Tracey Agyeman – EDF Network Coordinator – gives an update on our Equality and Human Rights Framework.
Following the co-creation of our learning programme with voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations, we’ve now launched our Equality and Human Rights Framework.
What is the Equality and Human Rights Framework?
The Framework, supported by the Baring Foundation, is a free digital toolkit and learning programme for voluntary and community sector organisations. It’s designed to help organisations explore how equality and human rights can help achieve your core purpose, and how you can integrate equality and human rights into your work.
It’s made up of two elements.
The digital resource is an online platform which allows you to set strategic objectives, aligned to your main operations, identify and tailor actions based on real life examples, and track progress. It’s designed for all types and sizes of VCS organisations to improve outcomes for the causes and/or people you support.
The main areas covered are:
- Providing services
- Campaigning, advocacy and policy
- Employing people
- Working with volunteers
- Raising and spending money.
The learning programme combines three training workshops with online resources and a webinar to make it easy for you to participate. It aims to support community groups and organisations understand how to use the Equality and Human Rights Framework, including equality and human rights laws and approaches, to make a difference. It provides topic overviews, addresses key themes identified by VCS organisations, and gives you the opportunity to explore how you could apply the learning to your own organisation’s context in a supportive context.
What next?
We will be delivering the learning programme across English regions from 2017 to 2019. And we want to attract a wide range of community groups and voluntary organisations, who are interested and/or committed to equality and human rights, to sign up to the learning programme.
The learning programme will be based on a range of themes, such as:
- Understanding how the framework works in practice
- Knowing the main rights in the Equality Act 2010 (EA) and Human Rights Act (HRA) that can help the sector
- Exploring how a human rights based approach might improve customer service, user experience or outcomes in your organisation
- Exchanging experiences and network with other participants
- Understanding the ‘train, complain, campaign’approach for equality and human rights advocacy.
We’re kickstarting the learning programme in London for London-based VCS organisations, and in Birmingham for organisations in the West Midlands.
Register for the learning progamme in London.
Register for the learning programme in Birmingham.
If you have any questions about the Framework or would like to know more, contact me, on Tracey.Agyeman@equallyours.org.uk.