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Investing in heritage of diverse ethnic communities

Investing in heritage of diverse ethnic communities

Investing in diverse heritage
Heritage belongs to us all – which is why we want to help tell everyone's stories.

At The National Lottery Heritage Fund, we support all sorts of projects which explore and celebrate the heritage of diverse ethnic communities.

We want to support all communities to explore and share their heritage, enriching people’s lives and increasing the diversity of heritage workforces, leadership and audiences. That's why under our Heritage 2033 investment principles inclusion, access and participation must be part of every project we fund.

The terms we use

Some of the terms we use include:

  • diverse ethnic communities, or ethnically diverse communities. In Scotland we use MECC (minority ethnic and cultural community). We have revised our usage of the term BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic).
  • LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other identities)
  • Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities. This describes a range of ethnic groups or people with nomadic ways of life who are not from a specific ethnicity.

We use these terms because we believe they are widely understood. Identities can be complex and intersectional, and we are also aware that for many these terms may feel inadequate or limiting. We keep the language we use constantly under review.

South Asian Heritage Month

Taking place from 18 July to 17 August, South Asian Heritage Month is an opportunity to share and celebrate the cultures and stories of communities in the UK who have roots in South Asia.  

South Asia is made up of:

  • Afghanistan
  • Bangladesh
  • Bhutan
  • India
  • The Maldives
  • Nepal
  • Pakistan
  • Sri Lanka

British South Asians have made significant contributions to modern-day British life, and have made the UK's heritage richer. The month also helps us recognise the complicated impact the UK has had on South Asian countries over hundreds of years, including colonialism, the British Empire, war and migration. 

Get inspiration for your project

Explore the projects below and find out more about applying for our funding.

Practical workshop at Manchester Museum
Practical workshop at Manchester Museum

Projects

Passing on hobbies within the South Asian community

This intergenerational project engaged migrant women in sharing the hobbies they had enjoyed back home in the sixties and seventies, ensuring these pastimes weren't lost forever.

A person wearing ear protection stands behind brightly coloured threads.
Ribbon Weaver at Wyedean Weaving Company. Credit: Tim Smith.

Projects

Lost Mills and Ghost Mansions

This oral history project captured the unheard voices of Bradford’s textile mill workers to celebrate the area’s rich industrial heritage.

A group of six women standing side by side with raised tea cups in their hands

Projects

You, Me and Tea

Exploring Northern Ireland’s association with tea, its trade links with India and China, and bringing diverse communities together.

A horse looking over a fence in front of a group of people sitting in a field
Connecting with the landscape. Credit: Jemma Treweek.

Projects

Connecting people and nature on the South Downs

Changing Chalk is restoring rare chalk grassland and helping local communities reconnect with the area’s rich natural and cultural heritage.

Three people working on the Roma Heritage Project.
The Europia team working on the Roma Heritage Project. Photo: Joanna Rajs.

Projects

Exploring and recording Manchester’s Roma heritage

The Roma Heritage Project will work with local people in Manchester to share traditional dishes and record oral histories from Roma communities.

The left side of the image shows a traditional Traveller wagon, painted with decorative designs, and the right side of the image shows a man leading a pony and trap which a girl is riding
The project held an outdoor fair-style event in June 2023.

Projects

Roma and Irish Travellers: A Shared Story

People from different cultures and backgrounds came together for workshops and celebration events about Roma and Irish Traveller cultural heritage organised by Armagh Roma Traveller Support.

Group of people standing outdoors in front of industrial heritage
Roma community visiting industrial heritage in the South Wales valleys.

Projects

Bringing to life Roma stories in Newport, South Wales

The Roma of Newport, South Wales project is recording and sharing the personal stories, culture and heritage of the area’s Roma community.

Three musicians with guitars and an accordion and four women dancers wearing traditional Eastern European dress.
Romane Cierhenia are a family group of Roma musicians and dancers from Poland.

Projects

Roma Empowerment Through Heritage

This pilot project trained volunteers including young Roma people to record heritage and ran a Roma cultural heritage festival.

An Asian brass band, with musicians and dancers dressed in colourful clothes, walking down a path in front of a stately home
An Indian brass band was part of the celebrations at Wentworth Woodhouse's outdoor family event, WE Wonder, in 2023.

Stories

Turning a stately home into a ‘house of opportunity’

How one project has successfully engaged its community with their local heritage and created benefits beyond just visiting.
Three black people take part in a workshop on black history. All three people have dark skin of various shades, the focus of the image is a woman holding a magazine with black people on the cover
A Rebel Curators workshop at M Shed in October 2024. Andreann Asibey (left), Jazz Thompson (middle) and Bandele Iyapo (right). Photo: Julz Davis.

Blogs

Rebel Curators: reclaiming narratives of slavery at Bristol’s M-Shed

Co-creation with the African-Caribbean community, made possible with £70,000 in National Lottery funding, is another step towards including their perspectives in telling Bristol’s history.
A group of black people pose for a photo including a woman
Marie-Claire Kofi, seated right, hopes her organisation's project will empower people who have sickle cell disease.

Projects

Sickle Cell Stories - Then and Now: Plasma of Hope

The Sickle Cell Stories project is capturing and sharing stories of sickle cell disease in the west midlands, paving the way for positive change.

Two people of Chinese heritage play a drum in a procession, while people in the background hold placards with photos of Chinese relatives
Ancestral Futures by Eelyn Lee and collaborators, commissioned by Dig Where You Stand. Photo: Anh Do.

Stories

How artists can uncover hidden histories and fill gaps in the archives

South Yorkshire project Dig Where You Stand invited creatives to explore the often overlooked and poorly documented evidence of people from diverse ethnic communities across the area's history.

If you query is regarding our application portal, please contact our support team.