We celebrate and highlight the contribution of South Asian veterans in World War II, and bring together young people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds

Who we are…
24 young people aged 11–20

Where we’re based…
Blackburn, Lancashire

When we started…
September 2006

How we started…
Our ‘Mutual Respect’ project grew out of a Remembrance Day project run through one of our regular youth sessions at Youth Action. We are mainly from black and minority ethnic backgrounds and felt no attachment to the history discussed throughout school. We began working with local Asian veterans which helped us learn more, share views and made historical events and heritage more relevant.

Our work…
We used our weekly sessions for planning, to learn interview techniques and talk with the veterans, and create a DVD. Now we use the DVD as a tool for further discussion and workshops on identity, heritage and ethnic diversity, and learning about different people’s experiences to promote tolerance and understanding. In the Remembrance Day procession a year after the project began, we marched side by side with Asian and white veterans through the streets of Blackburn.

Future plans…
We want to join with more veterans and young people from a wider range of ethnic backgrounds, both white and Asian, to build on our partnerships. We are using the project DVD a lot and have had much interest in it from schools, so we are thinking about creating a teaching resource pack.

For more information…
01254 695847
info@youth-action.net
www.youth-action.net/

“I feel proud to be British and Asian sharing a common history."
AS, Youth Action member