Intercultural Roots for Public Health
London United Kingdom
2018
About Intercultural Roots for Public Health
Intercultural Roots for Public Health (IR) Overview: Intercultural Roots for Public Health (IR) is a UK-based charitable organisation (CIO, turnover £228,000 2022-23) that empowers diverse, underrepresented communities to address environmental, social, and racial challenges through eco-arts initiatives. Established six years ago, IR has become a leader in driving ecological public health and social change by integrating arts, education, climate action, and technology. The organisation is dedicated to promoting equity, inclusion, and racial justice through community-based embodied practices and innovative technological solutions. Mission: IR’s mission is to support and amplify the voices of racially minoritised communities through intercultural eco-arts projects. These projects address social and environmental issues, nurture community cohesion, and promote sustainable change. By leveraging the powerful potential of arts, community and technology, IR creates inclusive platforms for marginalised voices to be heard, recognised, and valued. Key Focus Areas: Ecological Public Health: IR engages communities in responding to local environmental challenges through creative, eco-arts solutions. Social and Racial Justice: The organisation prioritises empowering racially minoritised communities, improving equity and inclusion in arts and culture. Innovative Technology: Through projects like EcoGPX, IR integrates technology to amplify underrepresented voices and foster community interaction and knowledge exchange. EcoGPX: Regenerative Wealth Transformation EcoGPX is one of IR’s flagship initiatives, combining community-led arts, innovative technology, and financial strategies to create significant ecological and social change. It operates across three core areas: 1. Community Engagement: Involving artists and residents in co-creation processes, such as storytelling, performance, and ecological art, to address local challenges. 2. Applied Arts Residencies: Place-based residencies that promote social justice, community resilience, and ecological health through creative workshops and forums. 3. Technological Innovation: The “PLACES by EcoGPX” mobile app allows artists to share their work while building community connections and ecological awareness. It promotes non-extractive, community-centred practices and challenges traditional financial and social media models. Impact and Reach: IR operates across over 35 countries with a network of 600+ practitioners. The EcoGPX initiative has already been successfully implemented in cities like Bradford and Coventry, with plans for expansion into other multicultural UK cities, including Birmingham, Manchester, and Leicester. IR’s leadership and staff are predominantly (over 75%) from racially minoritised backgrounds, ensuring that the organisation remains inclusive and representative of the communities it serves. Intercultural Roots supports the Arts Disability Network supporting the transitions that artists with disabilities and chronic health conditions need to make to remain in work and making great art. Alignment with The Hacking Wealth Challenge: Intercultural Roots for Public Health aligns with the principles of The Hacking Wealth Challenge by addressing entrenched wealth defence mechanisms. IR’s projects, particularly EcoGPX, subvert traditional financial models that prioritise profit over people, by redirecting funding towards community-based arts and ecological projects. Through applying innovative technologies like Boal Forum Theatre and the new "PLACES by EcoGPX" mobile app, IR redefines Return on Investment (ROI) to include social and environmental impact, promoting sustainable and regenerative, community-led change.
