20th Anniversary Gala Ball - 16th September 2004

CSREC was established in 1984, which made us 20 years in 2004! Over the 20 years CSREC has seen many milestones, and has supported many victims within Central Scotland and has brought together representatives from statutory authorities, voluntary organisations and individuals to actively support the aims of CSREC. Our 20th year marked a turning point in the life of CSREC. We continue to support victims of racial harassment and discrimination, but in addition we launched two new projects (Capacity Building and Active Citizenship) to work directly with minority communities - the sector of the population who suffer most from racism.

CSREC's 20th year ball took place at the Macdonald Inchyra, Grange Road, Polmont on the 16th of September, 2004.  Participants ranged from individuals and community groups of ethnic minority communities, to statutory bodies including the police and the councils, policy-makers, stakeholders of CSREC, users of CSREC services and other bodies new to CSREC. 

It seemed appropriate that given the challenges faced and the milestones covered, we celebrated and gave public recognition and acknowledgement to our partners, statutory authorities, voluntary organisations, volunteers and individuals who have contributed to CSREC's work in Central Scotland.

The celebration featured a 'timeline' theme highlighting the origins of CSREC, the major turning points in the organisation's history, and the focus for the future. There was entertainment depicting several different cultures, to celebrate diversity which is a core value of CSREC's work. Our chief speakers were Pek Yeoung Berry, Professor Geoff Palmer, CSREC Chief Executive Mukami McCrum and the Chief Executive of CRE, Trevor Phillips.

Through the event, we raised more awareness of our work and gave recognition and acknowledgement where it was due. We hoped that through this event statutory organisations and partners were more inspired to continue the good work, and that all supporters of victims of racial discrimination and harassment were re-motivated and re-inspired to continue to uphold the values of race equality.