The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities (NICEM) was founded in 1994 following a Conference on Racism and Poverty organized by the Northern Ireland Anti-Poverty Network. It began with the initial goal of creating a working relationship between Northern Ireland’s Chinese, Indian, and Traveling communities and the Committee on the Administration of Justice. It has since expanded to include nearly 30 NI organisations, including groups that represent the Islamic, Nigerian, asylum-seeker, Polish, Portuguese and Bangladeshi minorities, among others.