This project has inspired me keep celebrating and improving diversity & inclusion in 2026!

From the C140 website. The photo was provided by the Singh family based in Ipswich.

Hello and welcome to 2026!

I hope you've started the year feeling rejuvenated.

I'm starting the year feeling reflective about a project from the past, which is also driving me to help create a better future.

In the run-up to the festive break, I enjoyed many catch-ups over coffees. During some of the chats – be they about community engagement or my cultural work – a project I previously worked on at Suffolk Chamber of Commerce repeatedly popped up.

It kept popping up as a good example of culturally inclusive engagement and storytelling in rural areas. Something many organisations struggle with.

Surfacing hidden stories through conversation

'C140' was mainly funded by the The National Lottery Heritage Fund and celebrated 140 years of Chamber of Commerce activities in Suffolk.

Starting in 2023, the project explored local economic and the Chamber's history – my role focused on surfacing and sharing stories of the migrant economy and women.

I approached the project knowing the majority of the stories would be held by the communities, and not by traditional heritage services such as archives.

A large chunk of my work involved engaging with people from culturally diverse backgrounds to source a wonderful array of stories. I was grateful that people entrusted me and the Chamber with their histories. Especially as family history and business history are often intertwined in communities who leave their homeland and arrive here with little.

The conversations prompted wonderful anecdotes and accounts – they're captured on the website.

The conversations were also evidence of the courage of people who set up enterprises despite being 'different'. Many people aimed their businesses at their own community – providing a service that didn't exist in the UK. While others adapted their practices from home for local customers.

Screen grab of the C140 website features two stories about Rafi's Spicebox and Challenger Shipping. Website is copyright of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce. Original materials are owned by the businesses.

Skills, innovation and sacrifice

I spotted themes, which I think should be acknowledged as part of what makes us British. Below are a few thoughts. And I hope that in 2026, we will all take time to celebrate our differences and what unites us.

🟡 Many migrant-led businesses need to be innovative, operate long working hours, while bringing in a low income (at least at first) to cover bills and often send money to family.

🟡 Arrivals in the UK bring your own practices from overseas, and embed them into the local economic landscape. Remember, diversity is the enemy of stagnation.

🟡 Migrant-led businesses are often taken into local people's hearts - countering the negative rhetoric out there.

🟡 Historically, people set up businesses as they were unable to find employment due to prejudice.

🟡 The learning curve is huge. You might already speak five languages but English isn't one of them. You're running a business in a foreign country while learning another language, and potentially dealing with discrimination.

🟡 Sacrifices are made. When qualifications aren't recognised in the UK, you need to pivot quickly. You could be selling groceries when you're a highly experienced accountant or tech professional back home.

C140 platforms the diversity in Suffolk's business landscape, while recognising the significant contributions of people from migrant communities.

And, in my eyes, diversity is the enemy of stagnation, and a key to growth.

The digital content we found and created during C140's research phase is safely held by Suffolk Archives.

Here's the C140 website - scroll to move along the timeline: https://c140.suffolkchamber.co.uk

Get in touch if you'd like help with engagement and communication across cultures: Hello@elmaglasgowconsulting.com.