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COMMONWEALTH RESEARCH CENTRE

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After ten years of promoting diversity/multiculturism/Integration in North Wales/ Pan Wales and the UK, NWAMI wanted to expand its activities to Commonwealth Countries. With this mission in mind and in support of Clwyd West MP Rt.Hon. David Jones, NWAMI Initiated the foundation of the Centre for Commonwealth Research which was launched by Professor Iwan Davies the Vice-Chancellor of Bangor University on the 9th of October, 2020.

 

 

The launch event took place over Zoom on International Integration Day

The event was marked with a cultural program and speeches by various participants including Jane Hutt MS and Rt Hon David Jones

The Launch Event

9th October 2020

Deputy Minister and Chief Whip in the Welsh Government Jane Hutt MS has appreciated NWAMI’s objective of community cohesion and social integration through education and cultural engagement. She underscored the vision and sentiment for Wales in promoting racial equality and said that the Welsh government is committed to addressing divisions in society by working with partners. 

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Rt. Hon. David Jones MP recounted chairing of NWAMI’s inaugural meeting in 2011 and the succession of its events he attended over years thereafter. Applauding Dr. Sibani Roy as the driving force whose vision has made NWAMI as one of the leading forces for racial understanding in the country, and officially launched Commonwealth Research Centre NWAMI.

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Cultural program included a presentation from Anup Kumar Biswas and party, and by Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence which included a beautiful dance by children. Sharad Jha presented a Maithili poem on integration. Classical dances by Suvarchala Madireddy and Roshni Sarkar were captivating.

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Speaking on the occasion, Founder & Chair Dr. Sibani Roy said “NWAMI’s mission has been to integrate newcomers with local people through cultural exchange and education, to reduce hate crime and has successfully staged numerous cultural events, interfaith seminars, debates, language classes, cookery demonstrations, and so on. NWAMI also wants to bring the Commonwealth to North Wales and works hard to bring this dream to reality"

NWAMI'S BIG DEBATE

Raising Awareness of Challenges Ahead and the Role the Commonwealth Can Play

NWAMI organised The Big Debate over Zoom on 23rd April 2021 to discuss the cultural, educational, and international challenges in today's interconnected world and the role Commonwealth can play in facilitating community cohesion and international cooperation. Keynote speakers, Hywel Williams and Prof. Iwan Davies, gave wonderful inputs on social integration, linguistic diversity and community cohesion. Chair Mark Isherwood and Hywel Williams also made remarks.

NWAMI moves forward

NWAMI is honoured to have facilitated an event hosting Her Royal Highness the Queen of Congo and her delegation alongside many distinguished guests and speakers in Colwyn Bay. This special occasion marked the establishment of the Office of Congo House Revival and the Centre for Cultural Exchange and Commonwealth Research. All in attendance witnessed the unveiling of two plaques inscribed to commemorate the occasion at NWAMI’s bookstore. The legacy of the African Institute founded in 1890 by the Reverend William Hughes, which came to be known as Congo House, is an often overlooked but significant part of Colwyn Bay’s history and its stored ties with Congo and the luminaries who matriculated from the institute. The institute was not only established as missionary project according to the auspices of the Church, but Hughes conceived of it as a philanthropic project which would train African citizens in trades, crafts and disciplines that would allow them to contribute to their communities upon their return. The graduates of the institute went on to have careers in prestigious fields as teachers, barristers and doctors. One such alumnus of Congo House, Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu, went on to jointly found Fort Hare College; mentoring Nelson Mandela.

The esteemed speakers included Her Royal Highness the Queen of Congo, Chief Thomas Bikebi, former MP for Clwyd West David Jones, Mark Isherwood AM, Colwyn Bay Mayor Ricki Owen and Jason Higgins, Dr. Bala Ramachandran, Judge Ray Singh, president of NWAMI-Malta Maria Gabriele-Doublesin and contemporary African painter Mfikela Jean-Samuel. The ethos of the occasion was an affirmation of the importance of the ties that bind the members of the Commonwealth; this was sentiment echoed by all of the speakers at the event. Her Majesty spoke at length about the warm reception she and her delegation had received from the people of Colwyn Bay and North Wales more broadly, the bonds formed between Colwyn Bay and Congo; and paid respects to ancestors interred in Colwyn Bay. To complement the speakers’ contributions we were treated to performances from many talented artists including Indian dancer Kajal Sharma, poet TM Ahmed, Amruta Garud.
NWAMI moves forward and looks forward to an auspicious future of continued Commonwealth cooperation, strengthened ties and a brighter future for the local community.

Research & Publications

Due to Pandemic, prolong lock down and mass isolation of workforce the centre could not progress as desired, however with help of a former Bangor University student Raja Asad NWAMI completed a research project titled South Asian, Slavery and Indenture (which is little known to the wider world).

Thereafter NWAMI sponsored two academic lecture presentations on:

 

  • Fiji’s history of indentureship, military coups and attitude towards Indians

  • The fate of Shia Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Hindus in Afghanistan under the Taliban

  • Organised by Indo Caribbean Cultural Centre, Trinidad and Tobago

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