Building support and collaboration for the Latino “invisible community”

On 11 March in London, a community assembly will bring together organisations, activists, and individuals to address key challenges faced by Latin Americans in the UK. Hosted by CLAUK, the event will foster dialogue, build alliances, and develop strategies to strengthen community support, amplify voices, and push for greater recognition at a national level.

Harry Allen

As the Latin American population in the United Kingdom reaches almost 450,000 people, there is a growing need for better community and support services at a time when the UK is undergoing significant political shifts that directly affect the Latin population – whether in migration, illegal employment, or cultural protections, among many other issues.

According to the Trust for London, around 11% of Latin Americans have been illegally paid below the National Minimum Wage, whilst about 40% have experienced some form of workplace exploitation. These are the crucial issues that are driving a greater shift towards community building and ensuring community structures embody resilience in the face of systemic economic and social inequalities.

In light of this, the Coalition of Latin Americans in the UK (CLAUK), of which The Prisma is a member, will be hosting an exchange event open to all Latin American organisations and initiatives based in the UK. The event, called “Latin American Community Assembly” (Asamblea Comunitaria Latinoamericana) will focus on building alliances and fostering open dialogue between different communities and groups.

The event will be a deep dive into the challenges that many Latin Americans face while living in the UK, seeking solutions through meaningful discussions and exchange.

It will also ensure that Latin voices and organisations outside London have a space to raise their concerns and build stronger connections with other UK-based Latin American communities.

In a further show of solidarity, the platform aims to provide a supportive space to create new opportunities for those working within the community-building sector. The event will also serve as a platform to amplify new voices that have not previously been part of the network. Most importantly, it is a shared platform for the people of Latin America and Abya Yala to self-organise at a time when there has been little to no action from authorities in supporting Latin American communities, who still face exclusion from official census data. So much so that a self-described ‘invisible community’ terminology has emerged within the activism and community space for Latin Americans.

The event is open to the public and provides a space for discussion and the exchange of ideas about the project. Participants are encouraged to engage with the initiative and share their perspectives.

To help spread the word, attendees can share the event within their networks using the provided flyers in Spanish and Portuguese or via WhatsApp.