IT’S been a decade since Sunder Katwala founded British Future, an independent, non-partisan think-tank, engaging people’s hopes and fears about integration and immigration, identity and race.
Katwala, of Indian and Irish heritage, launched British Future in 2012 with a report exploring the hopes and fears of a nation that was anxious about the economy but quietly optimistic that Britain would pull through. In the following years, the organisation has carved a space for itself, focusing on engaging the public constructively in issues that can be polarising and divisive.
“Most people will agree with British Future’s aspiration for our shared society. What is distinctive is how we work towards it,” stresses Katwala.
Led by Katwala, who serves as its director, British Future has developed a unique, in-depth understanding of public attitudes, uncovering the common ground on which people can agree. It deploys a three-pronged strategy- find ways to reach the toughest audiences who are least comfortable with Britain’s diversity; appreciate the concerns of young, ethnic minority Britons impatient for change; and communicate persuasively with the majority of the public in between.
The organisation is known for building new coalitions for change, mobilising others to play their part. One of their latest projects is the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers, an independent umbrella group for all who care about integrating new arrivals from Hong Kong.
“Migration from Hong Kong will reshape Britain – as important as the Windrush generation or the Ugandan Asians who came 50 years ago. This is the first time we’ve tried to get integration right from Day One – and it’s important that we make it work for new arrivals and for local communities too,” Katwala said at the first annual conference of the committee in July last year.
This year, the British Future is all set to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Windrush, a key moment in Britain’s migration history. The Windrush 75 network, convened by British Future, encourages participation in Windrush Day and broadens public awareness of the contribution made by the original Windrush Pioneers.
“2023 will be a special year for Britain, a year of identity. A Coronation year that ushers in a new era. One when we mark 75 years of pride in the NHS and 75 years of Windrush, the moment which symbolises the post-war migration that has shaped our society today,” Katwala said.
“Windrush 75 reflects the complex story of migration to Britain, one of pride and of prejudice. But the endpoint of that story so far is us. This is who we are now.”
The centre-piece of British Future’s work so far would be the Together Coalition, which it helped set up in 2020, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, aiming to bridge divides and promote social connection.
“It is very interesting how that campaign has to respond to Covid,” Katwala told the GG2 Power List previously. “Social connection was something we already thought was important but I think everyone can agree that it's more important now than ever.”
As Covid forced people further apart, nearly 160,000 people participated in the Talk together research project, the UK’s biggest ever conversation about what unites and divides us and what could bring us closer.
British Future also works as the secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Integration, supporting parliamentarians to research and engage with new thinking on integration.
The Together Coalition follows from their Remember Together initiative, launched in partnership with the Royal British Legion for inclusive Remembrance. As Britain marked 100 years since the end of WW1, it raised awareness of the contributions of servicemen and women of all creeds and colours, with activities in schools, communities and the media – including the ‘Poppy hijab’, launched with the Islamic Society of Britain – demonstrating how inclusive history can help to bridge divides and bring people together.
Alliance building has been the hallmark of the British Future’s work, and Katwala vouches that ‘unusual allies make for winning coalitions’.
“We believe in bringing unusual allies together, across political tribes and social groups, for a shared purpose,” he says. “We have forged broader alliances to protect migrants and refugees and promote citizenship.”
These include, among others, Together With Refugees and Refugee Week networks, which later expanded to new, broader coalitions to turn the challenge of effective crisis responses to Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Ukraine into a sustained new era of welcoming; the Shared Goals project that works with football clubs to harness local fans’ feelings of pride and togetherness to promote integration; the National Conversation on Immigration that visited 60 locations across every nation and region of the UK, in what would become the biggest-ever public consultation on immigration and integration; and the #WalkTogether project, that brought Muslim and non-Muslim voices together to agree a shared activity to mark the 10th anniversary of the 7/7 London bombings.
With all these initiatives, British Future is increasingly becoming a do-tank and a think-tank.
“Our insight into public engagement and our communications expertise is a strong foundation for broader practical change,” Katwala asserts. “We are building the strongest hub of change-makers – linking those across every minority and majority group who are champions for the common good.”
And solid research is the backbone of British Future, and their immigration attitudes tracker research with Ipsos, monitoring the shifts in public attitudes to immigration since 2015, ensures that their work is based on the most comprehensive understanding of public opinion.
Born in Doncaster as a twin to an Irish mother and an Indian father – both arrived here to work for the NHS – Katwala spent his later years growing up in Cheshire and Essex, and he remains a fan of both Everton and Southend United football clubs!
He went on to study politics, philosophy, and economics at the University of Oxford in 1992 and began his career in publishing. He helped to establish a new think-tank called the Foreign Policy Centre before moving into journalism, as a leader writer and internet editor of The Observer. He served as the general secretary of the Fabian Society from 2003 to 2011.
Married to his wife Stacy since 2001, Katwala is a proud father of four children –Zarina, 16, Jay, 15, Sonny, 14, and Indira, 11. Giving a nod to his heritage, his children’s names all have some relation to India. Their middle names are all Irish.
