public face of BEN
         Legacy:
          • BEN's speaker service and media work will build awareness,
            understanding and commitment to increasing ethnic     environmental participation into the future
9. Fundraise to further complete the infrastructural work of BEN across England.
         Legacy:
          • The means to continue the work of having full ethnic minority   participation across England
   

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BEN UK Office
1st Floor
60 High Street
Llanberis
Wales
LL55 4EU

Tel
0207 9214339

email BEN