Two Northamptonshire organisations have united to help people from ethnically diverse communities to be more active.
Northamptonshire Black Communities Together is working in partnership with Northamptonshire Sport to create a new NBCT Moving Together forum and strategy to be rolled out over the next two years in the county. To launch the forum, Black organisations are invited to apply for grants of up to £2500 to support members of the community increase physical activity between January and September 2023. For more information visit www.northamptonshiresport.org/funding/nbct
Through the new monthly forum, leading organisations will provide opportunities across Northamptonshire for Asian, Africa-Caribbean, and African communities to become more active and improve wellbeing. The forum will also be focussing on changing behaviours, tackling inequalities and removing the barriers that prevent some Asian, Africa-Caribbean, and African people from leading more active lifestyles.
The forum will work with and engage with Northamptonshire Black Communities Together members, black individuals, strategic and operational partners, including sports clubs, who are passionate about opportunity for all and in sharing best practice to improve the opportunities for black people to access physical activity and sport.
Northamptonshire Black Communities Together members have vast experience in providing wellbeing support for Black communities in Northamptonshire and are actively reaching out to more Black community based organisation to work with them to influence and advocate a more collaborative approach to increasing the number of Black people participating, employed, volunteering and spectating in physical activity and sport.
A leading charity, ‘Support Northamptonshire’ is overseeing the forum on behalf of Northamptonshire Black Communities Together and as lead partner will chair the forum.
Pratima Dattani, Support Northamptonshire, said
“We are excited that this partnership has been launched. Northamptonshire Sport have demonstrated its support to overcome racial inequalities and been proactively working with many Black organisations across the county. This partnership brings together 27 Black organisations to work with Northamptonshire Sport with the aim of achieving long term outcomes that enable people to become more active, healthy and well.”
Matthew Peleszok, of Northamptonshire Sport has said:
As a charity focussed on helping people to be more active, it’s crucial that we confront the barriers that exist in society that prevent some communities from leading more active lifestyles. The Northamptonshire Sport team, board and partners are making steps to address inequalities but we recognise it’s a long and ongoing process. Partnering with other organisations and people is crucial to making real impact and battling the inequalities faced by many; this forum provides a much-needed place for partners to openly talk, challenge and work together.
As part of our tackling inequalities work programme, we’re committed to learn from the new forum. We’ll be working with communities across the county to review and bring transformational change across sport, harnessing its power to drive equality and ensuring all parts of the system are fair, welcoming, inclusive, and diverse and that people have positive experiences at every level.”
For more information on the forum, and the strategic relationship contact Tish Shah on Tish.Shah@supportnorthamptonshire.org.uk
