The inaugural ‘We Are One’ – Picnic in the Park was a soul satisfying experience. The positive energy generated by the announcement was breathtaking… the goodwill and offers of support… energising. Thank you to all those who attended despite the adverse weather on the morning of the event. 

We have many educators, professionals and passionate community members in this city our pioneers chose to call home. Several reached out to me, others I reached out to, either directly or following an introduction. Our conversations centred on two key areas… ‘support and collaboration’ leading up to and on the day of the event… and ‘next steps’ following the event.

Well, I am pleased to say, this platform upon which you are reading this post, is a fundamental part of the next step. This bespoke website will share events, activities and much more with our African Caribbean community. This central hub will be pivotal in the delivery of the DACCI aims (you can find out more about DACCI aims on the ‘About Us’ page).

The achievements and connections made to date and the content of this website would not have been possible without the inaugural ‘We Are One’ – Picnic in the Park.

I would like to give a big shout out to an amazing group of people who gave up their time and/or contributed equipment to turn the vision into reality. What we achieved in only six weeks was special. It symbolises what likeminded people can do when they work as one.

The word ‘community’ seems alien when associated with the African Caribbean community in Derby. It has been this way for so long that we have yet again normalised a circumstance that is not normal. However, the event clearly demonstrated an appetite for change.

Let’s recondition our minds and our community… DACCI are determined to  turn our ‘We Are One’ and ‘Better Together’ mantras into something with meaning.

There is so much that we can achieve.