AN AFRICAN-LED PROJECT
THE ETHNIC MINORITY, CAREER MUSEUM AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT HERITAGE PROGRAMME Dr Rosemary Sleith spotlights a three-year project to address the lack of BAME employees and visitors within Scotland’s history and heritage sectors
There remains a gap within Scottish society where BAME members of the community do not take part or feel a part of Scottish history or heritage
Although history and heritage intertwine themselves from individual to individual, tribe and clans, nation to nation, continent to continent, there remains a gap within Scottish society where BAME (Black and minority ethnic) members of the community do not take part in, or feel a part of, Scottish history or heritage; either for leisure, education or employment. On the flip side of the history and heritage coin, museums, galleries and the built environment – all representatives and protectors of Scotland’s history and heritage – have minimal representation of BAME communities’ members either as footfall or employees; ironic considering there are commonalities between people and nations.
If we look at the Scottish clans and chieftains there is a similar system within Africa with their chiefs and tribes. Like our own clans, these tribes have centuries of history and heritage behind them, which they pro-actively protect, conserve, and explore through stories, just like Scotland with its storytelling culture.What is more, BAME communities have their own tales to tell, with superstitions and beliefs, Juju/ witchcraft, symbolic artefacts (masks, bronzes, sculptures, carvings, bead work and art) in the same way that Scottish history and heritage does; all of which are positive crossovers in cultural beliefs and values.
A common perception is that history and heritage bind a nation together; but in reality, we need to ask the question, do they? 21st-century Scotland is a multicultural nation with a fascinating historical backdrop, however not all members of the wider Scottish community adhere to this perception. Not because they would not want to, but because they do not know how they are able to feel. The focus of this piece is the BAME communities who now make up a large percentage of the overall Scottish community.
According to the Scottish census of 2011 there were 36,178 people classed as ‘African, Caribbean and others’ in Scotland; and almost a decade later the figure will be much higher, to be confirmed in the 2021 census. So why are they not included more within the Scottish heritage sectors?
Introducing Next Step Initiative
Next Step Initiative (NSI), located in Glasgow, has existed for a decade, building up a reputation for promoting sustainability within the African/Caribbean and ethnic minorities communities in Scotland through championing the needs of these target groups to survive in Scotland and become independently secure; thus, being in a position to put something back into Scottish society. The organisation has aimed to ‘help members to acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future’.
Research had been carried out by NSI showed that people from these characteristic groupings were under-represented within the majority of workforces across Scotland, except within the hospitality and care sectors. Based on these findings NSI challenged some sectors as to why this was the case: Police Scotland and Museums & Galleries
Scotland initially, then Historic Environment Scotland, as well as the Scottish Government. Partnerships were formed and projects born.
Several barriers were identified in the museums and built environment sectors by members of the BAME communities, with comments such as: ‘There is nothing of my heritage visible and there are no people like me represented’; ‘I do not feel welcome’; ‘Lack of ethnic inclusivity in advertising or publicity materials’; to ‘a sense of not belonging’ or ‘that’s where white people go’.
Furthermore, there was a lack of understanding as to what the ‘built environment’ meant. The language used does not always have the same meaning in other cultures. When asked what built environment meant, some said ‘houses’, others stated ‘something created and readily available for the people’, ‘climate change’, ‘buildings’, ‘structure followed by a community’ and “moder”’. The comments emphasise a disconnect between these sectors and the BAME sectors in the broader sense.
Addressing disconnect between sectors
To address the issues within the museum and built environment sectors, the Ethnic Minority, Career Museum and Built Environment Heritage Programme (EMCMBEHP) was created. It is now in its third and final year, ending in August 2021. There are multiple partners involved: Built Environment Scotland Forum, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, Historic Environment Scotland, Archaeology Scotland, Edinburgh
World Heritage, Renfrewshire Leisure: Cultural Services, Glasgow Life, Rewards Training, University of West of Scotland, Learning Links Scotland and David Livingstone Trust. The funders are the National Heritage Lottery Fund as well as Corra Foundation.
The project encouraged partners within these sectors to help to address skill shortages by supporting sixteen trainees over three years to gain valuable experience, skills and a greater understanding of what museums, galleries and the built environment are all about. In return, the trainees study towards an accredited qualification applicable to the sector. Additionally, NSI engages with the BAME communities and introduces them to these sectors helping to increase footfall, leisure, education and employment across Scotland.
The project aims to influence partners and the Scottish Government to enable all concerned to be more inclusive of BAME people, more representative of their cultures and the roles they have played across Scottish history and heritage, beyond issues currently being addressed by Black Lives Matter. The project managers work with staff across the partnerships up to board level providing ‘The Practicalities of Diversity and Equality in the Workplace’, a hands-on approach to working with other cultures.
Although we are in the midst of a pandemic, the third-year trainees were recruited (four in the week COVID-19 closed the sectors down and two in August).
The project managers worked closely with partners to ensure the trainees would be able to start with desktop research, their qualification and online tasks first, building up to getting into the host organisations properly as the year progressed. A newly-started trainee (one month on) with Archaeology Scotland wrote in her weekly reflect report that ‘they say that when you do what you love, you never work. I now understand that’. She was able to get outside into the built environment and visited The Pineapple in Stirlingshire, for example, where she took part in health & safety training in light of COVID-19.
All six trainees have had to learn digital skills and a great deal about social media in a very short time; all are now promoting the sectors and community engagement. The following quote from a second-year trainee showcases how a traineeship experience can develop into something very meaningful and life-changing within the sector:
The project encouraged partners within these sectors to help to address skill shortages by supporting sixteen trainees over three years to gain valuable experience, skills and a greater understanding of what museums, galleries and the built environment are all about
I was based at the Engine Shed (Historic Environment Scotland) which is a lovely place with supportive workmates. I had a wonderful experience and exposure at the cathedral with the Monument Conservation Unit. I was tasked to cut and carve a stone. Little did I know that particular stone will be placed on the Glasgow cathedral replacing an old weathered stone. My first time to carve a stone and it came out great! Glasgow Live published this amazing story on how I did this without formal training. I have learnt a lot during my traineeship and, yes, I have gained vast skills which I will use in future.
Suffice to say there is scope for inspiring journeys and exciting times ahead for BAME members of the Scottish community within history and heritage of this land.
Dr Rosemary Sleith is Project Manager (Education,Training and Professional Development) at Next Step Initiaive.