Stay home, stay connected and get involved with BAME in Property’s virtual events

Please note that this article was published prior to the new brand name of PREACH Inclusion® on 25 April 2024, so you will notice references to BAME in Property.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused us to rethink how we engage with our friends, family, colleagues and communities in new and creative ways. For BAME in Property, this is no different, and within a week of the lockdown being announced, I embarked on our virtual event series.

The event series is an opportunity to stay connected with our many members and social media followers, while being safe in the comfort of our own homes.

With plans for an exciting Birmingham launch in May out of the window, I had to rethink how to hold virtual events without being lost in the plethora of options currently being presented to us. My aim was to bring something for everyone. By joining forces with BAME in Property’s partners, think tanks and built environment influencers in the industry, I was keen to bring something interesting to the table, while sticking with the ‘BAME’ theme.

In early April, I hosted a virtual roundtable about ethnicity and the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring the impact of intergenerational living to community engagement and the role of the ethnic retailer.

A group of diverse professionals including planners, surveyors, a cognitive neuroscientist, a pharmacist and a real estate developer, to name a few, came together to discuss the nuances of this pandemic on BAME communities.

We noted that multigenerational families, common within ethnic minority communities makes physical distancing and isolation more difficult. Add to that mix working from home and you have a perfect storm for multiple household issues. Then there is the matter of communicating messages to BAME communities, especially when English may not be their first language.

This makes the role of religious and community leaders more important than ever. As influencers in their communities, they can often capture the hearts and minds of individuals better than the Government.

Over the last few weeks, we have seen key messages being translated into multiple languages, which is great to see, enabling better engagement with minority communities.

These were just some of the pertinent discussion points we discussed in the roundtable. Now that further evidence is emerging about the significant impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities, this conversation was not only important, but necessary.

Moving beyond the UK and tying my interests in urban development and planning, I then hosted a virtual event about Lockdown in India, with British Indian think tank, Bridge India. By attracting a different audience to the first event, this one was really about opening up the scope of BAME in Property to individuals who do not know about the organisation and what it has to offer.

With an expert panel from India and the UK, we were blessed to have such a fascinating discussion about the economic, political and social impacts of lockdown on India’s nearly 1.4 billion strong population. We then guided the discussion into why good housing and living arrangements are essential for a successful lockdown policy, touching upon slum living, the plight of migrant workers and the importance of good design, such as adequate ventilation within homes, to enable staying indoors even possible.

As fascinating as the discussion was, it goes without saying that lockdown is a privilege of the rich and wealthy and locked out is the real danger for millions of India’s poor population.

Looking ahead, the virtual event series continues. Over the coming weeks, I have a mental health event, focusing specifically on BAME communities, coming up next, followed by an event, exploring why now is the time to ensure diversity remains firmly on the agenda.

Not only have I really enjoyed organising and hosting these events, but it has been great to hear so many diverse views from across the built environment industry and beyond.

I hope to see many of you, new and familiar faces, tuning into the upcoming events - keep your eyes peeled for more details on how and where to sign up.

Let us stay at home and stay connected during these strange times.

Priya Shah, Founder of BAME in Property

If you would like to collaborate with BAME in Property for a virtual event, please get in touch with Priya on priya.shah@bameinproperty.com.