Newham Council will receive funding to host events and activities to mark the fourth national Windrush Day, Communities Minister Kemi Badenoch has confirmed.
Building on the success of previous years, 35 projects across England will receive a share of £500,000 from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
This year’s projects will focus on bringing communities together – across different ages and ethnic backgrounds – to commemorate, celebrate and educate their local area about the contribution of the Windrush Generation and their descendants across the country. To access the full list of projects being awarded funding please visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/2022-windrush-day-grant-scheme-projects-to-be-funded
The funding will be used to develop a community grants programme for residents, local groups and organisations to develop projects that celebrate the significant contributions the Windrush Generation and their descendants have made to Newham and the UK. The programme will capture, share and preserve the personal stories of Newham’s Windrush Generation and their descendants.
The community grants programme, Windrush: Our Stories, Past, Present and Future, will provide opportunities to create and implement activities and events with our Windrush population, giving them a platform to share their stories.
Windrush Day will be marked with a celebration event on Saturday 25 June at Old Town Hall Stratford. The day starts at 11am and will be hosted by Quincy the Comedian. There’ll be lots to do including:
- Ancestry workshop with Paul Crooks
- Storytelling with Dominican born Jane Grell
- Reminiscence activities
- Arts & crafts
- Dominoes
- Nail art
- Face painting
- Marketplace selling Caribbean merchandise
- Caribbean refreshments
- Health advice
Entertainment includes:
- Pan Vibration Steel Band
- Reggae Choir
- Gameshow Quiz
- Sakafet Fashion Show
- Crystxl King
And much, much more...
Bookings for the event can be made here.
For further information on this event and on the Windrush Day community grants programme visit www.newhamwindrushday.org.
Communities Minister Kemi Badenoch said:
“The legacy of the Windrush generation means so much to so many.
“As a first-generation immigrant myself, I understand personally how important it is to highlight how much we welcome and celebrate the contributions made by those who choose to make Britain home.
“Thanks to our funding, projects like Windrush: Our Stories, Past, Present and Future will take place, helping us to remember the leading role the Windrush Generation and their descendants have played in making Britain stronger, culturally richer and more inclusive.”
Chair of the Windrush Community Funds and Windrush Schemes group Paulette Simpson CBE said:
“I am delighted that we have been able to fund 35 excellent projects from across the country for the fourth annual National Windrush Day on 22 June to celebrate the outstanding contributions that the Windrush Generation and their descendants have made, and continue to make, to British Society.
“This year we are encouraging new, innovative proposals to share the Windrush story and reach out to people in diverse local communities. In doing so, we can ensure projects will impact history, education and celebration in a meaningful way.”
Councillor Charlene McLean, Newham’s Cabinet member for Resident Engagement and Experience said:
“As a descendant of the Windrush generation myself, I am delighted that Newham has been chosen to receive this £15,000 grant, which will allow us to continue building on the work we have been doing to celebrate this extraordinary generation.
“In a borough like ours, the struggle, determination and hard work of this remarkable group of people, is never far from our own family histories. We continue to admire their fortitude and drive, and must continue to be inspired by the extraordinary legacy they have left us. With pride we must remember and continue to pass down their stories to the coming generations.”
The National Windrush monument being unveiled at Waterloo Station on 22 June (Windrush Day) will be a permanent tribute to the contribution of Caribbean pioneers in communities across the United Kingdom. It will create a permanent place of reflection and inspiration and be a visible statement of our shared history and heritage. The project is being overseen by DLUHC and led by the Windrush Commemoration Committee (WCC), chaired by Baroness Floella Benjamin DBE.
A livestream link will be posted on the Windrush Commemoration Committee website on the day. Alternatively, you can join at the Southbank Centre where a large screen will be streaming the ceremony directly, followed by Caribbean food, music, and entertainment until 7pm on Windrush Day.
Please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/windrush-commemoration-committee to find out more.