Three-D Issue 35: Race, Ethnicity and Postcolonial Network Report

Mita Lad
Middlesex University

It has been a few issues since REaPN has written a report for Three-D, and in all honesty I have no idea where the time as gone. Back in June 2020, Vice Chair, Dr Nour Halabi authored a statement (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EaKPuIlXQAIhovS?format=jpg&name=small) in support of the BLM movement and called for more to be done to help students from diverse backgrounds be represented, not only in media industries but also higher education. The statement was endorsed and adopted by MeCCSA. This led to the Chair (Mita Lad) and the Vice Chair of REaPN making suggestions and being invited to a committee meeting to discussed what steps the Executive Committee (and MeCCSA as a whole) can take to ensure they students and academics from diverse backgrounds are given spaces to be seen and heard.

Like so many events last year, the REaPNs’ events were cancelled or postponed. The Media Education Summit, due to take place in Leeds last April was postponed and will now take place this coming April. REaPN’s chair, will host a key note round table discussing lived experiences of media education and raising questions about diversity within media education. In January, network member Elizabeth Poole (Keele), along with Katarina Schmoll (Leeds) hosted an online workshop and roundtable entitled – Beyond Marginalisation and ‘Countering’: Alternative Frameworks for Studying Muslims as Mediated Publics. The event sought to explore alternative frameworks for studying people who follow the Islamic faith as mediated publics.

We have been active on social media and using our Twitter page (@MeCCSARace) to promote and champion publications by people of colour. Our mailing list continues to grow with subscribers. To post to the list, simply email MECCSA-REAPN@JISCMAIL.AC.UK.