Mission statement

About besea.n - Britain’s East and South East Asian Network

besea.n is a volunteer-led, community focused organisation, whose mission is to empower, educate and embrace East and South East Asian (ESEA) communities in the UK. 

Our advocacy spotlights ESEA experiences through our platforms and events - providing a safe space for sharing knowledge, creating joy and fostering connections. 

ESEA folk are underrepresented in the British media, on screen, in creative spaces and in positions of power. Much of our current media representation is negative or centres around the social construct of race, drawing on clichéd tropes that often denigrate, fetishise or Orientalise the subjects. ESEAs are regularly left out of public discourse around Asians in Britain, and the diverse demographics are poorly defined, usually relegated to the dreaded ‘BAME’ moniker or perhaps even ‘Asian - Other’.

Enter besea.n. 

Our core aims

We strive towards better inclusion for ESEA people in the UK, through a multi-faceted approach that advocates across various axes, such as media, education and community organising. We believe that the way to tackle discrimination and racism is through a multi-pronged approach that looks at the social and systemic drivers behind inequality – recognising the inequalities that are faced by all marginalised groups, and working together in solidarity. We recognise that surface level representation does not fix the social issues that many of our communities face, and we advocate for nuanced conversations around intersectionality, institutional violence and inequality.

We aim to:

  • Provide resources and consultations to help individuals, organisations and businesses to celebrate ESEA cultures respectfully and identifying ways to combat erasure

  • Offer active bystander training sessions, through our partnership with charity Protection Approaches, to organisations and individuals, to help them support others during situations of identity based violence

  • Hold our institutions to account and advocate for greater inclusion of our communities’ causes and experiences

  • Work with other social justice organisations to raise awareness and take more concrete action in tackling rising hate crime and social inequality faced by ESEA people

  • Challenge stereotypes surrounding ESEA people and celebrate the diversity that makes our different communities so vibrant

  • Establish a supportive community for ESEA in the UK people to share experiences, knowledge and connections

  • Support and empower ESEA people to engage and mobilise for other important global struggles

  • Use our website, social media and podcast platforms to shine a light on ESEA topics, organisations and businesses, and amplify community voices

  • Spread joy. We wholeheartedly believe that joy is an active form of resistance and we invite our community members to cultivate #ESEAJoy wherever they can!

We stand for everyone

Our organisation stands in solidarity with all marginalised groups and does not tolerate racism in any form. We are committed to educating ourselves on topics outside our areas of expertise and we always welcome collaboration and dialogue from other communities.

The besea.n space strives for inclusion of all ESEA people in the UK, not just those who are British-born. We believe that variety is the spice of life - so grab a drink, bring some snacks, and come on into the kitchen.

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