Last Friday, we caught up with Samira Sawlani, a writer at Media Diversity UK, about why promoting media diversity is so vital, and why she loves being a part of the project. In the second part of our interview, Samira tells us a bit more about what we can expect from the organisation, how they deal with criticism, and how you can help them.

 

 

It seems that a climate currently exists where movements towards positive social change are able to attract greater attention and enthusiasm than was perhaps the case in recent history. Your organisation might be seen as a perfect example of this, with the 4000+ followers on Twitter that you’ve gained in just a few months, the trending of #AllWhiteFrontPages, and the 184, 000 views and counting that you’ve had on your website. Does this make you feel optimistic that this is the time for the changes you’re working towards to take hold, and that these successes can translate to changes in the media and opportunities afforded to writers of colour?

 

Having access to social media tools has been a great way to promote the values of the organisation and to educate the general public about what we stand for and why we need to exist. In my opinion there are now more methods to campaign for social change, however whether this leads to it being easier to bring about said change is difficult to say. However, we as an organisation do believe that with support from our followers, readers and supporters we will continue to lobby media organisations to commit to greater diversity in the media. For as long as we keep these issues in the spotlight and ensure we use every channel available to us such as social media to get our message across we are optimistic that we will see change even if it will be at a slow pace.
 

Your founder, Samantha Asumadu, mentioned in The New Statesman that Media Diversity UK may be changing its name and becoming a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. What should we expect to see from your organisation in the next year, and even five years?

 

As an organisation our aim is to carry on working to bring prominence to the breadth of written talent which has often been ignored due to the continued obstacles faced by writers and journalists from ethnic minorities in the UK and worldwide. We provide these talented individuals with a platform through which they not only present their work but more importantly bring about awareness around issues which can often go unaddressed in society today. Over the next few years we hope to continue giving voice to undiscovered talent, boldly address issues around race through which we believe society will then move on to become truly multicultural and most importantly, campaign and lobby for the British media to commit to acknowledging the need for it to diversify.

 

We believe that through doing all this, the barriers in the UK related to race and discrimination will slowly continue to be broken, leading to a more free and fair system in society. In particular we try, through our writers and our campaigns to uncover the little known injustices which continue to plague ethnic minorities and to highlight the stereotypes and continued discrimination which stands in the way of true integration within communities. Our aim is not to assist any one individual, but to highlight issues and provide a platform for those who agree with our values and mandate to change society and bring about awareness around the inequalities which still exist in the UK and beyond particularly due to discrimination in terms of race, ethnicity, culture and religion.

 

This will continue to be our primary aim and what we hope to work towards. Linked closely to this is our launch party which is due to take place in mid-November. We have invited editors, journalists, broadcasters and other leading media figures to the launch and will be asking them to commit to genuine diversity in the media. We will provide them with an easy way to do this, through offering a subscription to a database of writers and experts who are available to both write and to be booked for radio and TV appearances.

 

 Also being unveiled at the launch will be the winner of  our #eightwomen poll, in which we listed 134 Notable Women of Colour, all successful in their fields, all have made a difference,  and invited people to vote for the one they thought had the biggest impact on the UK.

 

Polls like this which highlight the work of people of colour will continue to be a big part of the work we do over the next few years.

 

You have mentioned on Twitter that although the organisation is based in the UK, your work aims to have an impact across the world. Can you tell us a bit about that? Have you had a lot of support from people outside of the UK?

 

One of the strengths of the organisation is that not only does it aim to challenge a lack of diversity in the British media, but it also showcases and promotes the work of writers of colour. Some of us writers specialise in the politics, society and economy of other countries and regions. Many of us are keen on writing about those places of which we have some form of heritage while there are also those who are simply passionate about injustices and matters occurring in other parts of the world. For example one of our writers Samah Saleh who is currently in Palestine has written a powerful piece on the lives of women under occupation while Usaamah Khan’s piece on Syria and the drums of the West received much praise. As a specialist in East and Horn of Africa I have had articles such as ‘Interview with a Kenyan sex worker’ and ‘Philanthropy, charity and stereotypes, Africa’s new colonialists’ published.  Our set of International articles has done two things, increased awareness in people of those worldwide matters which they otherwise would not know much about, thus bringing about some form of change and has pulled in an International audience. We have had readers from overseas share our work, visit our website and follow us on social media.