A warm hello and welcome from the AROS team, which formed as an initial team of five in January and has taken over communication from the hosting team.
We have been quietly working since then to set up and develop a strategy but are conscious of the gap in communication during this period and this long overdue update.
We are developing ways to increase our communication and engagement with community members by sharing more information about AROS, including upcoming opportunities to work with us and be part of events.
Our first weeks
The current AROS team comprises of two part-time co-CEOs and three managers covering communications, community engagement, policy and research. We will soon be advertising more roles to expand the team and will share more details shortly.
Since coming together in January, we have been setting up the new organisation, developing a strategy and delivery plan, and meeting stakeholders from the government, third sector and communities. We are also pleased to have started working with members of AROS’s Strategic Advisory Board.
Community engagement
Now that we’re up and running, our top priority is to engage further with community members and organisations to ensure our work centres and amplifies the voices of the adversely racialised communities AROS was set up for.
In line with AROS’s remit, we will work with government and public sector organisations to scrutinise anti-racism policies, push to embed practices in leadership, policy, systems and culture, and measure efficacy to advance accountability.
We know that we will only achieve this by working for and with the people most affected by systemic racism at grassroots level. This means continuing the legacy of community-led activism and consultation on which the observatory is built and bringing the voices of those most affected by systemic racism closer to the spaces where change happens.
Communications
We are currently developing branding to launch a new AROS website that replaces this interim site created in the mobilisation phase prior to AROS staff members being appointed.
Once we have branding, we will also be launching social media channels to increase our level of communication and reach a wider audience.
Until we have these new platforms, we will provide updates on this site and via our newsletters.
Contact and involvement
We want to engage with individuals and groups from communities across Scotland, and to officially launch AROS with community members in the coming months.
If you are interested in hearing more about AROS’s work or upcoming events, please contact us directly.
If you are a community member or organisation who was previously engaged with the consultation process that led to the observatory being set up, please note that the AROS team does not have access to your details or consent to contact you. If you would like to be in touch with AROS, please use this site to share your details and consent for us to contact you directly. Please note that this is separate from the newsletter, where we have consent to contact people who signed up and indicated their preferences.
Thank you
Most importantly, if you were part of the extensive work done with community members across Scotland to shape the observatory, we would like to extend our sincere and heartfelt thanks for helping AROS become a reality.
Minister for Equalities Kaukab Stewart (centre) with AROS co-CEOs Jonathan Williams (left) and Benaifer Bhandari (right) at a milestone March 3 event bringing together the core AROS team and board members, representatives from the Scottish Government, plus hosting partners Strathclyde University and the Coalition of Racial Equality and Rights (CRER).
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