The Alliance for Cohesion and Racial Equality (ACRE) is looking for an enthusiastic blog volunteer with a passion for writing, current affairs and equality.

The Equalities Alliance is a ground breaking initiative and the first of its kind in Reading to bring campaigners for equality around the table to create a multi-strand perspective on equality issues in Reading. By bringing campaigners working to protect characteristics such as race, religion, gender, and sexuality together, our clout with decision makers and our effectiveness at tackling hate crime, prejudice and discrimination is increased. Our slogan is ‘the sum of us is greater than its parts’ – our united voices can speak louder.

One of the main themes we are focusing on this year is tackling negative stereotypes and sensationalism. Equality is good for business, the economy, social mobility and community cohesion – yet these assertions rarely make it into the public narrative. Instead sensationalist speech from politicians and the media continue to stir up hatred and reinforce negative stereotypes, many of which are unconscious. It is this unconscious bias that can lead to discrimination that, although not overt, can have significant implications for people in terms of expectations, academic performance and employment opportunities.

Without challenging public narratives that reinforce negative stereotypes and unconscious bias, prejudice and discrimination will continue. It is with this in mind that we are establishing a Stereotypes and Unconscious Bias blog with the aim to challenge damaging public narratives and to promote good news stories.

We are looking for a committed volunteer to work on establishing and writing articles for this blog. The ideal candidate will have excellent written communication skills and a strong interest in current affairs and politics and issues such as immigration and hate crime. A keen interest in our aims and a passion for equality is essential.