Kee Khobor

The Re-Balance Approach

Recognise.

Our heritage plays a huge part in how we see ourselves and how we are seen and often accepted or not by others. This interplay impacts our identity and self-worth. Recognising the experiences of our parents/grandparents and the environment they grew up in can help us understand ourselves more; our uniqueness, and how we connect to the communities we belong to.

When we are living in a country that we may not see as our place of origin, we can find ourselves geographically or emotionally displaced. Global politics, global pandemics, conflict colonialism, liberation and refuge have created a complex and beautiful emergence of identity, and this year more than ever it seems poignant to explore and celebrate our British Bangla identity shamelessly with pride.

Review.

A small group of acquaintances from the Bengali community came together on the 15th of January to discuss the idea of telling our British Bengali stories to celebrate the fiftieth year of Bangladesh’s independence and International Mother Language Day. 

The group soon discovered the power of reflection and storytelling and wanted to illuminate and document not only the hopes, aspirations and ideals of a community of people through the lens of their Bengali heritage or connections, but also highlight their struggles, either as a community or as individuals within that community.

Respond.

Kee Khobor will feature blogs, vlogs and podcasts. The reflections will be shared publicly throughout the year, with our official launch on 26th March 2021.

The various identities of the Bengali community in the UK will be explored and celebrated. We will facilitate an open exchange of ideas and give voice to views, some of which may otherwise not be heard.

The project will leave a legacy that provides stewardship for future generations to not only have pride in their identity but to own it and derive strength from it, and give younger people who may be struggling the confidence and opportunity to belong to something wider.

The reflections will provide an opportunity to look ahead to the future development of the community and not only stay relevant as a community within a changing society but be inspirational to the development of wider British society

Recognising the Kee Khobor team

Abdal Ullah, Co-Founder of the British Bangladeshi Power Inspiration, Aftab Rahman, Director at Legacy WM, Emma Gunn, Former CEO at Re-Balance, Farhana Uddin, Former Executive Assistant at Re-Balance, Halima Begum, CEO of Runnymede Trust, Jaan Madan, Founder of Re-Balance and Workplace Mental Health Expert, Janet Davies, Consultant Volunteer at Re-Balance, Dr Mohammed Rahman, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Birmingham City University, Poppy Jaman OBE, CEO of City Mental Health Alliance and Founder of Re-Balance, Tauhid Pasha, Migrants’ Rights Specialist at IOM UN Migration Agency