Community Education Project

This was undertaken in 2012, demonstrating the long-time involvement of many of the CEI Board members with community integration in Scotland in general and Glasgow in particular.  Their involvement has been particularly close with the Bangladeshi immigrant community, and the Community Education Project (CEP) is a natural progression reflecting the strong desire and keen interest the CEI Board Members have for enhancing community relations.

The project focuses on community integration and cohesion, centring around the emergence of a healthy multi-cultural society, reflecting the diversity that has evolved through a long historic process. A key component of the project is the teaching of Bengali and English languages, music, dance and drama to both Bangladeshi children and adults, and other community members in Scotland. 

Moving to a different culture is never easy and the Bangladeshi immigrant community in Scotland, as expected, faces a number of challenges.  The CEP makes a modest attempt to ease the process of integration through creating social, cultural and educational opportunities, thus working to remove the disadvantages, both linguistically and socially.

The project aimed to attack the challenges of marginalisation and isolation that a disadvantaged community is likely to experience, by providing a wide range of community activities and creating a much needed sense of community integration and cohesion.

The following varied and constantly expanding programmes took place:

•        Teaching of Bengali and English classes

•        Bengali dance and drama

•        Poetry reading

•        Bengali cookery

•        Sports and yoga

•        Social care training

A core component of the project was the involvement of a large number of volunteers, keen to take the various activities forward.

The project was managed by a dedicated Committee, with Messrs Shahar Ali and Khaled Romel.