Various faith organisations in the region have been awarded grants from DCLG.
These grants were part of a £13.8 million national fund to help organisations promote community cohesion and shared citizenship at a local community level.
Amongst the organisations to benefit were the Bradford District Faiths Forum, (awarded £25,000 to set up drug awareness and emergency planning projects) and North Kirklees Interfaith Council (awarded £17,000 for research into perceptions to women wearing veils).
Communities minister 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 DCLG 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. |
