Welcome

The first Bangladeshi migration to the UK began in the 1950s, with many coming to create better economic opportunities in the UK’s textiles, manufacturing and the catering sectors which had a substantial impact on the country’s redevelopment of social and economic fabric. Today, the Bangladeshi community is one of the largest and fastest-growing ethnic groups with 652,500+ population of which a significant proportion is under the age of 30. In the field of economy, Bangladeshis dominate the curry industry, with many having successful businesses across all sectors. The community makes significant contributions to British media with notable figures in journalism, arts & entertainment. Young Bangladeshis have made remarkable strides in education excelling in various professional fields, including medicine, architecture, law & politics. The Bangladeshi charitable organisations are providing essential community services to improve lives locally. The Bangladesh High Commission also works intensely to represent and advocate for the interests of the Bangladeshi community in the UK. 

Challenges

With a population surpassing 652K, the Bangladeshi community in the UK faces challenges with 19.3% living in the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods, 3 times more likely than White British people to be jobless; 2/5 men are in low skilled employment; 57.2% women and 37.9% men are inactive in the job market;  51% are living in low-income households; have the lowest levels of English language proficiency, with 43.8% women and 19.6% men not speak English well. Overall, the Bangladeshi community in the UK is disproportionately affected by poverty and deprivation. 

Solutions 

To tackle the long-term effects of poverty and deprivation, the Bangladeshi Regeneration Council was founded on the fact that the Bangladeshi community in the UK is a rich source of entrepreneurship and talent and by coming together to work on the things that matter to everyone is key to unlocking potentials. To deliver the vision the Bangladeshi Regeneration Council is working to deliver on 6 Priorities for the Bangladeshi community in the UK.

1. Develop and implement a coherent community regeneration strategy towards achieving social and economic prosperity. 
2. Improve the confidence and capability of Bangladeshi women and young people to learn, earn and lead the community for now and in the future. 
3. Improve the competence and capability of the Bangladeshi Community Sector in the UK to deliver more, better value and quality community development services at local levels.  
4. Improve the competence and capability of the Bangladeshi digital media platforms to provide better accessibility and connectivity with governmental and non-governmental services.
5. Create research and development opportunities to discover and design new and innovative ways to address and eradicate generational deprivation from within the Bangladeshi community in the UK.
6. Promote and preserve the Bangladeshi cultural heritage in the UK.

Achievements

Since its inception the Bangladeshi Regeneration Council provided capacity building to several Bangladeshi community organisations including the Bangladeshi Women’s Association; generated £8M+ grant funding for the Bangladeshi community sector organisations; designed 60+ projects, supported 5 research programmes; trained 30+ community leaders; generated 100+ employment opportunities and engaged 80K+ audiences through supporting cultural heritage events. 

Directors

The concept of the Bangladeshi Regeneration Council was introduced and implemented by Anam Choudhury a community regeneration expert. This concept was supported by Mohammed Saidul Miah, an entrepreneur. Moving forward the Bangladeshi Regeneration Council is looking to strengthen its management and delivery capacity through increased membership of the Board and designing programme of services to deliver on the six Community Regeneration Priorities (CRP).