This page gives further details about CEMVO (Council for Ethnic Minority Voluntary Organisations) Scotland, an organisation funded under the Partnership Grants Scheme.
CEMVO Scotland provides a capacity building training programme for Scotland’s BME voluntary sector, supporting the development of race equality though partnership working and undertaking research to influence social policy and decision making processes.
- visit CEMVO's website at www.emf-cemvo.co.uk/scotland/index.asp
Inclusive democracy project
The project increases the level of involvement of BME communities in democratic and electoral processes across Scotland. The project delivered a series of events aimed at BME communities and the organisations that supports them. The events covered the importance of civic and democratic participation, local and national democratic systems, registration and the electoral process. Our grant funds staffing, running costs and a contribution for office overheads.
Project outcomes
Increase the awareness among ethnic minority community members of civic, democratic and electoral processes, so that they gain increased confidence in taking part in all aspects of political decision making
- increase the engagement of ethnic minority community members with people who make decisions, such as MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) and local councillors, consequently increasing their involvement in democratic activities
- increase the number of people from ethnic minority communities registering to vote, and increase their likelihood of voting at local and national elections
- increase the awareness among ethnic minority communities of how local, national and European democracy is organised and how decisions are made
- develop an increased understanding of the barriers for ethnic minority communities in engaging in civic, democratic and electoral processes and identifying effective approaches to increasing participation
- develop a permanent and evolving resource of skills and knowledge within marginalised communities of democratic and electoral processes
Outcomes achieved
The project was structured to deliver two distinct awareness raising events, these consisted of Learning Events and Outreach Events. The learning events were structured as conferences organised on a regional basis. Outreach events were structured as workshops designed to reach BME people in community based settings. The project reached 1,670 BME people, increasing their awareness of democratic and electoral structures including local and national democracy. All 1,670 participants were encouraged to register to vote. CEMVO sought to involve elected representatives from the main political parties at their learning events. 41 elected representatives had contact with 906 participants at learning events, this helped participants to feel more connected to politics and the electoral process.
Case study
As part of their outreach programme CEMVO delivered an event to an ESOL class at the YWCA Family Learning Centre in Glasgow. The session was delivered using the Democracy Cookbook and covered democratic structures in Scotland, the importance of electoral registration and participation and the impact of democracy and politics. The workshop participants were surprised to hear that commonwealth citizens could register to vote, and felt that they had a greater understanding and confidence in the system. Many of them expressed their intention to register to vote. The class tutor felt that the event was a positive experience for the BME women in attendance, providing them with increased knowledge about the UK democratic structure.
