The Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy, known simply as EMMA, was established in 1997 by Bobby Sayed, with a vision of breaking down cultural ignorance and institutional racism within the media industry. Since launch, EMMA has ran many media campaigns redefining ‘multiculturalism’ and promoting PIM, or the power of inclusive multiculturalism. In 2010, advertising creative Ajab Samrai joined a collective of organisations to work with EMMA to prevent the far right candidate of the British National Party from being elected in Barking.
Anti-BNP Campaign
Early polls had shown that the BNP candidate was likely to win this seat by a considerable margin. Ajab Samrai worked on a series of promotional posters, a website and powerful online films drawing comparisons between the policies of the BNP and the actions of the Nazis, encouraging people to be careful and think about who they were voting for. The campaign resulted in the BNP candidate for Barking being soundly beaten in the 2010 election. The posters featured slogans such as ‘the ballot box hides an ugly face’ and ‘be careful who you vote for’, alongside Nazi symbolism such as the swastika image.
About EMMA
EMMA operates as a full-service media company in the UK, providing a comprehensive range of bespoke services to clients. EMMA also acts as a think-tank, providing seminars, training and expert consultancy for corporates and governments on dealing with inclusion. The foundation of these services is that inclusion makes communities stronger and businesses better.
The vision of founder Bobby Sayed was a future where humanity’s progression was aided by a breaking down of barriers, sparking a cultural revolution within the British media industry. As the media industry in the country has grown, so too have race and class been transcended, resulting in the creation of a global village. At EMMA, the philosophy is that people are defined by their character and nothing more.
In the short video attachment, you will find a definition of multiculturalism.
The EMMA Awards
The EMMA Awards was the first televised awards ceremony in Britain’s creative industry to define creativity through multiculturalism. The EMMA Awards were televised on BBC and ITV, celebrating those individuals who were moving away from cultural and racial stereotypes. EMMA has helped in the progression of London to become a major metropolitan hub, moving away from the consumer elite culture. The first EMMA Awards ceremony emphasising the need for everyone to recognise multiculturalism within the creative industry was held in 1998.
2012 Olympic Games
EMMA played a key role in branding the 2012 Olympic Games in London as a multicultural event, redefining the nation in the world’s eyes. Following the Olympics, Britain was viewed not so much from the traditional ‘Middle England’ standpoint, but as more of a cultural melting pot. This branding resulted in an increase in tourism in the UK of 12%, creating an additional £3.37 billion in revenue for the country.
Some more facts and figures about the London 2012 Olympics can be viewed in the embedded infographic.
The United Nations
The creative industry sector was recognised by the United Nations in 2004, as part of the UN Conference on Trade and Development. The creative industry was described at UNCTAD as one of the world economy’s most dynamic sectors, bringing developing countries new and exciting opportunities to jump into emerging areas of high economic growth.
More information about the work of the United Nations can be found in the PDF attachment to this post.