FAR FEATURES STATEMENT ON BLACK LIVES MATTER
Community Values Statement
From Far Features Team
Far Features Ltd supports and endorses UKRI statement on Black Lives Matter
We are a small creative production company registered in the United Kingdom built on values of respect, acceptance of all people and stand totally against racism in all forms.
We fully support and recognise the importance of tackling racism. We strive for equality and are committed to building and expanding our diverse team of freelancers we work with that represents all backgrounds.
We work on productions and stories internationally within diverse cultures worldwide.
We stand against:
Discrimination on grounds of age, sex, race, religious beliefs, gender identity or sexual orientation, which has no place within the Far Features Ltd collective and community.
We support & commit to:
Continue to support our diverse collective filmmakers, writers and photographers and promote their work.
Use our creative work to give a platform to promote and publish work from diverse voices through our channels.
Collaborate on projects that tackle racism, persecution and inequality.
#Black Lives Matter
UKRI STATEMENT ON BLACK LIVES MATTER
Racism takes lives and breeds hate. We grieve for all those who have lost their lives to this form of injustice, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Stephen Lawrence and David Oluwale. This is not a problem that occurs ‘elsewhere’, or one that has only happened in the last two weeks. There are centuries of injustices to reflect on here and to begin to reckon with. The mobilisation that has occurred within communities in the UK, and across the globe, highlights the overwhelming message of solidarity against racism and anti-blackness.
Our research and innovation community has expressed with us their anger, grief, frustration and even exhaustion. We share those feelings and recognise the importance of taking a stand against racism and the violent acts of brutality connected to George Floyd’s and others’ deaths.
Yet we also know that racism takes many forms – including far more subtle forms that keep Black people out of the room and silence their voices. There is also the racism that sees people stereotyped because of the colour of their skin or denied a job because of their last names. We know that to engage deeply in anti-racist work involves more than just writing a statement. It involves the on-going and longer-term commitment of practising justice. We want a world that dedicates itself to this longer-term commitment and to achieving justice in practice.
We have begun work to address our structures, our work environments and the ways that we may be perpetuating problems – in terms of who we represent, who we invite to the table, who we partner with and fund. This is something that we will be focusing our energies on as we do the work that is needed to right the systemic wrongs that racism creates.
Alongside this will be a renewed dedication to listen to, support and continue to champion the many researchers, innovators, organisations and community advocates who have been doing this work for a very, very long time. We are challenging ourselves, and the entire research and innovation sector, to reflect on whether we as individuals, and as a community, are doing enough to eradicate racism.
Everyone deserves opportunity and a future, and that cannot happen in a world in which anti-blackness remains. #Black Lives Matter.
On behalf of the UKRI executive team:
Professor Sir Mark Walport, UKRI Chief Executive
Professor Andrew Thompson, Executive Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council
Professor Melanie Welham, Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Professor Dame Lynn Gladden, Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Professor Jennifer Rubin, Executive Chair of the Economic and Social Research Council
Dr Ian Campbell, Executive Chair of Innovate UK
Professor Fiona Watt, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council
Professor Sir Duncan Wingham, Executive Chair of the Natural Environment Research Counci
David Sweeney, Executive Chair of Research England
Professor Mark Thomson, Executive Chair of the Science and Technology Facilities Counci
Emma Lindsell and Isobel Stephen, UKRI Executive Director for Strategy and Governance
Sue Donaldson, UKRI Chief People Office
Mike Blackburn, Interim UKRI Chief Finance Officer
Our mission statement is also here.