Three Welsh Mosaic Champions to take part in new Brecon Beacons National Park mentoring project

Three Wales Mosaic Champions are part of a new pilot project, launched by the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, to help improve representation and inclusivity of black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in public life.

Former Mosaic Brecon Beacons Project Officer Jasmin Chowdhury and Community Champion Bhunesh Napal, both from Cardiff and Zobia Zaman, from Newport, joined Guptaman Gurung, of the National Park’s Nepalese commuhnity, to be inducted into the mentoring scheme, which will enable them to get an insiders view of the democratic purposes and work of the Authority and its Members.

The scheme, which is backed by the Welsh Government, wil see them being mentored by Authority Members to help them gain the skills they need to engage in their town and community councils and local authorities.

Six National Park Authority Members, including Deputy Chairman Melanie Doel and councillors from Carmarthenshire, Powys and Monmouthshire County Councils – have volunteered to be mentors.

Speaking of the pilot, Natural Resources Minister Carl Sargeant said: “The promotion of diversity in public appointments enables us to widen the field of potential candidates and help us to deliver a more representative pool of decision makers for the National Park and Wales more widely.

“An increase in the number of women, ethnic minorities and disabled people, as well as other under-represented groups, in the decision making processes of our public bodies can only benefit our communities. I’m delighted to support this mentoring project led by Brecon Beacons National Park Authority.”

Councillor David Meredith, Equalities Champion and Member for Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for Authority Members to share their knowledge as local government decision makers so that our participants can improve their representation in public life. We will be devoting a lot of passion, energy and support to this project.”

The four representatives will receive at least 24 days of training which will include specific induction sessions that allow them to join in the Member Development Programme for 2015/6 . They will also be observing meetings and working group meetings and having informal feedback sesions with their mentors.

The pilot is the first in Wales and there will be a detailed evaluation after six months to see if this could be rolled out to other areas or repeated in the Brecon Beacons.

Notes to Editors

The Campaign for National Parks partnered wih the Brecon Beacons, Pembrokeshire Coast and Snowdonia National Park authorities and the YHA to deliver Mosaic in Wales between 2012 and 2015. The project has been funded by the National Lottery People and Places Fund. More information on our Mosaic Wales work can be found at www.cnp.org.uk/mosaic-wales

The Campaign for National Parks is a national charity dedicated to campaigning to protect and promote all the 13 National Parks in England and Wales. Further information about our work can be obtained from Tony McDougal, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Manager – tonym@cnp.org.uk