Statement from ALRA's Board of Trustees (10th June 2020)

Statement from ALRA's Board of Trustees – 10th June 2020

The Board of Trustees will not tolerate racism in any form.

We fully acknowledge that we have failed to safeguard our community of students and have implemented an independent investigation into the incidents reported to us.

We thank those students who have had the courage and honesty to come forward to talk about their experiences of racism at ALRA. We are deeply saddened to hear about the incidents and apologise wholeheartedly to all of those affected.

We will improve and take every opportunity to work towards the elimination of racism.

The Board agreed last night (9th June) that conversation is no longer enough. We need to create meaningful change, and a comprehensive plan of action for ALRA has been developed in order to address bias and racism. This will require an open and difficult examination, which we will all embrace.

The Action Plan will confront systemic racism in the training and student experience at ALRA, as well as look further into historic complaints.

We are listening, we are learning and we are instigating change with immediate effect.

We are transforming our organisational culture to offer full support to our community. We will also consult with external organisations and individuals to support us in this fast and permanent change.

ALRA’s leadership and sub-committees will be held to account by the Board of Trustees for the implementation of this plan.

The detailed Action Plan (The ALRA Action Plan Against Racism) will be published on our website.