Frederic is especially interested in multi-culturalism, community cohesion and good relations and how that might be reflected in the election campaign and the result of the ballot. Leicester's reputation as a place where people from such a diversity of cultural backgrounds get along together extends far and wide and this sort of enquiry is becoming more and more commonplace for our Council of Faiths. Indeed, we've had a rush of requests for interviews, with four in all just this week (another, fifth request follows later today, from an independent TV production company working on a commission for Channel 4). Frederic refers to Leicester as the "multicultural laboratory" and is very interested in its development, present state and possible future. We talk for about an hour-and-a-half and at the end of that time I prepare a small pack of material that he can take away with all sorts of information about the Council of Faiths.
Frederic made contact with us by phone a few days ago, just before he arrived in England. Yesterday he visited the Markfield Institute of Higher Education, where he spoke at length with Dilwar Husein. After our meeting, he's off to the St Philip's Centre, to talk with Suleman Nagdi (PR Officer for the Federation of Muslim Organisations).
Visit the website of Les Temps. This is in French (of course) but I got google toolbar to translate it into English with just one click:
http://www.letemps.ch/
