Mrs Malik receives Parliamentary Invitation for Pioneering Work with SAHM and Diversity in Education
South Asian Heritage Month has inspired many other backgrounds and diasporas to extend their presence and recognition in the DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) calendars around the world. I have been creating and leading on Schools' Toolkits as part of the South Asian Heritage Month team since 2020/21. I'm really proud to continue my volunteer work outside of Nova in this way and I'll be doing more in my role as Regional Lead of BAMEed.
I'd never imagined being invited to an event in Parliament so early on in my journey to lead on DEIB in South West UK and nationally. There has been a really good focus and momentum on the important work of Decolonisation of the Curriculum happening all over, but the collaboration and efforts need to continue so that we can educate, celebrate and commemorate all the aspects that make Britain what it is today.
I joined MPs and guests from all over the UK to hear from a variety of people, the key speakers being Mr Speaker and co-Founder of SAHM (Jasvir Singh OBE). Mr Speaker talked about the importance of acknowledging the contribution of South Asians and others across the commonwealth to UK during the World Wars and afterwards. Jasvir spoke about this year’s theme "Free to be Me", what that meant to him, and how that is applied so uniquely to everyone.
I was commended by so many about the work I've done for SAHM and the high quality toolkits produced which have inspired many teachers to also create their resources and share online. It was great meeting so many people who are passionate and inspiring. I've already had the chance to work briefly with the Royal British Legion school's team but there are more plans to bring SAHM to the forefront of how we learn about Remembrance, British and global History, plus much much more.
There is lots of content online where you can learn more about SAHM via the various content streamed on subscription platforms, TV, books, radio, podcasts, etc. You could start by downloading the Toolkits (there are 3) and see how all our histories are combined.
Mrs Malik
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