According to data gathered by the latest 2021 Census, nearly one million people of East and/or Southeast Asian heritage live in the UK. This doesn’t include those who didn’t complete the Census for whatever reason, so we can estimate this number to be much higher. This growing pan-ethnic group of people has, over the last few years, solidified itself as a community brought together by experiences of racism, feelings of underrepresentation, mixed and confused identities, and an increased sense of wanting to advocate for their voices to be heard, as well as to reiterate their sense of belonging.
In September 2021, besea.n (Britain’s East and Southeast Asian Network) launched the inaugural ESEA Heritage Month to celebrate, acknowledge and learn about the incredible ways in which our communities have helped shape the UK. Now it’s in its fourth year and has continually gained momentum, though there is still a way to go before it reaches the heights of now staple cultural awareness dates such as Black History Month and South Asian Heritage Month. See below a flash poll conducted by Race Equality Matters that shows no more than 10% of respondents saying their organisation would be partaking in ESEA Heritage Month.
Furthermore, another question showed than even fewer (6%) of people say their organisation has done something impactful for ESEA Heritage Month.
So with those statistics in mind, if you’re on the lookout for someone to speak at your organisation about ESEA Heritage Month, giving you ideas on how you can create impactful, celebratory change and how you can better support and include your ESEA colleagues, then look no further! I am currently the UK’s FIRST and ONLY ED&I consultant specialising in delivering talks and training on ESEA topics.
Celebrating ESEA Heritage Month and your ESEA colleagues
In this talk, I cover:
- What does “ESEA” mean?
- What is ESEA Heritage Month?
- ESEAs in the UK and at work
- Ways to uplift ESEA colleagues
- Breaking down barriers ESEAs face
- ESEA intersectionality – including them all year round
Pricing and contact
This talk lasts around an hour and can be delivered in-person if in or near Greater Manchester or Greater London, or virtual if hybrid or remotely. I often like to give this talk well in advance of September so this can be discussed. Please click below to contact me for more details or to make a booking. I am unavailable from 21st to 30th September.
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