Black History Month to be celebrated in Senedd

16 October 2013

The National Assembly for Wales’s Deputy Presiding Officer, David Melding AM, will welcome members of Wales’s Hindu community to the Senedd on 18 October.

The event, jointly organised by South Wales Police and the Hindu Council of Wales, will mark Black History Month.

As well as hosting this event, the National Assembly is supporting Diverse Cymru by sponsoring Black History Month in Wales.

“The Assembly has contributed to the sponsorship of Black History Month celebrations across Wales, which this year is being organised by Diverse Cymru,” the Deputy Presiding Officer will say.

“It has provided a great platform for us to reach out to black and minority ethnic (BME) people across Wales.

“We are using the opportunity to promote the Assembly’s consultation on its youth engagement strategy – the Your Assembly - Your Say, Your Way campaign - , to ask young BME people how they can have their voices heard in the work of the Assembly.

“Also, this week we have launched our 2013 Apprenticeship Scheme for young people and we hope to attract a wide range of applicants for these opportunities.

“That’s why we will be working closely with BME organisations to spread the word on these important and exciting initiatives.

“We want to encourage young BME people to have their voices heard and for them to consider the Assembly as a place where they want to work.”

The National Assembly Commission is currently being advised by the BME Assembly Staff Network on how we can better support BME staff in terms of progression and development, and also on how the Assembly could further increase the diversity of our workforce by attracting more BME talent.

The ‘Your Assembly – Your say, Your way’ campaign is about how the National Assembly for Wales should engage with young people.

A new website, www.yourassembly.org, was launched in September to encourage young people to tell the Assembly what they care about and how they want to get involved.

The site features an online survey and offers the opportunity to hold group discussions organised by National Assembly staff where ideas can be proposed and exchanged.

As well as the survey and discussion groups young people are encouraged to express their views via @YourAssembly or using #YourAssembly on twitter, post to the Your Assembly Facebook page or submit videos.