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Journey to Justice No. 1170886

Report and Financial Statements For the year ended

31 March 2025

Journey to Justice Trustees Report April 2024 – March 2025

A. Reference and administration details

Trustees

Tania Aubeelack (Chair)

Patricia Boyer (Secretary)

Veronica Fletcher

Ema Jackson (Resigned 23[rd] November 2024)

Duncan Moore

Terry McGregor (Treasurer)

Martin Spafford

Rebecca Walker

Abi Rhodes

Registered Ofce

20 Arcadius Way

Keynsham

Bristol

BS31 2GE

Charity Number

1170886

Bankers

Lloyds Bank plc

1 Legg Street,

Chelmsford,

Essex,

CM1, 1JS

B. Structure

Journey to Justice is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and its governing document is a constitution. Its trustees are appointed by the Annual General Meeting.

C. Objectives and Activities

Summary of the objects of the charity set out on its governing document:

To promote human rights (as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations conventions and declarations) all over the world by all or any of the following means:

researching into human rights issues and supporting cross community groups to tell untold stories of local history relating to human rights issues;
educating the public about human rights through organising education and arts programmes;
raising awareness of human rights issues through running training courses for adults and young people;
promoting public support of human rights issues through national programmes in partnership with local community groups; and
promoting respect for human rights among individuals and corporations by telling powerful stories of the role of individuals in effecting social change.

To promote equality and diversity for the public benefit by:

advancing education and raising awareness in equality and diversity; and
promoting activities to foster understanding between people from diverse backgrounds.

To promote racial and religious harmony for the public benefit by:

promoting knowledge and mutual understanding between different racial and religious groups; and
advancing education and raising awareness about different racial and religious groups to promote good relations between persons of different racial and religious groups.

D. Activities April 2024 to March 2025

APRIL began with the visit of students and staff from Bowie State University in the USA (covered in last year’s report) and we spent the next couple of months focusing on planning, resources designing and administration, including revision of our Equalities statement and our Strategic Business Plan. We also contributed some workshops to the We Wear Heritage project run by BANG Edutainment in Harlesden for 13–16-year-olds “to develop their understanding of heritage and culture through fashion”: our Chair Tania was employed by BANG to run the youth sessions.

In JUNE we were asked by the Communication Workers Union to do a workshop at their national BAME delegates’ conference in Wimbledon. We ran two activities. The first focused on less well-known stories of Black and Brown people within the labour movement. We placed accounts of those stories around the room and asked delegates to suggest appropriate memorials to commemorate their activism. We loved the suggestion for the migrant merchant seafarers who had fought deep employment and immigration discrimination in the 1920s and 1930s: delegates thought a fitting memorial would be to have their story in everyone’s UK passport! The second activity looked at the huge contribution to popular music in the UK of African, Caribbean and Asian artists and invited delegates to share stories of music that had shaped them and spoke to their own values.

(Thanks to Fevzi for the photos)

**

In JULY a JtoJ team travelled to Nottingham University for the New Organising Conference coordinated by the Ella Baker School of Organising and ran a morning session on community organising and how to develop conversations with people holding different views. Our session was in the morning after the General Election so there were tired faces, but we shared some of the powerful Economic (in)Justice stories online and in our ‘suitcases’ and got people thinking about tactics that can successfully lead to change.

We had to negotiate long distances between accommodation and events, so everyone was pretty exhausted but we attended some very thought-provoking workshops, picked up new ideas and engaged in stimulating conversation with people who brought a wide range of experiences in many community groups and trade unions.

AUGUST saw another CWU event, this time in Chester for their LGBTQIA+ delegates. We ran a session with them on the day before Chester Pride and focused on the US stories of Bayard Rustin and Pauli Murray. We asked whether the civil rights movement had been right to sideline Rustin’s sexuality and gay rights in the 1960s and explored issues around intersectional human rights struggles.

In SEPTEMBER we celebrated our 10[th] anniversary at Friends House in London with a joyful party including many old friends as well as new supporters, in person and online.

We’ve had partnerships with so many memorable people and organisations. Journey to Justice was created by people who believe in the power of ‘ordinary people’ to uphold and promote human rights and social justice for everyone. In what seem like darkening times, we are only too aware of how much there is to do. Our patron, human rights lawyer Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC, said that ‘Journey to Justice puts action for human rights into practice rather than talking in theory.’ We celebrated with song, speeches and a birthday cake.

We also remembered Mark Hutchinson, the fondly missed ‘father’ of JtoJ, a year after he died. As Duncan said, ‘Mark’s was a voice of love, hope and solidarity.’

Tania holding the celebration booklet for Mark Hutchinson ‘father’ of JtoJ and a beautiful birthday card sent by Trish Kelly, artist and long-time JtoJ

supporter.

In OCTOBER and NOVEMBER we sadly lost two dear friends of JtoJ, two of our very distinguished patrons.

Baron Herman Ouseley. Most famous nationally for being founder and Chair of Kick It Out, and with a fantastic range of influential roles including as Chief Executive of the Inner London Education Authority and Commission for Racial Equality, his whole life was one of commitment to equality and against racism and all forms of discrimination. He said of JtoJ: ’ There is no justice without struggle and so much injustice and inequality still to be overcome. Reminding us all of the sacrifices made by many to secure justice for those who suffered and continue to suffer discrimination, will be a dynamic feature of the work of Journey to Justice. It will provide inspiration to the present and next generation…’

A month later we lost Dr Paul Stephenson . Paul organised the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, now recognised as a key moment in UK antiracist history. He was galvanised in his activism by the US civil rights movement – the main focus of our exhibition – especially the Montgomery bus boycott. Paul was bravely at the centre of civil rights activism all his life. He was a major figure in the UK civil rights history about which there is largely silence. Now more than ever that history needs to be celebrated.

We were so lucky that both Herman and Paul agreed to be our patrons, and both were guiding lights for us. There are fuller celebrations of their lives on - - - our website at htps://journeytojustce.org.uk/thank you herman ouseley/

- - - - and htps://journeytojustce.org.uk/dr paul stephenson and journey to justce/ .

DECEMBER saw the culmination of Year Two of the inspiring Social Justice Plaques project run by our good friend Prof George Lewis and his team at Leicester University . George writes:

“This year saw the second full run of the school Social Justice Plaques programme, a partnership between the University of Leicester and Journey to Justice. We worked with Year 9 pupils in local schools carefully selected for their high indices of multiple deprivation and first generation HE. The aim of the project is:

●to change those pupils’ understanding of social justice, commemoration and memorialisation
●to alter their connection to their own built environment
●to transform their understanding of History as an academic subject
●to increase History and other Humanities GCSE enrolment
●to demystify/decolonise University and HE spaces.

It uses bespoke Teacher Toolkits and school activity plans, plus on-campus workshops and research masterclasses, to facilitate pupils’ own research and selection of their Social Justice Champion [SJC]. Each project culminates in a new and distinctive form of physical commemoration, as the pupils co-create physical plaques that hang in school receptions to reflect and publicly demonstrate their choice and the values it connotes.

In 2024/25, we worked with 75 pupils from Wigston Academy, Fulhurst Community College and Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School. 15% of pupils were Indices of Multiple Deprivation Quintile 1; 8 were Pupil Premium; 20 are Free School Meals; and 31 would be First Generation in HE.

Of those attending, there was a rise of 13.1% between pre- and post-event answers to the question of whether pupils understood “available pathways to future education” (from 40.8% to 53.9%) and a 14.5% rise in those considering university as an option pre- and post-event (from 42.1 to 56.6%). Free form qualitative responses included positive evaluations of “What it’s like at a uni.

To see the daily experiences of some including maybe myself in the future,” which emphasises one project goal of decolonising university as a space. Others emphasised changes to their relationship with History, and the positive impact of “Learning facts about the famous people who might not be known.” 92.3% of participant pupils from Fulhurst responded that the project had positively altered their views on commemoration and the celebration of past historical figures.

Two plaques have been presented to schools this year. Wigston Academy selected Leicester-born suffragette Alice Hawkins as their Social Justice Champion. Fulhurst chose local pioneering midwife Agnes Nisbett, who revolutionised NHS midwifery. Having arrived in the Windrush generation, Agnes settled and worked in Leicester as the city’s first Black nursing officer. Her years of providing care were augmented by her drive to alter NHS responses to stillbirths. Having personal experience of a stillborn child led her to instigate the “Born Whilst Sleeping” program at the Leicester Royal Infirmary, which completely altered NHS guidelines on stillbirths. Agnes will be coming to Fulhurst to unveil her plaque on 17 October.”

JtoJ supported this very successful project, and we are now developing a similar project in Birmingham (see February below).

During the year we were approached by Kings College London and the Edge Foundation as part of Young Lives Young Futures www.ylyf.co.uk , a nationwide research project looking at the (lack of) careers support for young people who choose not to go to university. They asked us to run workshops with young

people with a view to making a film that could be shown at the launch in Parliament of the research findings. Our wonderful trustee Duncan put us in touch with Genesis Sun www.genesissun.co.uk in the West Midlands and their equally wonderful CEO Diane (Dee) Spence. Together with them, we planned two full day sessions for young people aged 16 to 20 and the first of these was held in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Molineux Stadium in FEBRUARY .

We had icebreaker games to get us going and group discussions on young people’s experiences of choosing vocational courses instead of going to university. We shared the actual findings of the research which matched with what the young people said. They expressed their frustrations and offered solutions – what ought to happen to support them enter the world of work. As well as deep discussion there was dance, drama singing and spoken word poetry. The day went brilliantly, and we were blown away by the clarity, ideas and creativity of the young people. It was a huge pleasure working with Genesis Sun.

We then started planning for the superb second and final session in Birmingham in April which led to a song, a music video, a film, a trip to London and a continued partnership for a new project (but that will be reported on next year!).

Also, in February we led a session on Race, Class and Social Class at the Isle of Dogs London campus of the University of Sunderland. Here the students are mainly from India and Nepal. We asked them to think about what an economically just society would look like in the world and whether it is achievable. Given the scale of wealth extraction from India during the British

Empire, why is the UK still so unequal? Is change possible, and how? The students’ responses touched on human nature, capitalism, growth, education and social constructs. How do money and wealth follow the power and where does that power lie? On a very different note, the session ended joyously with a Mauritian Sega dance performance by Tania!

Inspired by the success of Leicester’s social justice plaques, our also wonderful trustee Abi plans to run a similar scheme in Birmingham. She hired as a university-funded intern Abbi Wood, herself a native ‘Brummie’, to research schools across the city and what plaques are currently in place. Her excellent work will help JtoJ in its future work with local Birmingham-based schools to identify local social justice “champions” that are currently not commemorated via blue plaques in their city. The eventual plan is that the stories behind the chosen plaques in both cities will be added to our online ‘archives of activism’. We hope also to encourage collective community-based action for change.

During the course of the year, led by Carrie, we started thinking about how to preserve a record of JtoJ’s own work, and in February we met an archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute to ask whether they could house a Journey to Justice archive. We had a really fascinating tour of their archive and were thrilled that they are extremely positive about the idea. We hope to make this a reality in the coming year.

Towards the end of MARCH three of us travelled to Leeds for a day of workshops led by the Ella Baker School of Organising. The event was to celebrate and explore the work of US trade union organiser Jane McAlevey, who had died earlier in the year. Our workshop on tactics for community organising was extremely well attended and explored key questions using examples from the many stories on our websites and in our ‘suitcases’. Our link with the Ella Baker School is strengthening and they have asked us to run a keynote session at their training weekend next October on counteracting narratives of division.

Our work this year was only possible thanks to volunteers and trustees whose support is deeply appreciated. Thanks, too, to so many who collaborated or partnered with us. These include, among many others:

Volunteers Pat, Tania, Tamla, Nirvana, Rona, Kashala and Martin
Bernie and Andy at Vanishing Point Creative
Abi and the University of Birmingham
Dee, Bal and Andy at Genesis Sun, as well as Duncan for the connection

Sharon, Alice, Rana and Amna at Young Lives Young Futures
George and his team at Leicester University
Kate and Fevzi at the Communication Workers Union
John, Jane and all at the Ella Baker School of Organising
The team at BANG and The BEAT London
Izzy and Sou at Friends House
Banhishikha and Imad at the University of Sunderland (London Campus)
The archives team at the Bishopsgate Institute

D. Financial Review

All of Journey to Justice’s activities are planned on the basis of available funds and therefore incur no liabilities that cannot be matched by income received.

Journey to Justice did not employ any paid staff or have any arrangement to lease premises during the period and we are therefore not exposed to any associated liabilities or risks. Other potential liabilities and risks that the Trustees have identified have been insured.

On this basis, and taking into account Charity Commission guidance, the Trustees have decided that there is no requirement for Journey to Justice to hold unrestricted reserves for these purposes.

In the financial year 2024-25, Journey to Justice’s income was below the threshold requiring our finances to be reported on an accruals basis and for an external audit or independent examination. The Trustee Board has taken the decision to report on a payments and receipts basis, using the Charity Commission’s CC16a template.

E. Reserves policy

The charity maintains sufficient level of reserves to meet its current obligations. This policy is reviewed regularly by the trustees.

F. Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees are responsible for preparing the trustees' annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the CIO for that period. ln preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the CIO and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the CIO and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the information included on the CIO's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

E. Declaration

The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.

Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees.

Signature:

Full name:

Terence Thomas McGregor

Position:

Treasurer

Date:

22[nd] November 2025

Charity Name			No (if any)	No (if any)
Journey to Justice			1170886
Receipts andpayments accounts					CC16a
For the period from ~~ee ~~	Period start date 4/1/2024 ~~ee ~~	To ~~ee~~		Period end date 3/31/2025
Section A Receipts and payments
Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Endowment funds		Total funds	Last year
to the nearest £	to the nearest £	to the nearest £		to the nearest £	to the nearest £
A1 Receipts
Donations 5,263 Grants Services 1,600 6,863 *Sub total*(Gross income for AR) ~~a~~	- - -	- - -		5,263 1,600 6,863	10,218 1,700 600 12,518
- - - - Sub total - - - - - Total receipts 6,863 - - 6,863 12,518 A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). ~~SSS5—~~
A3 Payments
TrainingDeliveryCosts	3,653			3,653
Exhibitions and Events 552	-	-		552	1,659
Subscriptions 761	-	-		761	734
Travel 603	195	-		798	84
Legal and Professional Fees 629	-	-		629	320
General Volunteer Expenses 173	1,406	-		1,579	291
Governance 1,992	-	-		1,992	-
Website 2,448	-	-		2,448	-
General Admin 115	-	-		115	1,559
Other -	-	-		-	1,238
Sub total 7,273	5,254	-		12,527	5,885
- - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total payments 7,273 5,254 - 12,527 5,885 A4 Asset and investment purchases,(see table) ~~——————~~
Net of receipts/(payments) - 410 - 5,254 - - 5,664 6,633 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 12,240 3,153 - 15,393 - Cash funds this year end 11,830 - 2,101 - 9,729 6,633 ~~===>~~

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period

Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B3 Investment assets B5 Liabilities B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees	Details General Fund Economic Justice Priject Carlisle/Cumbria Fund Young Lives Young Futures Details Details Details Details Signature *Total cash funds* (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s))	to nearest £ to nearest £ 11,832 - - 553 2,600 - - 5,254 11,832 - 2,101 Agreement Error OK to nearest £ to nearest £ - - - - - - - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Print Name Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Unrestricted funds Restricted funds Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates Amount due (optional)	to nearest £ Endowment funds
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			Date of approval

OpenCharities

2025-03-31-accounts