TV historian Sir Tony Robinson this week bestowed a unique honour on Swansea’s Uzo Iwobi OBE for her tireless work in keeping the UK’s heritage alive during the pandemic.
In the form of a night-time installation, Stonehenge was lit up with the faces of eight individuals who, with the help of National Lottery funding, are supporting heritage projects across the UK. Equalities practitioner Uzo was among those whose image adorned the stones, in dedication to her work with The Race Council Cymru.
The historic takeover of Stonehenge is the first time the 5,000-year-old sarsen stones of the world-renowned site have been dedicated to individual members of the public.
A video projection of Sir Tony acted to first illuminate the historic stones and introduce the momentous display.
Uzo, 51, who is the founder of Race Council Cymru, has been the driving force behind gathering BAME specialist’s business, social sciences and consultants of medicine and law to support Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Communities in multicultural hubs facilitated by Race Council Cymru across Wales to review the impact of Covid on ethnic minority communities there.
Race Council Cymru's Chairperson Judge Ray Singh CBE chaired the First Minister's BAME Covid 19 Advisory Group to ensure that measures were put in place to reduce the disproportionate impact coronavirus was having on ethnic minority community members. His work and the work of the chairs of the subgroup chairs made a real difference.
During this time, Uzo found it important to volunteer her services and expertise to support BAME grassroots communities reeling from shock at the sudden deaths due to Covid.
"Our immediate need was to embrace the families that were bereaved,” notes Uzo. "We clubbed together to get flowers for them, making sure we were calling them, checking in with them, linking in with their churches and family support groups.
"Many of them became totally isolated, there was a lot of anxiety and stress with no close family around them. We needed to make sure that Race Council created a welcoming environment amongst grassroots communities, delivering food parcels and doing whatever people needed from us, all while we were doing the high-level strategic work.”
Uzo herself convened a number of Zoom sessions across Wales to help BAME grassroots to articulate their fears and concerns, also helping some elders’ digital skills to get online and providing virtual ‘cwtchs’, or cuddles, across the internet. She also created a BAME Covid-19 WhatsApp support group for nearly 100 leaders across Wales and a WhatsApp group for approximately 150 diverse ethnic minority organisations to share learnings, support and best practice.
"I am so humbled that people would even trust me to help in their lives. When you're in pain and when you have lost so much, to think of somebody else coming in with a solution, even when you're not prepared to wake up and face the day, is such a challenge. Everyone is sharing collective pain and collective encouragement which is so powerful.”
Under Uzo’s guidance, Race Council Cymru also launched the Windrush Heritage Project – a National Lottery funded project that tells the stories of Wales’ Windrush generation in a virtual exhibition.
The project features the stories by 60 people – known as Windrush Generation Elders – whose own journeys, or that of their families, brought them to Wales during a period of immigration between 1948 and 1988. During the pandemic, 10 of the 60 stories have been shared online by the Senedd Parliament.
With lockdowns and travel restrictions becoming the new normal, green spaces and historic sites have played an increasingly pivotal role in people’s lives.
The homage comes as the results of new National Lottery research announced today highlight that 73% of Welsh people say outdoor spaces have had a positive effect on their mental wellbeing during the pandemic. A further four in 10 (40%) said that heritage sites have made them feel more relaxed and less anxious in difficult times, whilst 45% say that heritage sites make them feel proud of their local area.
Heritage sites across the UK are being supported by the National Lottery through the COVID-19 pandemic with some of the £30m raised each week for good causes by National Lottery players.
Sir Tony Robinson said: “I love the fact that Stonehenge is being lit up as a tribute to some of the country’s key project workers and volunteers, letting the public know about the hard work they’ve been doing to keep our heritage accessible to everyone using National Lottery funding.
“Without the graft and tireless effort of these wonderful people, our much-loved heritage would be more at risk than ever this year.”
Ros Kerslake CBE, chief executive of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “The National Lottery is playing a crucial role in supporting heritage sites and projects during the crisis, but it’s the important role of that the thousands of amazing individuals, some of which we are celebrating and honouring today, that keep these places going and make our visits memorable.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here