Stand Up For Diversity!
Brentwood International Cultural Festival 2025

Essex Cultural Diversity Project was honoured to be invited to help launch the Brentwood International Cultural Festival 2025, with a Stand Up For Diversity event alongside a brilliant Peruvian themed art workshop for children with Peque Arts.

ECDP and the Festival invited ten wonderful speakers to stand up to talk about their experiences and what diversity means to them, from working with neurodiverse children, setting up the BABE network (Black and Being Essex), working for the British Council, settling in the UK from Hong Kong, Bilingual Brentwood and the importance of keeping languages alive, the need for honest conversations about mental health, and how we are all a “mishmash of different ideas, places, people, and thoughts” – and how it’s that mix which makes us strong.

This special afternoon reception featured art workshops, three-minute mini-talks, cake and refreshments. We invited all to come along and make new connections, find out more about the festival, and collectively celebrate diverse voices involved in the arts and in our communities.

The Brentwood International Cultural Festival 2025 is a month-long celebration of the international communities that contribute to the rich fabric of Brentwood. Throughout September there will be film screenings, music performances, food workshops, author events, a cultural bazaar and more! See the full festival programme on Linktree at https://linktr.ee/randal.bicfestival

SPEAKERS

Kamal Magecha is a Positive Psychology Coach, Creative Facilitator, tutor and NLP Practitioner. For SU4D, she talked about neurodiversity and young people. guidedlearningltd.com

Ngondo is an Angolan painter and mixed media artist, who talked about Angolan society and western influences.

Preen Chakadonha is a Knowledge Manager by day, and by night Director of Black and Being Essex (BABE for short). She told us about the BABE network and a forthcoming event in Brentwood. https://blackandbeingessex.co.uk/

Kevin Hind has lived in North Weald, between Epping and Ongar, for over 5 years.  Before moving to the area, he lived in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, where he was a town councillor for 11 years.  He works as a software solutions analyst in Cambridge and is helping residents to set up Epping For Everyone, a community group which will work towards social cohesion. He talk about the year I spent in Paris working as a British Council English Language Assistant and how it influenced his views about cultural diversity.

Cuca Bolanos talked about her project, Bilingual Brentwood, which aims to help parents raise their children in more than one language and create a sense of community within multicultural families in the area. Languages are a door to cultures and to understanding one’s own roots, so Cuca believes it is important to pass down our mother tongue to our children. Bilingual Brentwood on Facebook

Dr Eddie Kwok studied at Imperial College and spent most of his career in the bidding, design and construction of railways in Hong Kong, Sydney and London, including in particular the successful tender for the first operation franchise for Elizabeth Line. He wants share his thoughts on the interplay between culture and diversity, from a Hong Kong perspective.

Charlotte Robinson is a BACP registered therapist, illustrator, Zumba instructor, and a business owner Minus Cloud Nine, a clothing brand that invites you to have open, honest conversations about mental health. She will be talking about Neurodiversity and her own experience within that. minuscloudnine.co.uk

Gosbert Chagula is a Londoner of British-Tanzanian heritage who has recently moved to Essex. He’s also a fan of comic books, business, football, and culture. He is the Founder and Director of Startup Discovery School and the Future Impact Ventures Fund. As an investor and bridge builder, he focuses on supporting and investing in businesses that tackle significant problems, such as climate change, poverty, and other pressing challenges.  Gosbert talked about “The Mishmash of Diversity” – how we are all a mishmash of different ideas, places, people, and thoughts – and how it’s that mix which makes us strong.

Randal Smith is the Director of the Brentwood International Cultural Festival – he also co-organised this event, and has worked with communities in Brentwood to put together an exciting programme of events and activities over the next month. linktr.ee/randal.bicfestival

Peque Arts is a friendly art club in Brentwood offering fun and creative classes for kids and adults. They believe everyone has an inner artist, and their weekly sessions and workshops are all about building confidence, sparking imagination, and encouraging self-expression in a relaxed, supportive space. They ran an art workshop throughout the afternoon, with the children showcasing their work to the audience at the end of the event. www.peque-artists.com

We also opened the floor to a couple of short shout outs, with Godwin Daudu from African Families in the UK, and then Richard Milwood standing up to introduce themselves and share their thoughts.

The event is part of Essex Cultural Diversity Project’s Stand Up For Diversity series, initiated by Essex Book Festival and Essex Cultural Diversity Project to bring together those who want to champion diversity in the arts and in our communities.

Brentwood International Cultural Festival is part funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund through Brentwood Borough Council, and is supported by