Accommodating Diversity in Northern Ireland: Elected Representatives and Minority Ethnic Communities

The aim of the research project discussed in this short paper is to examine the attitudes of elected representatives and political parties in Northern Ireland towards minority ethnic communities. The project seeks to ascertain to what extent elected representatives/ political parties in Northern Ireland are engaged with minority ethnic communities. In particular, it examines the frequency and nature of contact that elected representatives have with minority ethnic communities and individuals. At the same time, the research seeks to explore the views of elected representatives on how they see their role in identifying and addressing the concerns and issues of minority ethnic communities. In this context the views of elected representatives/ political parties are examined on a range of different topics and concerns of relevance to minority ethnic communities, including: racist attacks; migration; political representation; voting; and ‘good practice’ (i.e. guidelines and criteria for engaging with minority ethnic communities), amongst others