For what reason £85,000 was provided to Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC) between 2017-18 and 2020-21 for the True C…

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communitiesThe ‘True Colours’ project was funded to help young people who experience racial bullying in schools. The project’s focus was to implement a peer education programme, tackling issues of bullying, prejudice and discrimination, whilst promoting equality and good relations among students within schools in Edinburgh area. The project supported the input of numerous young volunteers for them to gain new skills and hands on work experience thereby increasing their employment prospects.The specific outcomes to be achieved were:Improve knowledge and awareness of up to 25 young volunteers on equality, human rights, discrimination, hate crime and bullying; Improve their research, public speaking, social media and presentation skills.Enhance confidence amongst young people and school workers by increasing their awareness and knowledge in relation to equality, with particular emphasis on prejudice-based bullying, stereotyping, racism, gender equality and homophobia.Promote anti-bullying culture in schools trough creating anti-bullying videos, encouraging creativity, empathy and interpersonal skills.The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf