ELREC

The Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council, commonly known as ELREC, is a Scottish non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Edinburgh, UK which focuses on promoting equality and tackling discrimination in the community. Until December 2010, it was known as the Edinburgh and Lothians Racial Equality Council, and has now broadened its scope to become a pan-equalities regional council focusing on the nine protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010. ELREC is registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator with the charity number SC007896,[1] and as a charitable company registered as number SC183419 with Companies House.

History

ELREC was founded in 1971 as Lothian Race Equality. It was subsequently renamed, firstly as the Lothians Racial Equality Council and then as the Edinburgh and Lothians Racial Equality Council, until finally becoming the Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council in December 2010. The organisation's current title reflects it transition from a racial equality council to one which now tackles a wide range of equalities and discrimination issues, with specific focus on the nine protected characteristics enshrined in the Equality Act 2010:

Objectives

The primary objectives of ELREC are:

Projects and Services

ELREC has developed and currently offers a range of services to meet the needs of a variety of individuals and communities:

Events

ELREC conducted a Equality Election Manifesto Meeting in Edinburgh which was attended by Cllr Andrew Burns, Leader of Labour Party, Cllr Jeremy Balfour, Leader of Conservative Party, Cllr Phil Wheeler, Liberal Democrat Party and Cllr Norman Work, Scottish National Party.

A follow up Equality Election Manifesto Meeting was held on 19 March 2012.

More recent meetings of ELREC include:

ELREC's website is continuously updated with upcoming events throughout the year, and can be accessed here: www.elrec.org.uk/events.htm

Funding

ELREC receives funding from:

EFQM Accreditation

ELREC was awarded EFQM's Committed to Excellence Accreditation by Quality Scotland on 9 May 2013.

Newsletter

ELREC produces an equality newsletter every quarter. The newsletters are produced in January, April, July and October each year.

Patron

The Lord Provost of Edinburgh, Rt Hon Donald Wilson is the Patron of ELREC.

Honorary President

Professor Geoff Palmer Dsc OBE serves as the Honorary President of ELREC.

Office Bearers

Chair: Foysol Hussain Choudhury MBE.

Vice Chair: Mr Ehtisham (Shami) Ullah Khan

Company Secretary: Mr Mohamed Amjad Chaudhry

Treasurer: Dr John Christopher Wigglesworth

Staff and Volunteers

Manager: Monalisa Adhikari was appointed as Manager of ELREC from June 2013, succeeding Arun Gopinath upon his departure from ELREC on 31 May 2013. The Manager is supported by a team of 6 staff members, alongside several volunteers who bring a variety of skills:

Administrator: Antonia Gianniou

Youth Development Officer: Victoria Anderson

Equalities Engagement Officer: Mizan Rahman

Support and Advice Sessional Worker: Jacqueline McWilliams

Cleaner: Suda Mitchell

Current Volunteers: Rebecca Jordan, Ernie Brewster, Natalie Louise Smith, Joanna Wyllie, Benozir Shah, Kelly Wade, Robin Sukatorn, Louise Crichton, Neil Angus Dinnes Ogilvy, Jean-Matthieu Gaunand, Lorna Frost, Sophie Gunn, Mohana Natarajan.

SAREC

ELREC is a founding member of the Scottish Alliance of Regional Equality Councils. Other members of SAREC include Central Scotland Regional Equality Council (CSREC), Grampian Regional Equality Council (GREC) and West of Scotland Regional Equality Council (WSREC).

References

  1. ↑ SC007896. OSCR Charity Register. Retrieved 25 December 2011.

External links

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