Ministers have set out the challenge for all living in a multicultural Britain of learning to celebrate our shared heritage while doing more to understand our individual differences. The announcement recommends funding groups with practical solutions to build capacity among faith communities to support inter faith work.
The announcement follows bids from more than 1,200 organisations to the Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund. This is the second round of a £13.8 million fund to help organisations promote community cohesion and shared citizenship at a local community level.
Phil Woolas said:
"This demonstrates how we are stepping-up work in communities to promote understanding and cohesion by effectively engaging women, young people and hard to reach groups. We must continue to emphasise our sense of British-ness and the shared values which hold us together. Faith organisations play an important role in our communities and know their communities well, we want to draw on the expertise of faith, interfaith and non faith based community groups and do all we can to support them.
"This local approach will help reach directly into communities to promote shared citizenship and integration. It is vital that we find ways of bringing people from different faiths and cultures together to understand their differences and celebrate their shared experiences. The programme has already made a significant impact where projects are up and running and I am certain we can build on this to develop practical solutions to promote community cohesion."
The Community Development Foundation (CDF) has been commissioned by Communities and Local Government (CLG) to administer the distribution of funds. An assessment panel made up of representatives from Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Christian communities, as well as interfaith bodies, recommended the projects to be approved.
East Midlands - Faith Communities Capacity Fund
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Frontier Youth Trust - Nottingham
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Karimia Institute - Nottingham
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Hindu Temple Cultural & Community Centre - Nottingham
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The Open Centre - Derby
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The Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Derby
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HURT Ltd, Nottingham, Peterborough, Derby, Leicester
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Bishop Street Methodist Church - Leicester
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Open Hands Trust - Leicester
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Uppingham Road Baptist Church - Leicester
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Leicester Sikh Centre
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Nagarjuna Buddhist Centre, Northamptonshire & Leicestershire
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Gurudwara Shri Guru Dashmesh Sahib ("The Gurudwara") - Leicester
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Shree Lohana Mahajan of Leicester
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Grazrootz - Leicester
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Leicester Council of Faiths
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The Diocese of Leicester (Accountable Body for Faiths Together)
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Youth Voice - Leicester
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Leicester Rajkot Twinning Association
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NCBI Leicestershire (National Coalition Building Institute)
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The National Youth Agency - Leicester
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East Midlands Churches Forum
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New Testament Church of God (NTCG), National Youth and Christian Education Department - Northampton
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Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Corby, Kettering, Daventry, Wellingborough, Northampton
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The Faith Group of East Northamptonshire (East Northants Faith Group, ENFG)
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Victoria Centre - Wellingborough
