The Vision, Mission and Objectives of Unity4uk.
Although Unity4UK is primarily focused on the needs of British Muslims we recognise that many of the challenges faced here are common to many other people in a multi ethnic UK. Hence, Unity4UK will also reach out to all British Citizens to "Stand Up", "Speak Up" and “Act� together in mutual support and friendship. To achieve the Mission and Objectives of Unity4uk it is necessary to think about the challenges our communities face in a holistic and coherent way. Fundamentally many of the challenges faced by underprivileged communities are multidimensional in nature. Hence a holistic and coherent approach across the key domains of civil society and governance is required. Unity4uk is apolitical in its motivation, ideas and work; however, those aspects of governance which are detrimental to the wellbeing of our communities need to be addressed in a positive and constructive way. The issue is not who is in political power but rather how can we all work together across all domains to meet the objectives. Unity4UK will not have all the answers by any means but we do feel we can contribute in partnership with all aspects of civil society and governance without bias or animosity.
The diagram above illustrates the domains that Unity4UK seeks to contribute in. To give one illustration why all domains need to be addressed holistically it is worth considering Islamophobia/xenophobia and its impact on vulnerable minority communities; one of the major impacts of such victimisation is mental health problems and hence institutions such as the NHS will also be severely impacted. Thinking about solutions for the former without recognising the long term societal impact of mental health problems is unlikely to address a communities needs in full. THE FOLLOWING IS SUBJECT TO REFINEMENT/REVISION FOLLOWING A WIDER CONSULTATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS Vision: An inclusive, diverse and tolerant United Kingdom standing for good governance and a harmonious civil society fit for the globalised world of the 21st Century. Mission: To partner with a range of mainstream political parties, not for profit community organisations, national and local government, and public Institutions in the formulation and delivery of innovative and best practice strategies for achieving the stated objectives. Objectives: 1. To promote inclusivity, diversity and tolerance between all British Citizens irrespective of creed, ethnicity or any other discriminators 2. To empower communities to be resilient and to act to support the elimination of social ills – ranging from petty crime to the threat of extremist ideologies which seek to radicalise vulnerable people, embed extremism and to undertake acts of Terrorism. 3. To promote universal human values common to all British Citizens (for example charity, volunteering, looking out for others and compassion for the sick and the old) and the empowerment of all communities to live these values in their daily lives. 4. To promote basic principles of good law abiding citizenship 5. To reduce social inequality 6. To advocate a role for the UK on the world stage fit for the 21st century Footnotes: It is important for the purpose of achieving the objectives set for Unity4UK to understand the difference between ideologies and religions. Ideologies apply wholly to the political domain of our temporal lives. Religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam apply to both temporal and eternal life. Although religions address temporal matters such as politics such matters are always subject to sacred injunctions. For ideologies the end justifies the means, whilst for religions this is not the case. To advocate and realise a new 21st century role for the UK is not an easy objective and will require the collaboration of many people across many areas of expertise including political
leadership, academia, business. think tanks, policy institutes and not least the British people. Discussion and reformulation of foreign policy should not be viewed as a negative but rather an important opportunity to safeguard the future prosperity of our country and humanity as a whole.
Founding Principles: 1. Committed to oppose radical ideologies promoting violence, radicalisation or extremism 2. Law abiding 3. Acting as British Citizens 4. Full transparency in the work of unity4uk 5. No conflict of interests in the governance, management and actions of unity4uk 6. Independence of thought and action without fear or favour. 7. Working across all communities to achieve the objectives set 8. Working in partnership with other organisations 9. Continuous improvement and mutual sharing of best practice in all we do 10. Engagement through creative and positive solutions 11. Membership open to all committed to the Vision, Mission and Objectives Constitution: Link to be added