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Celebration of diversity held in Surrey

BBC/Julia Moore Group of people holding up a long white piece of silk with drawings and words on to describe their feelings on integration and race equity. The banner includes different languages and flags in many colours.BBC/Julia Moore
The Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum, members and their "Silk Road"

More than 80 people gathered for the Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum's annual celebration on Sunday.

The organisation says it represents the needs of more than 55 diverse groups throughout the county, which is more than 20% of the population of Surrey.

At the event held at the Xcel Leisure Complex in Walton-on-Thames, attendees painted words and pictures on a long white piece of silk to show their thoughts about race equity and integration.

This represented the Silk Road which enabled cultural, political and religious interaction.

BBC/Julia Moore A man in red turban, a police officer in uniform, a woman in a grey sweater and flowery scarf painting on a long white piece of silk. Next to them is a man dressed in black.BBC/Julia Moore
Attendees painted words and pictures on their "Silk Road"

Saba Khan, chief executive of the Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum, told BBC Radio Surrey: "Integration is something that's always needed.

"I think as our societies change and we're faced with new challenges - whether that is economic challenges or race riots - whatever shape it takes, we then have to adjust and adapt methods of integration."

The audience had live musical performances from Hungarian school children, songs from a Baha'i faith group and a rousing rendition of Singin' In The Rain from Langton Chipagula from Global Grooves.

The focus of the event was integration and race equity which people talked about in a workshop.

BBC/Julia Moore A woman dressed in red holding a microphone talking to attendees. BBC/Julia Moore
The chair of the Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum, Neelam Devesher, has been involved with the organisation since its inception

The chair of the Surrey Minority Ethnic Forum, Neelam Devesher, has been involved with the organisation since its inception more than a decade ago.

The forum wants to empower Surrey's ethnic minorities by providing support to community groups, building relationships between faith groups and running projects to help people across the county.

Ms Devesher said: "We organise regular events to provide a range of health checks in different communities.

"Earlier this year, a man had very high blood pressure so he was at risk so he was taken straight to hospital."

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