For fifty years, Race Equality First (REF) has been at the forefront of the fight against racial discrimination and hate in Wales. Established in 1976, REF is the recognised lead body in Wales for promoting race equality and challenging injustice. Our remit extends across all nine protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, ensuring that discrimination, whether based on race, age, faith, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability, is confronted wherever it occurs.
We provide support, advice, leadership, and a strong voice to those who experience discrimination, harassment, hate crime, or disadvantage. Through our Wales-wide casework service, we deliver free, independent and confidential support including advocacy, legal information, mediation, and, where necessary, representation. Our services are culturally sensitive and tailored so every person who turns to us is empowered to pursue justice, assert their rights, and be heard.
Drawing on our expertise in anti-racism and equity, we design and deliver anti-racism and cultural awareness training to organisations of all sizes, including South Wales Police, Cardiff Council, and HM Revenue & Customs. We also support schools, community groups, businesses and statutory agencies to embed meaningful practices of equality, diversity and inclusion into their everyday work.
At Race Equality First, we take a human rights-based approach to anti-racism, recognising that racism is not just prejudice but a violation of fundamental rights. Human rights are not abstract principles; they are enforceable through civil and legal mechanisms that deliver justice, recognition, and systemic change. Our work combines advocacy, research, training, and representation. Real change requires more than legal victories: it means removing barriers, educating communities about their rights, providing holistic support, and pushing for systemic reform so that dignity and equality are not just ideals, but lived realities.
Research, policy, campaigning and international advocacy are also central to our mission. We monitor how well government policy aligns with UK, EU and UN commitments, and we regularly contribute to influential reports, consultations, and evidence-gathering processes. In 2024, REF curated the Joint NGO Shadow Report for Wales, bringing together over 60 organisations to assess racial inequality and examine the Welsh Government’s response. That same year, our team travelled to Geneva to give evidence before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), highlighting the rise in racism and Islamophobia in the UK and calling for urgent action.
Our mission is clear: to challenge discrimination and work together towards an equal society. We do this through direct support for those affected by discrimination and hate crime, community projects that dismantle barriers for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people across Wales, high-quality training that helps shift organisational culture, and policy advocacy that holds governments and institutions to account.
Thanks to the support of our funders, REF delivers projects that inspire, empower and drive structural change. Operating Wales-wide from our base in Cardiff, our committed team
brings expertise in law, research, community outreach, communications and training. Together, we combine grassroots support with national and international advocacy to create real impact.
Our vision is a society where every individual enjoys equal rights, free from discrimination and disadvantage. A society where diversity is celebrated, voices are amplified, and systems work fairly. At Race Equality First, we believe that through partnership, leadership and determination, equality can become a lived reality.
