The BBC exists to represent the whole of the UK. Because we are funded by everyone via the licence fee we must make programmes that educate, entertain and inform all our audiences.

This means whatever your interest in music, be it classical, pop or folk; whatever you taste in television, be it drama, documentary or entertainment; and whatever you enjoy reading about online, be it news, sport or simply the weather we need to make sure we’re making programmes and content that reflect your interests.

But in order to do this it is important that we draw our staff from across the UK and from a wide range of backgrounds. Not least because there is a real danger that if we only employ staff from a narrow section of society we miss out on a huge range of creative ideas and creative thinking.

Put simply if we’re not getting the electric charge of creativity from people with a variety of different experiences in life, we will not be doing as well as we can do in delivering great things for audiences who pay the licence fee.

This is deeply important to me personally because of my own experience. I grew up in Stockton-on-Tees and as a teenager developed a real passion for classical music. I discovered it through Woolworths and the BBC and have benefited personally ever since.

I am also someone who was told when growing up by a person in authority that the ‘Arts’ were not for the likes of me because of my background – a boy with working class parents. I’d be expected to do something else.

Well, thanks to enlightened encouragement and luck I didn’t and I’m doing a job that is about bringing the greatest music and culture – including Classical Music – to as broad an audience as possible – one of the core aims of the BBC. So when I was asked to sponsor this review of career progression and culture at the BBC by Tony Hall I felt strongly that this was important for the organisation and our future.

As part of the review we asked The Social Mobility Foundation to work with us and examine the data that the BBC has already collected on social economic background of its staff.

They found some positive steps (particularly around our efforts to open up the BBC to a wide range of applicants at entry level and the recent work we’ve done with trainees and apprenticeships) however they also felt that our existing workforce wasn’t as diverse as it could be and we weren’t doing enough to help progression amongst staff from lower socio-economic backgrounds once they were at the BBC.

We also spoke to our staff to understand their thoughts. We heard from people up and down the UK who worked in a wide variety of roles. This was important because it gave us a better understanding of how we could improve and change cultural factors that might not be apparent from merely studying the data we’d collected.

We then looked at what we could do to improve things. For example we think that the BBC should offer at least 70% of places on apprenticeships, traineeships, internships and work experience for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We will also support BBC Recruitment in their review of process and procedures with a focus on inclusive hiring to include socio-economic diversity measures in their work.

Internally we’ll be running an in-depth review of all the BBC’s divisions with low socio-economic diversity and introduce 12-month action plans in these areas. As well as ensuring that inclusive culture training is rolled out to team managers across the organisation. We’re also announcing a number of other changes which you can read about in the review itself.

Changing the culture will take time but it is clear the will is there at the top of the organisation and there is an enthusiasm across it for us to lead the way and make a difference. In the end this is a hard-nosed choice: it will ensure we are a better and more creative organisation, better able to reflect all the talents and interests of the population of this diverse country in which we live.

We’ll make better stuff for audiences and tell stories in a more authentic way – whether that is drama or the delivery of news. That’s what the BBC is all about.

When Justin Trudeau was asked why it was so important to him to have a gender balanced cabinet, his answer was simple: “Because it’s 2015”. The Canadian Prime Minister was making the point bluntly that it’s impossible for organisations that represents society to pay lip service to diversity. This is as true for the BBC as any other public body. In fact it’s doubly important for the BBC because it directly helps inform the kind of programmes we make.

The BBC should act as a mirror to the UK and a voice for the UK in the world. In the last year we’ve made programmes like Damilola: Our Loved Boy, The Boy With The Topknot, Three Girls, and Keeping Faith - four very different dramas about four very different communities around the UK. But all with important stories to tell and an ability to connect with the audience.

We know our audience expect to see and hear programmes about the world they see around them. Put simply - it’s the BBC’s job to represent all the UK’s communities, in their rich variety, stretching from the inner cities to the outer Hebrides.

In order to do this our workforce needs to represent these communities. In 1971 only 2% of the UK was made up of non-white people, today it's around 14%. It is estimated that by 2030 that the proportion will be closer to 20% of the total UK population. We need to be able to adapt and change to reflect this.

We’ve made progress in this area already - setting tough targets to ensure that we have a representative mix of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and staff with disabilities within our workforce. Of course in many places in the UK we are the only national broadcaster employing staff and we have recently significantly developed our apprentice and trainee schemes - ensuring that we recruit from as many different communities as possible.

However we also recognise that we have further to go. The last year has seen a new focus on diversity at public and private bodies. Kickstarted by the #metoo movement and an important public debate over gender pay at the BBC and other organisations there has been a recognition that if we are to make serious long-term changes then more radical action has to be taken. The gender pay figures published earlier this year show that many other organisations are in a similar or worse position.

It was because of this that earlier this year the Director-General Tony Hall set up a series of reviews to look at the culture and progression within the organisation. There would be five reviews looking at gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation and social mobility - and crucially they would be staff driven. Each review would be staffed by BBC employees from across the UK who had direct experience of the issues being discussed. They would have the freedom to recommend whatever they felt was needed to improve the opportunities the BBC could offer.

Today we’re publishing the first of those reviews, looking at what more can be done to improve the representation of staff from a black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) background. I was the Programme Director for the project and it’s fair to say that during the process, we’ve heard some difficult things and had to confront some challenging issues. But it’s led to some bold recommendations which we think will make a real difference.

The recommendations include the BBC Executive Committee and Divisional Leadership Teams each having at least two BAME members by the end of 2020. All shortlists for senior jobs should include at least one BAME person; and there should also be increased BAME representation across interview panels. We’ll develop action plans for all divisions with less than 10% BAME representation or below par employee survey results to ensure they take action to address this. We are also introducing cultural awareness training for all team managers across the BBC to ensure we can create a culture where all employees feel able to give their best work.

The review team felt that significant change was needed and I’m glad to say the BBC’s Executive Committee agreed and has adopted all our recommendations. It’s now that the hard work begins - putting these commitments into practice and ensuring that we have an organisation that is recognised across the UK as an example of good practice. The other reports will deliver their findings between now and the Autumn - and I expect a similar level of ambition in all of them.

This hasn’t always been an easy or comfortable process for the BBC - but everyone on the Executive Board believes it’s the right thing to do. It will be better for the BBC, better for our staff and most importantly better for our audiences.

Recently, I made a digital video on my experiences as a disabled tube user in London, which aired on BBC News and on current affairs television shows (as well as getting over 500,000 views on social media and the BBC News website). I also wrote a piece about how I viewed the reporting around Stephen Hawking's death as a disabled person, which got over 600,000 views.

In society at large, my disability is often a barrier in accessing resources that I need to live and, yes, let's not be shy about it: even in 2018, all too often ones disability is what defines oneself in the public eye. Yes, this can lead to prejudicial attitudes, stigma, and people being afraid to engage with disabled people socially or in society at large.

I grew up on Merseyside in northern England and went to a mainstream primary school and a comprehensive secondary school on a former council estate. I was sometimes advised to take "easier" subjects on account of my disability. Fortunately, I persisted: I studied the subjects I wanted to. I went on to university and to get my dream job here at the BBC.

At the BBC, my condition has not been a barrier in any way shape or form. The support I’ve received here from day one it’s been absolutely fantastic.

The corporation provided me with excellent assistive technology that allows me to do my job just as well, if not better than, many of my fellow journalists. It's things like voice to text technology that that allow me to write my articles faster as I'm a one fingered one-handed typist owing to my condition. I have the most wonderful Bluetooth-enabled technology that allows me to be able to hear my colleagues in meetings, as oftentimes, when one is working in busy, noisy newsroom, it can be quite difficult to hear one's colleagues.

Journalism is about telling stories: we all have powerful stories to tell about ourselves, our friends, our families, and our communities. That is why, if you believe you have a story to tell and can tell it in a powerful, engaging way, I would urge you to apply to the BBC.

This is a place for everyone, you can work for the BBC and you can make the BBC work for you.

Ellis Palmer, Journalist, BBC News (World Online)

Applications for BBC Arabic's AimHigh close on Sunday 22 April 2018

• Find out more about BBC Arabic AimHigh on the Media Centre
• Visit the AimHigh website
• Apply at the AimHigh application page

Twenty-six year old Nicola was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at the age of two. She is one of eight disabled job seekers whose stories are told in BBC Two’s Employable Me to take on the (seemingly impossible) challenge of finding employment. Nicola has a first-class honours degree in Multimedia Journalism and although she relies on her walking frame and lives with frequent pain, she is willing to do whatever it takes to prove to employers she’s got what it takes to be offered a full-time job. On the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities Nicola reflects on her Employable Me experience.

If you had asked me a year ago about my life with cerebral palsy I’d have told you that it impacts on my movement and ability to get around. I would have probably told that there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t hurt because of my disability, and if you’d asked me in the right way I might have owned up to the fact that this gets me down sometimes. One thing I most definitely wouldn’t have accepted is that I feel my CP might be part of reason I haven’t had a job that wasn't freelance or an internship since I got my first-class honours degree five years ago.

Today though, I’d give you the real answers. More often than not my pain is so bad I wish I could remove various body parts, and I find the journey to a job interview far more nerve-wracking and difficult than the interview itself.

So, you may ask, what’s changed? It’s certainly not my disability. That’s life-long.

What's changed is me. For the past year I’ve been filmed for the second series of Employable Me on BBC Two. What started out for me as my way of raising awareness to help others, having long-since given up on my own job prospects, turned into the most important personal journey of my life.

For as long as I can remember, people have written me off; told me I would never do X or Y because of my disability, and I’ve always, always, proven them wrong, until my failed job hunt. My disability has never stopped me doing anything in my life (apart from being able to tie my shoelaces) and I absolutely did not want it to be reason for my unemployment. I wanted my failure to be as a result of something I can control.

I shielded the people who could give me a job from the reality of my cerebral palsy, but there is no way I could shield them from the electric blue walking frame or how unsteady I am on my feet. They’re going to be the first things people see when they see me. And, let’s be honest, they’re going to make some people nervous.

With Employable Me I had to lay it all out on the table, and people were okay with it. I was okay with it. No one told me I couldn’t do something, they just told me not to make life harder for myself. They gave me permission I didn’t know I was looking for.

This is one of the reasons I’m glad my episode airs on 4 December, the day after the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December). This year’s theme is inspiring disabled people to raise awareness and cause change. I feel like my story shows the importance of that and makes people able to do the same, Otherwise I’d keep my struggles to myself still and not give myself the chance to lessen them.

I won’t say that Employable Me saved my life, but it did save me from myself.

Nicola Golding is a writer who features in BBC Two's Employable Me.

Catch up with Nicola’s story on BBC iPlayer.

BBC Two’s Employable Me continues on Monday on BBC Two at 9pm.

A new CBeebies series with a difference launches on Monday 2nd October, its central character and voice cast are all on the autism spectrum. Pablo is a significant show for CBeebies - reflecting our desire to be as inclusive as possible and cementing our ‘Everyone's Welcome’ campaign.

Pablo has been a true collaboration between CBeebies and RTEjr and is something only we would do - empowering young people with autism to tell their own stories and perform them. Every episode is grounded in their real-life experiences, bringing their ideas and perspectives to life in an honest and humorous way. I have such respect for the team at Paper Owl Films for creating this distinctive and authentic series which will resonate with so many families.

This week there was an official launch for Pablo in Belfast before Monday's TV premiere. Head Writer Andrew Brenner was joined on stage by fellow writers Sumita Majumdar, Tony Finnegan, Michael White, Rosie King and Paul Isaacs who talked about how they see the world in different ways and how their experiences became the inspiration for Pablo's adventures.

They shared the experiences which led to stories like 'The Super Place', where the supermarket is an overwhelming environment where objects cry out for attention. Or 'The Aroma', in which an unusual smell becomes a swirling character which makes it hard to think or speak.

Andrew explained how this process of collaboration threw up so many stories that were completely new and unexpected - and yet, stories which will be so relatable to our pre-school audiences. It was wonderful to see the creative talent which makes Pablo genuinely original, and thoroughly entertaining.

Kay Benbow is Controller, CBeebies

Pablo starts on CBeebies on Monday 2 October

• Read also At BBC Children’s 'Everyone’s Welcome'

What have windscreen wipers, computer software, stem cell isolation and dishwashers got in common? Give up? They were all invented by women. Sadly I’ve no prize to offer those who know their female inventors but it does set the scene for 2017’s 100 Women Season.

It’s five years since our first BBC 100 Women season and we’ve always tried to refresh the structure and format of 100 Women but this year we decided to really go rogue.

The message we’ve been hearing loud and clear from women across our audiences is that they want action. 100 Women shouldn’t be just talking about issues anymore; it should also look at doing something about them. So this year we need your ideas to tackle some of the biggest issues facing women today.

Taking a look at solutions is not something new for us. The BBC has been exploring offering more solution based journalism over the last couple of years; introducing the reporting of responses to problems alongside the problems themselves. It means not only looking at what has happened but how to improve things in the future.

100 Women has been building up to this. In 2015 we hosted 150 debates in 10 languages and 30 countries and last year people added 450 deserving but over-looked women to Wikipedia and now in 2017 we're taking it to a whole new level of participation.

The 100 Women Challenge will bring together some of the best and brightest women in their field to work on finding solutions to four issues which are holding women back across the world; the glass ceiling; female illiteracy; harassment in public spaces; and sexism in sport.

Our approach, we hope, will take solutions journalism to a new frontier. This won’t be a season just reporting on people and companies who have invented innovative ways to tackle issues. This will challenge teams of women to develop, design and create a product or campaign live over the course of a week.

The challenge begins in San Francisco on Monday October 2nd with the first team looking at breaking through the glass ceiling. The next team will be based in Delhi, tackling female illiteracy (October 9th - 13th). Then we’ll be in London where a team will try to improve safety on public transport with inspiration from women based in Nairobi (October 16th-21st), highlighting the global nature of the issues. And finally for the fourth week it’s off to Rio de Janeiro beat sexism in sport (October 23rd – 28th). There will be live updates throughout each week on our dedicated website page with all the hard work captured by World Service Radio and on BBC World News TV.

But they can’t do it on their own and that’s where you all come in. What are your experiences – they could provide inspiration for our teams. Have you come across something that has helped you, your friends, family or colleagues beat the issue in your community – perhaps it could work elsewhere? Do you know someone who’s managed to make a change? We want to hear about it.

It's going to be exciting but also a bit nerve-racking to see what these talented 100 will come up with and if they can pull it off in a month. Join us to find out.

Fiona Crack is Editor, BBC 100 Women.

• Find out more at the BBC 100 Women website
• Follow @BBC100Women on twitter
• Read the press release about the 100 Women Challenge on the BBC Media Centre website

Julie Shaw, Kalpna Patel-Knight, Sarah Asante and Beejal-Maya Patel (L-R above) have begun a two-year opportunity on the BBC’s Commissioner Development Programme.

The programme equips talented senior people from groups under-represented in TV to compete for future commissioning roles - at the BBC and across the industry, by offering experience of the commissioning cycle, training, coaching and networking opportunities.

It is part of the BBC’s drive to increase diversity at all levels and ensure a wider range of voices and experiences are heard when decisions are made about the programmes shown on the BBC.

Sarah Asante, Beejal-Maya Patel, Kalpna Patel-Knight and Julie Shaw who make up the cohort are described by the BBC‘s Content Director Charlotte Moore as "candidates with experience, passion, unique and exciting perspectives – exactly what the television industry needs from the next generation of commissioners."

This is the second time the BBC has run the programme. Fatima Salaria, now the BBC’s Commissioning Editor for Religion and Ethics and part of the first programme, met with the new cohort to talk about what they can expect and shares her experiences and thoughts on the programme below.

Looking back at my time on the BBC’s Commissioner Development programme I’m grateful for the opportunities it gave me. On the programme, I was encouraged to participate in championing important ideas and stories that speak to everyone in today’s UK – I’ve seen them go through the commissioning cycle and come to life on the BBC.

It’s been fantastic to meet Sarah, Beejal-Maya, Kalpna and Julie. I’m glad they are taking part in this training at such an important time in the industry. 

The BBC is working hard to increase diverse portrayal, on air and behind the scenes. Commissioners and programme makers are asking 'How can we tell this story differently?' 'How can we make this relevant to a wider audience?' and 'Is our casting right?' The result is shows which are as brilliant, creative and diverse as BBC audiences expect, like those that made up the Black and British season, The Hip Hop World News and The Instant Gardener.

The programme was created to support experienced TV professionals like me, from groups that are under-represented in broadcasting.  The aim is to make sure different perspectives are heard in the commissioning process, and that people from a range of backgrounds have the experience to compete for the top jobs in the future.  

The BBC is more diverse now than it’s ever been, with an increasing variety of programmes to serve all of its audiences.  We all know there is more that can be done to become more diverse and the programme is one way to do this. Continuing it across the industry and in partnership with the Creative Skills Network is such an important thing to do, because it’s making a real difference. 

On a personal level, it’s helped me to make an important leap at a key point in my career. I’ve learned how to think and act as a leader and decision maker. This, along with honing new editorial and commissioning skills and the boost to my professional confidence from exposure to those at the very top of the BBC, has been transformative. My proudest moment was my involvement in Muslims Like Us, a truly ground-breaking programme for BBC Two.

My advice to Sarah, Beejal-Maya, Kalpna and Julie is to have confidence in their ability and point of view.  I hope they make the same leap I did and wish them every success.

More about this cohort of the BBC’s Commissioner Development Programme:

Sarah Asante joins BBC Comedy Commissioning and has a background as a Digital Content Editor at the BBC, developing content from talent including Humza Arshad and comedy pilots and shorts. The programme Sarah would love to have commissioned is Orange Is The New Black, because of its many “laugh-out-loud funny moments and the most amazingly diverse cast… I love everything about it”. Sarah would like to see more BBC programmes that “really, really make fun of the BBC, like W1A” as well as more cheeky animation. Sarah looks forward to the training she will get on the programme and the prospect of seeing “people that look and sound like me across the table when producers come to pitch.”

Beejal-Maya Patel joins BBC Documentaries Commissioning and has produced a range of factual programmes for all of the major channels, including the BAFTA-winning Educating Essex. One commission Beejal-Maya admires is BBC Two’s Exodus (which looked at the issue of migrants travelling to the UK) because “it’s a programme that went beyond the headlines on a subject that’s really timely and matters in this country today.”  She would love to see more programmes on TV that do this, bringing unheard voices from across the UK to the screen. 

Beejal-Maya applied for the BBC Commissioner Development programme to help her ambitions to move into commissioning with the support of the training it provides.

Kalpna Patel-Knight joins BBC Entertainment Commissioning and was formerly Head of Entertainment at Possessed working on a range of shows including 5 Gold Rings with Philip Schofield. She would love to have commissioned BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing, and to have spotted the potential of ballroom to become appointment viewing for the family, not to mention a worldwide success, “who would have thought that Ballroom Dancing would be shown every Saturday night in people’s living rooms? It was such a big risk - and what a risk worth taking.”

Julie Shaw joins BBC Daytime and worked on news features for Channel 4, the BBC and ITV, before joining ITV flagship Tonight with Trevor McDonald. The commission Julie would love to have made is Channel 4’s SAS Who Dares Wins because “it’s the sort of programme that’s normally put down as being a male-skewed programme - but I think there’s probably a lot of women out there that love it as well”. Julie knew as a child that she wanted to tell stories that shape the world and believes there is a huge amount of untapped creative talent in the UK and says “it would be brilliant to just capture more of that on camera.”

• Find out more about the  BBC’s Commissioner Development programme

The Break returns to BBC Three Sunday 12 February with five new original short film monologues by up-and-coming writers.The Break II is an exciting collaboration between BBC Writersroom and BBC Drama Production to make five original short monologues for BBC Three, written by up-and-coming BAME writing talent from across the UK.

Here one of the directors, Nour Wazzi talks about her experience marshalling two of the short films: Maya Sondhi’s The Package, Chino Odimba’s Scotch Bonnett.

I was thrilled when the BBC first contacted me to come in for a meeting. After spending years trying to get my voice heard, it felt rewarding to have a broadcaster like the BBC reach out to me. Rejections are a big part of this industry so it’s all the more gratifying when something good happens that recognises you in some way.

I’d made a couple of Film London backed shorts and recently completed a short thriller to showcase my versatility. This led to BBC Producer Rachelle Constant seeing my work and championing me. I’m immensely grateful to her for giving me this chance. This would be my first paid narrative job as a Director, and it felt good not to be working for free for once!

Going to my first meeting at the Beeb, everyone made me feel at home. They called me back to pitch on 10 shorts. This was an amazing opportunity as I was given the space and time to give my take on each project. The hilarious, honest and heart-breaking Scotch Bonnett by the talented Chino Odimba and the touching, suspense-filled The Package by the incredible Maya Sondhi were eventually selected for me.

Being a thriller The Package was closer to my sensibilities than the comedy of Scotch Bonnett’. However as an Arab living in the UK, I connected with Scotch Bonnett’s central theme of identity and found a way to make it personal. Chino was clear with what she wanted to convey, and I wanted to best interpret her vision. Script development mainly dealt with progression of character and my desire to break from the monologue to visualise key moments. In the end Chino was onboard with this more eye-catching direction and we all felt it helped add dynamicm to the film as a whole. 

At the start, The Package was a very different film and like the other chosen four in the series was a monologue to camera. As with Scotch Bonnett, I’d suggested a more cinematic take on the story, but it would require a complete rewrite of the script and no monologue. I was ecstatic when Maya and the BBC went with my direction. Even though TV is a writer’s medium, Maya was very open-minded and nailed it on the first redraft. I just love the central message of this film, which comes at a very pertinent time.

We were fortunate to have the unyielding support of the hardworking team behind Doctors, allowing us to use their sets, props and crew. We were also lucky to have BAFTA nominee Tony Miller BSC as Cinematographer on board. Plus I had Rachelle and Executive Producer Anne Edyvean in my corner. They were with me all the way - on set, in the edit, grade and sound mix. 

In terms of process, after I’d done my in-depth scene prep, I broke down my shots and moved to the floor plans. I use a brilliant app called ‘Shot Designer’ that I’d recommend to all directors – it keeps my shots, floorplans, location refs and storyboards (by Dan Schaefer) in one unified place to easily convey my vision to all departments.  

One of my favourite parts of the process was the casting and rehearsals. The casting sessions helped figure out which lines and intentions worked and which ones needed to be tweaked. I had a great time bringing the characters to life with Leonie Elliott and James Floyd. They each brought something unique to the table and were a pleasure to work with. We got on so well I convinced them both to rehearse at my home - which I’ve never done before. I’d recommend it as it further personalised the rehearsal process and meant we had an instant rapport on set.

With unit moves, night-time lighting set-ups and a low loader, there would not be a lot of time to get the coverage I wanted. We had one day per film and only nine hours on set (continuous day) – we’d lose at least three hours on moves and set-ups so I’d be lucky to have six actual shooting hours. I needed my bases covered before I stepped on set, so I prioritised key shots and scheduled their shooting order. I’ve been first AD (Assistant Director) on a number of shorts and a couple of features over the last few years so I like being in control of my own schedule. I also had a brilliant Line Producer Trudy Coleman who bent over backwards to help me achieve my vision.  

I had a terrific post-production team with Molinare, graphics by Mr Kaplin and offline editor Abo Talooni. The edit was the most challenging process and we made bold choices. There was a lot of experimentation in Scotch Bonnett and with a steer from the execs we ended up disruptive, punchy and fun with the edit. Working on the music (with composer David Saunders) was quite a process of exploration to find a place everyone was happy with.

The Package was about cutting back – assembly was 10mins long and we ended up losing half of it! I would’ve liked to draw out a few moments but you always need to make hard choices. We were really pleased we could include great music from Adele, Jungle, Skepta and AWOLNATION.

Even though you never have enough time, I love the feeling of being on set and the need to think on your feet - it’s the one place I feel truly liberated. I finally let go, place trust in my cast and crew and allow my instinct to kick in. You pick your battles and there are always hitches along the way but often the best things come from the unexpected and this was no exception.

Overall, the opportunity to direct for The Break II has been terrific, and I hope it will open a few doors. Everyone’s intentions were always in the right place and they went above and beyond to make them happen. This kind of dedication can be the difference between a good or bad production.

I wish there were more platforms like The Break to help emerging BAME writers and directors to showcase their work. The BBC have done an excellent job and provided a much-needed opportunity for all of us to be seen and heard. It’s a tough business that’s not for the faint-hearted, and we can use all the help we can get!  

Nour Wazzi is a director for The Break II

• The Break will be available to watch from 12 February (one film per week) from 12 February at 6pm on BBC Three and Youtube. 
• Find out more and watch interviews with the creative teams on the Writersroom website.

Auld Lang Syne may be a poem that is over 200 years old but it continues to be a feature of celebrations around the world on New Year’s Eve. This year we’ve created a special spoken recording of the poem that includes some of the BBC’s radio voices to showcase the range and diversity of our services across the UK and around the globe.

The BBC is reaching and serving an ever more diverse audience - operating in over 30 languages andwith radio services reaching over 150 million people in the UK and around the world every year.

The video is designed to be a simple celebration, so only a fraction of the BBC’s radio services are included.

The voices include presenters from our UK language services:

BBC Alba and BBC Cymru - CathyMacDonald and Aled Hughes)
BBC Scotland - Bryan Burnett
BBC Wales - Eleri Sion
BBC Northern Ireland - Kerry McLean
BBC Newcastle - Alfie Joey
BBC York - Richard Stead
BBC West Midlands - Adrian Goldberg
BBC Hindi - Neha Bhatnagar
BBC Arabic - Adel Soliman
BBC Chinese Service - Howard Zhang.
Radio 1xtra - A. Dot
Radio 4’s - John Humphrys 

The BBC is proud to be able to serve and represent such a wide and diverse audience. New Year is traditionally a time when people come together to celebrate and this video seemed a perfect way to do that.

Ken MacQuarrie is Director, Nations and Regions

The purpose of Media on the Move, which was held in partnership with Travellers’ Times and the Rural Media Company, was to encourage more informed coverage by the media through offering a rare chance to meet individuals from that community, outside of an immediate production or news environment. There was also the opportunity for people from the community to increase their understanding of how the media works by talking to reporters, producers, scriptwriters and the like.

This was the second in a series of conferences aimed at bringing BBC staff closer to communities they portray – the first was ‘Who Benefits? TV & Poverty’.

During the day, we shared a passion for story-telling, we also shared our ideas of what good and responsible portrayal of the community in the media should look like.

There were surprises on both sides – for those from the media, a first hand account of what it feels like to be on the other end of a harsh radio interview from Travellers’ Times Editor-at-Large, Damian LeBas: “I’ve had some really tough experiences on local radio. More than the presumption that we’re all the same, it’s the presumption that we can take anything and it’s not going to hurt us if you have someone, for example, accusing us of incredibly disgusting racial stereotypes.’

Damian also spoke about media perceptions of Travellers as transient, different from ‘residents’: “In fact, we are deeply entwined with the geography of the country and not just parachuted in. He backed this up by sharing the history and culture of the community through poetry and a stunningly beautiful film The Oldest Show on the Road. It was erudite, fascinating, inspiring, moving – a history I’d never heard before, and I don’t think many of my BBC colleagues had either.

Understandably, this was the first time many members of the community had been to the BBC. One comment was: "I wasn’t sure what to expect to be honest and I was nervous but I knew if Travellers’ Times was involved it would be safe for us, but there was no need to be nervous, I felt so welcomed and confident and listened to – and no one ever listens to us, please thank everyone at the BBC for making us feel so important."

As the conference progressed, it became apparent that this community is taking hold of the media in its own right, telling stories from their own point of view, often driven by anger and frustration at media stereotyping. Editor of Travellers’ Times Mike Doherty  introduced members of the community who were doing just that.

Betty Billington, whose family had lived for 300 years in Christchurch, Dorset, got fed up with stories in the local press about unlawful encampments and rubbish. She set up a local group involving the local authority, investigated the sources of these (inaccurate) stories and started to pitch new and different stories about the community to the local newspaper editor.

Sherrie Smith went on a media course, originally with the idea of making videos to teach floristry online to Gypsies and Travellers, part of her business. She’s gone on to write articles about the things that are important to her – things she wants everyone to know about: “I’ve written about a little Gypsy girl who wins beauty pageants, I’ve written about racism, I’ve written about the Romany resistance in Auschwitz." Sherry is just about to launch a website for reporting Romany hate crime.

And there were many other examples of this community making and changing the media – perhaps now owning the news themselves in same way as Thomas McCarthy’s forefathers did walking the paths of Ireland.

Diane Reid is Head of BBC Outreach & Corporate Responsibility