Thursday, May 10, 2007

I don't understand....

I'm a little befuddled right now, I just learnt about something called the Black Environment Network which works for "ethnic environmental participation". My initial reaction was "what does environmental policy have to do with your ethnic background?", then I read the blurb on the website which says,
Black Environment Network uses the word 'black' symbolically recognising that the black communities are the most visible of all ethnic groups. We work with white, black and other ethnic communities
I got confused even more after that. If they work with "white, black and other ethnic communities" then how exactly are they dealing with ethnicity? Correct me if I'm wrong, but that sounds awfully like they're working with everyone and ought really be called the "Environment Network"?

Also, as it appears they consider "white" to be an ethnicity, wouldn't that actually be "most visible of all ethnic groups" technically? Purely as an aside, they do receive grants from the Countryside Agency, but not a lot (£34,000 in five years). Still, I am confused by its name and then what it says.

3 comments:

Raedwald said...

Their A&Os need a bit of translation I expect:

Outreach and taster trips for gatekeepers (management committee members, community workers, youth workers, key volunteers of constituted ethnic community groups) enabling them to be enthused about access to the natural environment and learn about how to what is on offer

= Weekends in the country on the taxpayer for the lads

Facilitating and supporting initial programmes of activities bringing together ethnic groups and provider organisations

= arranging for black kids to visit farms

Using learning in action techniques, enable ethnic groups and provider organisations to learn experientially how to work effectively with each other

= teach black kids that farm dogs bite, horses kick and cattle head-butt.

Actually this sort of thing is probably a good idea; they'd maybe find funding easier to come by if they wrote in English rather than gobbledygook fundspeak.

Jeremy Jacobs said...

And suckers like us just sit back and allow funding for pointless group s like this to exist. Why don't they join the Ramblers Association or the Scouts of something?

Anonymous said...

Outreach programmes for each of the 9 English regions are funded direct from Brussels, so will no show up on Westminster FOI requests.

The Outreach programme is identical to the 'Countryside' programme instigated by Adolf in 1934. It is designed to get people out of the city into the countryside.

Having mixed up rich with poor, black with white in the cities, now its time to mix up city and country folk.

the European Reich is coming, but the stealth level is so great no-one is seeing it coming.

Just wait until all the english councillors will have to report to their respective unelected regional governors!! Already trained and in place through the European funded 'Leadership' programme.