Founders’ Day Eve dinner 8th July 2025 Our Chairperson Julie Begum was welcomed to the event as a recent recipient of an Honorary Fellowship and enjoyed sitting at dinner and finding out more about your time at Queen Mary as…
Spotlight: Forest Gate Freedom Walk, 14 June 2025 A historical journey of black and Asian presence in the beautiful Forest Gate area, celebrating freedom and community spirit! The Forest Gate Freedom Walk looked at the struggles of a multi-ethnic,…
Spotlight: Community Celebration with Kensington Palace, 13 August 2025 The Community Celebration event celebrated the themes of community, friendship, celebration and unity. Julie Begim – The Swadhinata Trust ran a Nakshi Kantha workshop between 12-6pm on 13th August 3025…
Spotlight: Brick Lane Curry Festival Walks, 19/20 September 2025 The Swadhinata Trust conducted a Bengali heritage walk for the participants of Brick Lane Curry Festival ending at Kobi Nazrul Centre, where participants were treated to refreshments, viewed heritage films…
Bengali Photo Archive The Swadhinata Trust, in partnership with Four Corners, launched the Bengali photo archive project in East London in 2022. In 2026, the archive was deposited in the Tower Hamlets Local History Library and Archives. The…
As a part of Season of Bangla Drama 2025 Spotlight: Bengali East End Guided History Walk, 13 November 2025 This walk was for those interested in Bengali migration and settlement in the East End of London.…
Spotlight: Altab Ali Day, 4 May 2025 Tower Hamlets commemorated Altab Ali Day with tributes and a call to action against racism on 4 May to observe the annual Altab Ali Day, honouring the memory of Altab Ali and marking…
Freedom Walk – Whitechapel Our friend Peter Ashan will be exploring the history of black loyalists in the 18th century, black writers, the Bengali squatters movement and Asian footballers in East London. Please see booking link below:- https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/freedom-walk-whitechapel-tickets-1988849021963?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=wsa&aff=ebdsshwebmobile
Swadhinata Trust supported the application for Ayub Ali Master’s Plaque and after waiting many years it was finally unveiled, amongst others we were in attendance with five generations of Ayub Ali’s family where his grand daughter Parul Husain spoke eloquently…
Swadhinata Trustee Val Harding experience of 1971