Thursday 23 January 2025, 12.30pm - 2pm
We are delighted to announce our line-up of guest speakers for the ‘Exploring Cultural Experiences of Stigma’ webinar this month. Book your free ticket here and join us, Thursday 23 January 2025 from 12.30pm until 2pm
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Navraj Dhesi, founder of No More Pretending will host guest speakers: Ann Marie Sweeney, Aunee Bhogaita, Heewr Bag and Stella Kityo as they discuss how stigma of drug and alcohol use within some minoritised communities can create barriers to treatment, leading to poorer health outcomes and inequality of access to support needed.
Host: Navi Dhesi.
Navi is the founder of No More Pretending and recent founder of Nekta Drinks Ltd, as well as being a Consultant Security Architect. No More Pretending is a non-profit think tank and alcohol recovery advocacy group representing the voices of Punjabi communities, tackling the impact of alcohol within the community.
Speakers:
Ann Marie Sweeney
Recent winner of Intersectionality at the Traveller Pride Awards 2024, Ann Marie will talk about her own experiences of losing custody of her children, drug and alcohol dependence and time in prison to graduating from a number of college courses, regaining custody of her children and helping members of the Travelling community deal with their addiction issues.
Aunee Bhogaita
Public speaker and life coach specifically focusing on substance addictions, sexual abuse and domestic violence within the South Asian Community.
Heewr Bag
Through Heewr’s personal and professional experiences, he is committed to advocating for refugees, asylum seekers, and marginalised ethnic communities, as he strives to continue to work towards creating a more inclusive and supportive environment for these individuals, empowering them to overcome barriers and achieve their potential.
Stella Kityo
Development specialist | coach | speaker | group facilitator. Helping people to live authentically by design not by default. Stella has experience working with homelessness, youth work, domestic abuse, PWUD (people who use drugs), mental health, sex work and offending.
Aims of the webinar:
- Gain a deeper understanding into how stigma can manifest across diverse cultural contexts.
- Learn how intersecting identities (e.g., race, gender, sexuality, disability) influence experiences of stigma.
- Further explore the compounded effect of multiple stigmatised identities.
- Understanding the role of education, policy and community engagement in challenging stigma.
- Learn more about advocacy and inclusive practise to better support people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
- Critically reflect on your own cultural bias and how that translates into practise.
The Anti-Stigma Network aims to improve the understanding of the stigma and discrimination experienced by all people affected by drug and alcohol use. Created by a group of organisations with a shared mission, we aim to help coordinate and amplify the huge variety of existing anti-stigma work across the UK. Maximising our shared effort to take action to end stigma.
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