Newsletter - March 2022
Our first newsletter, originally posted on Twitter in March 2022, updated
What is the B.A.M.E. OT UK Network?
A collective of occupational therapy students, qualified & unqualified staff and educators of B.A.M.E. heritage; working collaboratively to disrupt institutional racism and discrimination in the profession and professional body, and sharing a safe supportive space.
Our impact so far
Soon after the open letters (Letter to RCOT - May 2020), The Royal College of Occupational Therapy established an EDI page on their website, stating their intentions moving forward and referring to BAMEOTUK as a critical friend.
In direct response to recommendations of the network, RCOT hired its first Equity, Diversity & Belonging Manager, Ketan Davé.
We have since been joined by the newly established LGBTQIA+OTUK and ABLEOTUK affinity groups with whom we collaborate.
We joined with DisruptOT, an international movement to disrupt institutional racism in the global profession, and contributed to their first international summit in August 2021.
Our history
We were founded in June 2020 following the tragic public murder of George Floyd in May 2020. Occupational therapy students, staff and educators of Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnicity/Heritage descent wondered at over this period why RCOT remained silent.
Over 40 individuals came together on Zoom to support each other after Kwaku Agyemang posted a message on his Twitter account, and from this meeting sprung the formation of Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnicity/Heritage Occupational Therapy UK. In the following month of July members continued action through publications in the July 2020 edition of OT News, communications with RCOT, and the network as a collective began making its impact.
Network Updates
In our monthly meetings (every 3rd Wednesday or Thursday) we have established a cycle of three topics:
CPD - Support, sharing & discussion - Healing
The network’s general business is now organised by a core committee of eight volunteers to help coordinate the activities of the network.
The 3 affinity groups (LGBTQIA+OTUK, AbleOTUK, and BAMEOTUK) have together formed several RCOT steering groups working with Ketan (RCOT EDB Manager) to work together and advise on EDB matters.
Coming soon…
B.A.M.E. OT UK Symposium!
New logo
New website (this website to be precise!)
CPD Opportunities
