Dehejia 2008 Chapter 1

“Making a Difference: Sustaining Dialogue Across Divided Communities” Speaker: Ram Gidoomal Ram Gidoomal came to the UK as a refugee and eventually rose to become UK Group Chief Executive of the Inlaks Group, a multinational business with 7000 employees. Appointed CBE in 1998 for services to the Asian Business Community and Race Relations, Ram sits on numerous boards and is Chair of the Board of Employability Forum, an organization that helps refugees and asylum seekers find jobs. He is the author of several books, including The British and How to Deal with Them: Doing Business with Britain’s Ethnic Communities, was a founder trustee and chairman of the Christmas Cracker charity, which has given thousands of young people direct entrepreneurial experience and raised over $10 million for projects in developing countries; and stood as a Christian People Alliance (A Christian Democrat Party) candidate for London Mayor and the Greater London Assembly in 2000 and 2004, polling nearly 100000 votes on both occasions.