Race relations' initiatives and organisations will continue and be strengthened in the next year with Government funding and support, according to the Throne Speech.

In March last year Premier Ewart Brown launched the Bermuda Race Relations Initiative (BRRI), through a series of panel discussions and dialogues designed to tackle the Island's race problem.

It was organised by Rolfe Commissiong, the Premier's Race Consultant, and led by American co-facilitators Professor Robert Jensen and Dr. Bernestine Singley during panel discussions.

This year, the initiative will get a whole new look with the Bermudian participants given reigns over the dialogues in an attempt to give the 'Big Conversation' a grass roots and organic feeling.

Mr. Commissiong, elaborating on these announcement in the Throne Speech, said it was started by the Government because there were no entities that could run it.

He said: "It's composed mostly of the participants of the debate. It's to that group that we are looking to see a more organic and grassroots movement emerge to strengthen the big conversation in the community.

"It was one of the things we found necessary to us to invigorate the process in terms of getting the community to have an open and frank conversation.

"There were no community organisations or entities that were addressing that need when we launched the initiative."

Mr. Commissiong said he sees the group of between 20 and 30 former participants handling the sensitive parts of the initiative such as the dialogue.

The Government will financially support the group as well as providing any other support it may need.

Adding to the strengthening of the BRRI, Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda and the National Association of Reconciliation (NAR), are two other organisations that will also receive support according to the Throne Speech.

Mr. Commissiong said on Friday that it would be both financial and other support for different programmes and initiatives the groups may have planned for the year.

Expanding the Government's Race Relations initiatives announced in the Throne Speech yesterday, was an hour-long documentary, "The Big Conversation", which will feature cuts from the first BRRI, statistics and studies that look at privilege and race.

Mr. Commissiong added: "It will be some of the footage from last year of the dialogues themselves and much, much more.

"It will be something as impactful as When Voices Rise, about the Theatre Boycott."

He said he hoped the film would be ready by November, the end of the second BRRI session.

Veteran race activist Eva Hodgson said she thought the new BRRI group was excited about the prospect of moving the initiative forward.

But said she was concerned that their involvement would still not distance the Big Conversation from the Cabinet and the Premier.

She said: "I think that the people who have been the most participating seem to be happy abut this approach. I think some of them have a sense that they see some forward movement and that they want to be in control .

"The very fact that it came out of the Cabinet office and was the Premier's idea means it can't get out of the political aura. The group feels very strongly that it can."

In her personal opinion, Dr. Hodgson, said she's not concerned about this because any conversation between Black and Whites is a good thing.

She said: "I never ask for a great deal. Something happening is better than nothing happening. The conversation between blacks and whites is trying a forward movement."