The Scottish Government’s One Scotland campaign aims to promote diversity and celebrate equality for all in Scottish communities.
Here, Your Job talks to Dipesh Regmi – an Aberdeen-based ambassador who is doing his bit for integration and community building in the north-east.
Dipesh Regmi, 35, is a founding member of the Organisation for Nepalese Culture and Welfare (ONCW) – a charity that aims to promote equality and inclusion for Aberdeen’s Nepalese community.
Originally hailing from Nepal, the cause of ONCW is one particularly close to Dipesh’s heart and he gives up his own time to make sure other Nepalese people feel as at home in the north-east as he does.
Dipesh moved to Aberdeen in 2005 to study his Masters degree in Soil Science and has remained in the city since, working for the NHS. As well as being a geology wiz, he is also a passionate communicator and previously worked as a radio DJ back in Nepal.
Two years ago, Dipesh and three Nepalese friends from university got together and discussed how they could combine their diverse range of experiences of settling in Scotland, skills and education to help members of the local Nepalese community – it was here that ONCW was born.
Dipesh said: “Myself and the other three trustees established the charity a couple of years ago. We had all graduated from the University of Aberdeen in different subjects ranging from environmental science to public health.
“Because we all did our degrees in different fields, we knew we could do many things to help the people in our Nepalese minority community.”
The ONCW is now well-established in the north-east, where Dipesh and his team help Nepalese people acclimatise to life in Scotland through community-based activities ranging from cycling and gardening to saving energy in the home.
He said: “Our focus is on cultural and welfare activities. As a result the Nepalese community in Aberdeen is very friendly, united and a strong neighbourhood.”
He feels that the ONCW is hugely important for the local Nepalese community – not only does it provide chance to socialise, keep busy and exercise, it also offers invaluable advice, support and education.
He said: “There are currently lots of Nepalese people living in Aberdeen and across Scotland. Some of these people are not familiar with the social structure, health, sport, education and governance systems in Scotland.
“The activities and education the ONCW provides help build awareness amongst the community and encourage further equality and inclusion.”
Dipesh’s organisation is a member of BEMIS, Scotland’s official ethnic minority organisation which has praised Dipesh for his efforts.
A spokesperson from BEMIS, said: “Dipesh and the Nepalese community in the north-east epitomise the values which we are collectively working on to promote active citizenship, diversity and community. Dipesh and his colleagues in the community in Aberdeen have pro-actively and positively engaged through programmes such as the Multicultural Homecoming Programme which celebrated the diversity of Scotland through local community celebrations.
We look forward to working with them in the years ahead towards our shared objective creating a diverse, fair, socially just and more equal Scotland.”
Dipesh is an ambassador for the Scottish Government’s One Scotland campaign, which aims to promote diversity and celebrate equality for all in our communities.
The campaign kicked off following YouGov research commissioned by the government. The survey found that three-quarters (76%) of Scots agreed Scotland had made great progress towards equality over the past 10 years. However, 89% of people surveyed also believed more work needed to be done to ensure people are treated equally.
Organisations like ONCW are promoting equality at a grass-roots level. They also recognise that the Nepalese culture adds significantly to Scotland’s diversity and do what they can to keep it alive. Recently, ONCW was awarded funding by the Multicultural Homecoming Scotland project to promote its role as one of Scotland’s many rich and diverse cultural groups.
Dipesh said: “I strongly believe that Scotland is promoting equality and diversity very well. For example, in our Nepalese community in Aberdeen, we have been granted Homecoming Scotland funding to promote social harmony and inclusiveness in the society.”
For further information on the One Scotland campaign, visit: www.onescotland.org