The national movement takes place from 5 to 11 February, uniting individuals and organisations to address the barriers to race equality in the workplace. 

Alongside a series of internal events and workshops for staff to get involved with, the Council are encouraging local organisations to join the 465 that have already signed our Equality and Equity charter. The charter represents a commitment to promote equality, diversity and inclusion across the borough. Recent signatories include Little Elms Daycare, Ben Oakley Gallery and Woolwich Creative District Trust. 

The recipients of all 67 of the Council’s Voluntary and Community sector grants from 2023 to 2027 have also pledged to sign the charter. 

Councillor Adel Khaireh, Cabinet Member for Equality, Culture and Communities said: “This year's Race Equality Week theme is ‘Listen, Act, Change’. Listening and learning is vital to reaching true equality and equity, but it’s the action we take that leads to meaningful change.  

“The Council’s Equality and Equity Charter outlines our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, and what we are doing to promote these values in Royal Greenwich.  

“Throughout the week, council staff will take part in workshops and activities to learn more about the action we can each take to challenge race inequality on a daily basis. 

“If, like us, your organisation is committed to taking action against discrimination, sign our Equality and Equity charter this Race Equality Week.” 

Our signatories have been taking action to improve Equality and Equity within their organisations, supporting the Council in our commitment to ensuring people will not experience discrimination in our borough. 

• Bromley, Lewisham and Greenwich Mind has developed a diverse group of paid service user representatives to join their Quality and Performance Committee and contribute to service-related decisions. 

• Eltham Green Nursey promotes the use of home languages and encourage staff to learn simple words from those languages to communicate and make families feel welcome. 

• As part of its Royal Greenwich festivals funded programme, Festival.org chose the theme of ‘Common Ground’ for the 2023 Greenwich and Docklands International Festival, to celebrate the power of bridging divides across communities. 

• Protein Dance has delivered bespoke training sessions through their professional development offer, Embrace, to members of the creative sector. This includes a two-day training focusing on engaging and working creatively with asylum seekers, refugees, migrants and displaced communities.  

• St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School has established an Equality and Equity student committee who meet weekly to address concerns and plan for action.  

• Many organisations have also introduced mandatory training for staff including unconscious bias training and equality, diversity and inclusion training. 

As well as supporting Race Equality Week, the Council’s Black History 365 event programme recognises and celebrates Black history all year round. 

Sign our Equality and Equity Charter

See the full programme of Black History