Faith and Cohesion Project

The conference Participation and Community Cohesion in the North: making the connections was held two and a half years after the North of England experienced a summer of major social unrest. One delegate described these disturbances as ‘attempted suicide by a community – a cry for help.’ This is a controversial image of powerlessness and disenfranchisement, but it raises a question that goes to the heart of our reasons for holding this conference. Does the success of Community Cohesion depend on the ability of communities to nonviolently express their views on the issues that concern them? Does it depend on a belief in one’s own power to effect change without violence? In other words does it depend on the extent to which people see a point in working together for goals they have set themselves? Participation is understood in many different ways. At the International Centre for Participation Studies, we understand that participation is about the ability of all to engage constructively with processes for change. The Community Cohesion agenda is about creating positive change in troubled societies, emerging as it did when these troubles came violently to the surface, and so we asked these questions: Does the Community Cohesion agenda provide a framework for increasing participation? Can fostering participation contribute to Community Cohesion?