DELIVERING RACE EQUALITY
4TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2009
"PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUCCESS"
QEII CONFERENCE CENTRE, LONDON SW1
On 12th March 2009, over 420 delegates from around the country descended on the QEII Conference Centre in London to take part in the 4th Annual "Partnerships for Success - Delivering Race Equality (DRE) conference.
The theme of this year's
conference was well reflected on the day by real evidence of how
partnerships and collaboration at local, regional and national levels
are helping to achieve more equality of access to mental health
services for BME communities. Evidently, there is a great deal more
work to do but delegates from mainstream health care organisations and
race equality colleagues alike, whether working within the community or
at the national level, were able to share a kaleidoscope of ideas and
experiences to make equality of access to mental health services an
achievable goal.
An exciting array of exhibition
stands and a diverse range of workshops, using a variety of mediums,
gave conference delegates opportunities to listen, learn and share
ideas for the future.
Speakers at this year's DRE
conference reinforced the theme of collaborative working between
mainstream and race equality organisations.
It was truly an interactive conference
with delegates seeking answers to some challenging questions from the
independent speakers, Community Development Workers and DRE Ambassadors
in the plenary session.
New features for the 4th Annual DRE Conference involved two key groups: Community Development
Workers and the newly launched Delivering Race Equality Ambassadors.
With their lead Ambassador, Julie
Jaye Charles, the DRE Ambassadors representatives, (there are 17
Ambassadors covering six geographical areas), shared their thoughts and
ideas on how they will influence mainstream mental health service
providers and commissioners in their areas, as they encourage them to
embrace greater equality of access principles within their mental
health services.
The Community Development Workers
conference session offered first hand experiences of the diversity of
community needs and the challenges faced by these key workers.
Words about the importance of partnerships and collaborative working are
all well and good but there needs to be real tangible outcomes for the
BME communities, whether as a service user or a carer of a service
user. That real evidence was on display at this year's DRE 4th Annual Conference, through the Avenue of Success which was located between the two Exhibition Rooms. The Avenue of Success featured
a series of banners showing real life examples of collaborative working
across a range of sectors - these banners reflected the partnership
approach taken from all the points of the compass.
For those who attended the DRE 4th Annual Conference, the DRE communications team hopes you found it an
enjoyable, informative and memorable experience. Obviously, not
everyone can find the time to attend, so by reading this summary of the
conference and taking time out to look at the photos, we hope those of
you unable to attend will at least get a flavour of the day.
