Investing in heritage of diverse ethnic communities

Investing in heritage of diverse ethnic communities

a group of people with black and white skin stand around a book of records in an archive
Dig Where You Stand, North Yorkshire. Photo: Alicia Barrett.
Heritage belongs to us all – which is why we want to help tell everyone's stories.

At The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we support all sorts of projects which explore and celebrate the heritage of diverse ethnic communities.

We want to support all communities to explore and share their heritage, enriching people’s lives and increasing the diversity of heritage workforces, leadership and audiences. That's why under our Heritage 2033 investment principles inclusion, access and participation must be part of every project we fund.

The terms we use

Some of the terms we use include:

  • diverse ethnic communities, or ethnically diverse communities. In Scotland we use MECC (minority ethnic and cultural community). We have revised our usage of the term BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic).
  • LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other identities)
  • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. This describes a range of ethnic groups or people with nomadic ways of life who are not from a specific ethnicity.

We use these terms because we believe they are widely understood. Identities can be complex and intersectional, and we are also aware that for many these terms may feel inadequate or limiting. We keep the language we use constantly under review.

Get inspiration for your project

Explore the projects below and find out more about applying for our funding.

Young actor playing the part of an ice cream seller for visiting school pupils
Young actor playing the part of an ice cream seller for visiting school pupils

Projects

New Street Station history project for young people

Young people from Midland Actors Theatre joined the Library of Birmingham to explore and share the 160-year history of New Street Station.

Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda

Projects

Vivekananda exhibition on ancient Indian civilisation

The project featured a structured programme of education and training to an exhibition which has toured outside London to mark the 150th anniversary of the great Hindu philosopher and visionary, Vivekananda.

Image icon showing simple outline of speech marks to represent oral histories

Projects

Remedies Remembered

Slough Roots enabled women from English, Asian and West Indian backgrounds to research traditional healing remedies still used in the UK today.

Participants of the Iranian Heritage Project
Participants of the Iranian Heritage Project

Projects

Iranian Heritage Project

Northern Cultural Projects CIC spent a year investigating and documenting the Iranian Heritage of the North East.

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