Representation & Participation Matter!

Carib & Co Brunch are a community interest company which run a range of event based services such as poetry and comedy evenings, art shows, music gigs, shopping experience to support local businesses, educational talks and entrepreneurship. Through the Covid Awareness Fund they have successfully run a series of social media events primarily for young Black, Asian and Multi Ethnic (BAME) communities in Harrow.

Programme Values

  • Representation & Participation Matter!
  • Right information delivered in the right way to save lives
  • Mixture of facts, openness and, importantly, entertainment

Questions & Concerns

Young people have a multitude of concerns when it comes to the vaccine – the potential side effects, its effectiveness, questions around the speed it’s been created, what’s in it and generally it’s overall safety. With Black young people more likely to report Covid vaccine hesitancy, a large majority of the people Carib & Co Brunch work with, they saw an opportunity to support the community through awareness and information.

Representation Matters

Key to their work was representation. With a strong approach that “we looked like them and we knew it would help to get the message across” they were able to cultivate an audience they knew would listen. 

Using a variety of social media tools namely Instagram Live, they were able to run a series of events that both informed and entertained. Bringing together an array of panellists (Harrow Council Public Health, musicians, small businesses, community members), their open approach allowed their audience to ask honest questions and receive informed answers. This approach meant they were able to keep a natural flow to their work with elements of humour, improvisation and patience. This allowed the audience to familiarise themselves with panellists so they felt comfortable. 

Their content was also practically delivered in a fun and entertaining way. Demonstrations of how to do a Covid test, keeping social distance, wearing a mask, where to get tested and how to access the vaccine helped audiences in a useful way. This was a fairly unique tactic as they turned their content into learning experiences which increased participation and engagement. 

A strong emphasis to their work was being routine and “owning a space”. This allowed their audience to follow along at regular intervals which only enhanced their learning. 

Time is Money 

Without the support of the Covid Awareness Fund, Carib & Co Brunch would not have been able to get involved in this work to the same level with particular reference to the range of panellists they were able to secure.  They also stated that by working with Harrow Council and Harrow Giving it gave more credibility to their work so their community had more faith in the organisation and what they were doing.

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