Thanks for fleshing out your orginal comments. Far from being a 'box-ticking' exercise, this particular initiative has been led, developed and implemented by volunteers on the BMC's Equity Steering Group from a Muslim background who want to try and increase knowledge, understanding and participation in the outdoors within their community. This is a perfectly laudable aim which we are happy to support, and which is consistent with the founding aims and purpose of the BMC and its current equity strategy. "Why not open these types of outreach conferences out to everyone from inner-city BME communities including Afro-Caribbean, Chinese, India etc. Why limit it to Muslim only?" Indeed, why not? We are hoping to attract more volunteers to join the Equity Steering Group from other backgrounds to lead similar efforts within their communities. The BMC is a volunteer-led organisation and what we can do in this respect is guided by those who get involved. If it is a subject you are interested in you are welcome to attend. "Islam is not a race of people; Muslim does not mean BME and BME does not mean Muslim." Others will have better expertise in this regard, but the article above recognises that Islam is not a single ethnicity. In Britain, however, nearly 90% are of non-white ethnicity and more than 70% are from South Asian backgrounds. "The only barrier you have suggested for BME communities not to part-take in outdoor activity is economic. This is NOT a religious barrier" There is a wide field of research on barriers to participation within BME communities. As I said above, these barriers can be religious, cultural, social or economic. If you would like to find out more you are welcome to email me at carey [at] thebmc.co.uk and I can provide relevant links and literature.