Our work in the years ahead will play a vital role in influencing policy and promoting public engagement, but if we are to succeed in beating prejudice, ignorance and fear it is crucial that everyone is aware of our aims and how we are working to achieve them.

Our key objectives are to:

• Press for constructive British policies towards the Middle East and North Africa and ensure that important Arab concerns cannot be discounted or ignored

• Raise awareness, challenge inaccurate or biased coverage in the British media and work to ensure that prejudice against Arabs in the UK is regarded as unacceptable as prejudice against other race groups

• Encourage critical exploration and engagement with the Arab world, and have a long-term impact on the way the region and Arab-British communities are addressed in British schools.

Primary responsibility for the delivery of our objectives rests with our Political, Media and Education programmes and over the next 5 years, we will work closely across all three to succeed in our mission.