Faith and Cohesion Project

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Review of Community Cohesion in Oldham: Challenging Local Communities to Change Oldham, 25 May 2006hot!

31.05.2006

he country's foremost authority on community cohesion, Professor Ted Cantle, has praised Oldham Council and its partners for the progress made in building community cohesion in the Borough since the 2001 disturbances.

Professor Cantle, head of the Institute of Community Cohesion of the universities of Coventry, Warwick, Leicester and DeMontfort, says in his review report on Oldham published today that 'few cities, towns or districts in the country have done as much as Oldham in seeking to build community cohesion.'

He adds in his report, Challenging Local Communities to Change Oldham: 'In short, Oldham has every right to be proud of its record to date.'

Professor Cantle's report also says that there is a need for communities themselves to help bring about change. 'The most immediate impediment is the mindset of deeply entrenched communities. However we recognise that attitudes are changing with a marked reduction in negative views on diversity and community cohesion compared with two years ago,' says the review report.

Professor Cantle has also noted encouraging news from a MORI survey of attitudes about community cohesion in the Borough. It is that young people are particularly likely to have a positive attitude towards mixing with people of different racial and cultural backgrounds.

The review report says that work needs to take place to bring people together across the generations and between different parts of the Borough as well as from different ethnic groups. Oldham has to develop wider leadership, the report states, and involve more women and young people in that process.

The 66 page report has been broadly welcomed by the Council's political leaders. The Council Leader, Councillor David Jones and Opposition Leader, Councillor Howard Sykes, said: 'We welcome the report. It recognises the progress we've made in the last five years - as well as the scale of the challenge that remains.

'The report is right about the need for our communities to become more integrated. But that can only happen once people have the confidence to do so - and that will take time to build. Within the Council we're united in our commitment to this, as well as to work with our partners and the citizens of the Borough to face the challenge to change,' Councillors Jones and Sykes said.

Councillors Jones and Sykes also stressed the importance of personal choice in bringing about any change. 'This is definitely not about forcing people to mix. It is about choice and opportunity. People must remain free to choose where they live but they also need the opportunity to do so, and the confidence to live where they want to. Nobody should be able to prevent them from doing so,' they said.

Council Chief Executive Andrew Kilburn said the report's comments on greater and more wider community involvement was not to decry 'the sterling work, dedication and commitment' already invested by many people across the Borough in helping to progress community cohesion.

'Without being complacent about the huge task we face, and in many ways being something of the national standard bearer on community cohesion, many hundreds of people across our Borough have invested heavily these past five years in helping to restore normality and trust, bring our communities back together and re-affirm Oldham's good name and reputation.

'Their work gives us the platform to take on board the recommendations of the report and to bring about greater community cohesion in the Borough in the future. Among them are neighbourhood and community representatives, people from the voluntary sector, faith leaders, youth group representatives, our schools and colleges, health service representatives and the Police. The people of Oldham owe all of them a great debt of gratitude,' said Mr Kilburn.

The report covers all the key areas which contribute to building community cohesion including civic and community leadership, economic development, housing, education and learning and policing.

On education and learning it says that there is evidence that the degree of segregation in Oldham's primary and secondary schools is changing for the better 'with six primary schools becoming less diverse but 14 secondary schools becoming more diverse.' The report, in recognising the importance and success of Oldham's schools linking project where schools from different parts of the Borough exchange visits on a regular basis and join in each other's classes and activities, says the Borough's schools need to go beyond this to create even greater integration.

On housing the report says Oldham's approach to tackling ingrained segregation needs to go beyond the Housing Market Renewal initiative and that a long term strategy is needed -founded on a positive and compelling vision for the future of Oldham with more integrated communities.' It concedes also that creating realistic and balanced housing choices for families and individuals where different communities are segregated along ethnic lines 'is a tough problem.'

Professor Cantle, in publishing his report today, said: 'Our brief at the Institute of Community Cohesion was to assess the current level of community cohesion in Oldham and how this has changed since 2001 and identify issues which still need to be addressed.

'The local authority has done a great deal over the last five years and relationships between communities have improved. They have responded well to challenges but there is still a lot more that needs to be done to build community cohesion.

'We have looked at all the initiatives and made recommendations for an updated strategy and action plan to cover the next five years,' he said.

He added: 'Whilst Oldham has done good work, there is frustration about the lack of progress at ground level. Also, specific areas of policy and practice must be strengthened and improved.'

'There are divisions within and between Oldham's many communities and there is a reluctance from some sections of the community to venture out of their comfort zones and to embrace positive change.

'Community cohesion must now really engage with longstanding white communities as much as with different minority ethnic groups. This will mean investing in leadership and ensuring that all are represented on partnership and decision making bodies.

'We would also stress the need to engage with young people. The way ahead is to convey a compelling vision of united Oldham which should spread through to all levels and sections of the community. Oldham must promote itself more proactively as a place that is moving on and facing the future with confidence which is backed up by a vision and strategy to deliver a real and lasting change,' he said.

Date: 25 May 2006

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Summary Report on Islamophobia in the EU after 11 Sept. 2001, European Monitoring Centre on Racismhot!

03.05.2006

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Taking Forward Community Cohesion in Leicester, 2003hot!

01.04.2006

In 2002 the City Council commissioned the Improvement and Development Agency (I&DeA) to undertake an independent review and to propose ways in which community cohesion could be strengthened and reinforced within the city. A report was produced in 2003 which made some key recommendations on how community relations could be improved in the city.

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Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide from Tolerance.orghot!

04.05.2006

SOMEWHERE IN AMERICA... Every hour someone commits a hate crime. Every day at least eight blacks, three whites, three gays, three Jews and one Latino become hate crime victims. Every week a cross is burned. Hate in America is a dreadful, daily constant. The dragging death of a black man in Jasper, Texas; the crucifixion of a gay man in Laramie, Wyo.; and post-9.11 hate crimes against hundreds of Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and Sikhs are not ‘isolated incidents’. They are eruptions of a nation’s intolerance. Bias is a human condition, and American history is rife with prejudice against groups and individuals because of their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or other differences. The 20th century saw major progress in outlawing discrimination, and most Americans today support integrated schools and neighbourhoods. But stereotypes and unequal treatment persist, an atmosphere often exploited by hate groups. When bias motivates an unlawful act, it is considered a hate crime. Race and religion inspire most hate crimes, but hate today wears many faces. Bias incidents (eruptions of hate where no crime is committed) also tear communities apart — and threaten to escalate into actual crimes. This guide sets out 10 principles for fighting hate, along with a collection of inspiring stories of people who worked to push hate out of their communities. Whether you need a crash course to deal with an upcoming white-power rally, a primer on the media or a long-range plan to promote tolerance in your community, you will find practical advice, timely examples and helpful resources in this guide. The steps outlined here have been tested in scores of communities across the nation by a wide range of human rights, faith and civic organizations. Our experience shows that one person, acting from conscience and love, is able to neutralize bigotry. Imagine, then, what an entire community, working together, might do.

 

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The Contribution of Culture to Regeneration in the UK: a Review of the Evidencehot!

01.04.2006

This review was commissioned by the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) to inform the preparation of a policy document on the contribution of cultural activity to regeneration. It has been written primarily as a briefing for DCMS officials. Carried out over the summer 2003, responses and coverage of published and ‘in press’ information may not be as full as a longer research period would have allowed, however the review has been extensive within the culture and regeneration sphere. New reports and publications are emerging almost daily, in part due to the raised interest in and awareness of the subject, and these should be continually reviewed as policy formulation and implementation is undertaken.

In addition to setting out its own objectives for culture and regeneration, DCMS is working to increase awareness within other Government departments of the potential contribution of cultural activity to their regeneration programmes. The indicators of regeneration most commonly referred to in this paper are those already widely used by Government in the context of neighbourhood renewal, social inclusion and community cohesion: reduced levels of crime, increased health and well-being, increased educational attainment, reduced unemployment, greater community cohesion, greater environmental quality and quality of life (or liveability). Our brief has been to produce: a stock-take of evidence-based literature on the impact of culture on social, economic and environmental (physical) regeneration in the UK; an analysis of the limitations of the evidence; examples of best practice in the design and delivery of projects; examples of best practice in measurement of impacts; recommendations in the light of our findings.

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