2009's TOP 10: No 1

Holocaust Memorial Day, University of Leicester, Fraser Noble Hall, London Road, Leicester, Tuesday 27 January 2009

Like the Faiths Trail coach tour round some of the city's places of worship (see number 5 in this list of my top ten for 2009), Holocaust Memorial Day has become one of the signature events organised each year by Leicester Council of Faiths. This local commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day is arranged in association with the Schools Development Support Agency, the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Leicester and Leicester City Council).

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day this year was Stand Up to Hatred. There was a three-member panel: Dr Martin Stern, a member of the Leicester Hebrew Congregation who had been taken into a Nazi concentration camp at the age of five (along with his one-year old sister) and whose story had been published in the Leicester Mercury over the previous week; a lady from the British Traveller community, who wished to be known by her first name only (Lil); and Suleman Nagdi, founder member of the Muslim Burial Council of Leicestershire (MBCOL) and Public Relations Officer for the Federation of Muslim Organisations (FMO) - an infrastructure support body that works with more than 750 Muslim groups in the city and county.

The Muslim Council of Britain had advised Muslims throughout the country to abstain from supporting National Holocaust Memorial day this year as a way of registering their protest at the situation in Gaza. I can't say whether this was universally observed all over Britain. I can say that in light of this national advice, the FMO held an urgent meeting and voted that they should support the events in Leicester and Leicestershire. Abdul Kareem Gheewala, Chair of the FMO, was in attendance at this commemoration of HMD. Suleman Nagdi was asked to speak on the panel at Fraser Noble Hall at just half an hour's notice. I'm not going to try and report or paraphrase what Suleman said when he got the chance to speak. If it's a failure on the writer's part to say, "You had to be there" then on this occasion I'll happily hold my hands up and say, okay, I fail - this time. Usually I take copious notes at such events, but my Moleskine notebook stayed shut on this occasion. Anyone reading this will be aware that Leicester likes to think of itself as somewhere special, somewhere exceptional. It's at moments like this that I believe it.

I asked some of the folk I know from Network for Change to come with me to this event. People whom we'd now describe as having mental health problems were also taken to the camps - and Holocaust Memorial Day commemorates all those who have been (or still are) victims of persecution.

It's a guiding principle of Leicester Council of Faiths that it tends to the religious, spiritual and cultural life of the city. While it expresses sympathy with those who are suffering around the world, for whatever reason and from whatever cause, it doesn't take sides. This evening was a magnificent display of solidarity among the city's faith communities. I'm sure that Suleman would have received a standing ovation at the end of his impromptu speech - were it not for the fact that many of those attending were probably a bit too old and frail to stand.

Read my blog entries for Holocaust Memorial Day 2010, "The Legacy of Hope" and Holocaust Memorial Day 2011, "Untold Stories".

2009'S TOP 10: SPECIAL MENTIONS

Before arriving at number one in this top ten countdown for 2009, I thought I'd write a little about a few other events and occasions that didn't make it into the countdown proper, but which still deserve special mention here.

Launch of "Jewish Voices",

Brookfield Bowls & Social Club,

Kimberley Road, Leicester,

Wednesday 11 March 2009

For several months starting summer 2008, around 70 people who had been members of Leicester’s Jewish population in the 1940s and 50s contributed to a mixture of writing and photography workshops, oral recordings, emails, phone calls and letters. This provided raw material for a reminiscence writing project coordinated through Writing School Leicester, published as Jewish Voices. Having taught in the Writing School for the past five years or so, I was involved in the project, contributing editorial support. This launch event for book, touring exhibition and website brought this part of the project to a successful conclusion - and brought forth a great new set of resources at the same time. My work on this project was done in 2008 and my involvement in the launch was to sit at the back of the room, drink tea and eat cake. That might go some way to explaining why, as good as it was, this event didn't get into my top ten then.

Visit to Mosquée de Paris,

Monday 25 May 2009

The flavour of Islam on offer in this delightful mosque differs strongly from that with which we find in Leicester - or anywhere else in the UK for that matter: a clear and enjoyable illustration of the diversity of Islam. I know that's obvious to those who know this sort of thing, but it's still a point worth making. The Paris Mosque was built in 1922 to honour the North African countries that had helped France during World War I and closely resembles mosques to be found in Marrakesh, Morocco. A major renovation of the mosque was completed in 1992 (and there was considerable restoration work going on the day I was there). I spent a few hours at the mosque in a personal capacity on a very hot Monday morning. Being in the mosque was cool and soothing, as well as inspirational. This lovely experience left an impression on my mind and heart that remains strong and sweet - rather like the tea I had in the mosque's restaurant, where little birds with bejewelled anklets flitted around the tables.

National Meeting and AGM of the Inter Faith Network for the UK,

Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Grace Road, Leicester,

Monday 6 July 2009

We could say it was quite a coup to have this prestigious event in Leicester, but the Council of Faiths can't take any credit for it. In fact, we somehow caught wind of this rather late and didn't really make the most of the opportunities that this event presented. The Inter Faith Network for the UK chose Leicester for its major annual and national event. We had the luxury of joining in like other attendees despite the fact it was in our own back yard. We were able to showcase our work and resources to a good number of people from all over the UK. The conference theme was the engagement of young people in inter faith work; the Scottish Inter Faith Council sent a delegation to speak on this theme, made up of young people whom I'd met at the "Beyond Tolerance" event at Glasgow University in June (see number 6 in this list of my top ten for 2009). The Inter Faith Network of the UK published its report of this event online.

"Exploring the Diversity of Hinduism",

Christchurch, Clarendon Park Road, Leicester,

21 September - 30 November 2009

A ten-week course on Monday evenings, run by Christians Aware. Their courses are almost always attractive and thought-provoking, but I've not been able to commit to one before. I didn't get to every meeting of this course in the end, though I'd rather that I had. I've retained a lively interest and deep affection for many aspects of Hinduism, from my teen years when I read the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads and listened to recorded recitation of the Vedas. My encounter with Hinduism influenced how I dressed, what I ate and drank, the music I listened to - and in those days I was able to devote a couple of hours a day to yoga and meditation. I found this course refreshing and inspirational. I felt like it put me back in touch with something that had once been central to my life, and has always provided something meaningful, even if it's been in the shadows. Several people whom I met on this course came forward to support the exhibition at Highcross during National Inter Faith Week and I'd like to express my thanks for that here (I have thanked them individually of course).

Climate Change Conference,

John Foster Hall, University of Leicester,

Saturday 24 October 2009

I'd been involved in planning this event for well over a year, part of a small group spearheaded by Rev Dr Alan Race. The event was originally planned to span three days in July, be much more international in scope, with speakers and attendees from different countries. It was also intended to be part of the centenary celebrations for St Philip's Church. However, publicity for the event was sent out around the time people started becoming seriously nervous about the recession, so the original plan had to be scaled down to this one-day event. I didn't actually get into any of the sessions, as I sat outside taking registration, pointing out the way to the loos, rustling up refreshments etc. I also had to dash back to the Welcome Centre late morning to pick up some paperwork that should have been on site, so I got to see virtually nothing of the conference itself and didn't hear the speakers or panels. I did these things on the day voluntarily, I should add - but for that reason it hasn't made it into my top ten proper. Those who did take part in the sessions and workshops seemed to feel the benefit tremendously though! A report of this event was published on the World Congress of Faiths website.

Apple Day,

Quaker Meeting House, Queens Road, Leicester,

Saturday 31 October 2009

This might seem out of place at first sight, but I surprise even myself sometimes at how much of my everyday experience can be relevant to my job. This event relates to a common and growing phenomenon that has interested me for a few years now: people who describe themselves as being "spiritual but not religious". There were many things about this celebration of Apple Day that illustrated this principle, in my opinion. It drew together a diversity of people (in terms of age, class, culture, educational attainment) welcomed them all and offered things for them to do appropriate to their needs and interests. On a more subtle level, it used an artifact that has long suffered a negative symbolic status and appropriated it for positive purposes. The use of the apple as something that not only binds us to nature, but also functions as a symbol of national pride, is quite a meaningful step. Over and above all that, there was plenty of apple-based food and drink on offer. A lovely slice of apple pie, combined with custard (surely another symbol of our national culture) was very welcome.

This was the first time I'd heard of Apple Day, but it's an annual celebration, normally held on October 21 each year, of apples and orchards. Apple Day was initiated by Common Ground in 1990 and has been celebrated in each subsequent year at hundreds of local events around Britain. Common Ground describe the day as a way of celebrating and demonstrating that variety and richness matter to a locality and that it is possible to effect change in your place. Common Ground has used the apple as a symbol of the physical, cultural and genetic diversity we should not let slip away. In linking particular apples with their place of origin, they hope that orchards will be recognized and conserved for their contribution to local distinctiveness, including the rich diversity of wildlife they support. More recently Apple Day has evolved into a weekend event, usually taking place on the Saturday and Sunday closest to 21 October. (thanks, Wikipedia!)

This particular celebration was arranged by Transition Leicester, and held at one of the city's most accessible and adaptable places of worship. I think that simply reproducing the programme here will be more effective than me chuntering on about it.

10.00-11.00 Apple music improvisation. Come and experiment with voices, instruments and sound on a theme of apples. All ages welcome. No experience needed. Bring instruments if you want to.
11.00-11.30 Low input apple growing talk. A short talk about growing apples in a time of climate change and peak oil with a chance to ask questions afterwards.
11.45-12.45 Storytelling. Listen to a storyteller bringing magical, fantastical, mythological and English apple and tree stories to life.
12.30-1.30 Apple rounds. Learn apple rounds to sing in unison and harmony. You don’t need to be able to read music or sing well to enjoy making fabulous music with other people.
1.30 – 4.30 Apple Impression print workshop. Use discarded apples and natural colours to print your own stunning patterns. Make a picture to hang up or a cover for your recycled notepaper. Anyone can drop in and out at any point. Children especially welcome.
1.30-2.00 Low input apple growing talk. A short talk about growing apples in a time of climate change and peak oil with a chance to ask questions afterwards.
2.00-3.00 Starting where North, South, East and West meet, apples are for everything not just to eat. A writing workshop for children aged 8-12. Use play, listening, feeling and guessing to bring words to life. Parents needed to support children who find writing hard.
2.30-3.30 Harvesting a crop of juicy words. Creative writing on a theme of apples for adults.
2.30-3.30 Biting the Apple. In this workshop for teenagers we will be looking at the symbolism of apples, playing collaborative automatic writing word games and coming up with individual takes on a crunchy theme.
4.00-5.00 Storytelling. More apple tree filled stories and worlds for you to enter with your storytelling guide.

Harry and Grace thoroughly enjoyed themselves; my abiding memory is of Harry peddling furiously on a stationary bike, the energy from which was being used to crush a bucket of apples. He ended up spattered with a lot of apple shrapnel!

I'd recommend a look at Common Ground, the organisation which founded Apple Day. They exist to promote local distinctiveness, have much to say about the "spirit of place" and encourage creation of "Local ABCs". In my mind, this could all be creatively applied to Leicester with great effect - since we're so proud of our diversity. That's work still to be done by someone or an interested group; I'm sure there are more people than just me who have an interest in this.

2009'S TOP 10: 2

Public meeting regarding an application

to build a new mosque and community centre,

9 Bath Street, Leicester,

Tuesday 20 January 2009

Well, if anything sounds prosaic, surely this one does. Having said that, I should point out that when I drew up the long list for my top ten of the year, this one sneaked in at the bottom, but the more I thought of it, they higher it has climbed. In the end, it was one of two occasions which led me to think, "That's Leicester for you!" (The other such occasion, on a larger scale and to greater effect, is at number one in this top ten countdown for 2009.)

I’d seen an article in the Leicester Mercury the day before about this proposed new mosque that was going to be so environmentally friendly it would be virtually carbon-neutral, using solar power and rainwater amongst other things. This caught my eye particularly because of my being involved in planning the Climate Change Conference. I was attending a meeting of Global Education LeicesterShire at Rushey Mead School that afternoon and I thought that, since I was at that end of town, it might be useful to pop along to the planning meeting on the off-chance that someone there might be interested in attending the climate change conference and making a contribution to the programme.

The meeting was held in a factory building in Bath Street, off Loughborough Road. This building, which was pretty derelict, was owned by the Dawoodi Bohra group, who had commissioned the design for the new mosque and who were applying for planning permission to get it built.

The first speaker was John Tiernan, Senior Partner, Pick Everard Architects, who had drawn up the plans for the proposed new building. He explained how their design was “faithful to religious requirements of the building as specified by the client – for instance that it should have no minarets, but have small domes – but which also has elements which are familiar to us, with common elements that have come through the three great religions of the Middle East, showing some continuity of religious architecture that has come to us down through through European history – e.g. windows with Gothic arches.”

Jaffer Kapasi spoke on behalf of the Dawoodi Bohra Welfare Society, the Muslim community interested in this development. He said that the community in the city and county amounted to little more than 35 families which would be regular users of the mosque. They had been seeking an appropriate site for this community’s place of worship for over ten years; three other sites have been considered, but none of them have worked out. For the time being, they were meeting for worship in a converted office space in Wellington Street. When he stood, he gave the traditional greeting, “Salaam alaikum” (“Peace be upon you”). Much to my surprise, the almost entirely white, middle-aged and female local residents replied, in unison, “Alaikum salaam” (“And upon you be peace”). I was really taken aback by this - delightfully surprised - and, if I’m honest, this was the single most striking “inter faith” moment of 2009 for me.

None of the residents in attendance raised objections for religious or cultural reasons, but did so on practical grounds (e.g. obstruction of light for neighbouring houses, increased traffic, noise, lack of parking spaces, access for emergency vehicles being blocked. Everyone acknowledged that the proposed building was not in keeping with the look of the local area; but the residents praised the design, calling it “wonderful” and “fantastic”. They appeared genuinely pleased that they were going to get this beautiful white marble building in their rather drab street! However, they were also concerned that the unique character of this building (as highlighted the day before in the Leicester Mercury article) would attract many visitors from outside the area, increasing the pressure of traffic on Bath Street and adjacent roads.

Rev Peter Hobson was there on behalf of the Bishop of Leicester, prepared to disperse any whiff of religious intolerance that might arise, but, to but his services were not needed. The locals expressed real ease with their Muslim neighbours, some of them thought it was a bit rich to have a troubleshooter from the church among them when there was no such trouble there - and they wished that the church would show as much enthusiasm in cleaning up the nearest church, in Claremont Street.

During the course of the evening, no reference was made to the environmental features, which were the original reasons I went to this meeting. I did speak with Mr Tiernan about the planned conference and he did say that Pick Everard would be happy to display the plans at it, and that he himself would come along and speak to attendees. In the end, however, the conference itself was radically changed, and reduced in duration from three days to one. There was not the space after all to involve Pick Everard, unfortunately.

Little bit of a cheat here: the photo of Jaffer Kapasi OBE (above) was taken at Holocaust Memorial Day, 27 Jan 2011, in New Walk Museum. I'd been talking to him then about this event back in 2009 and mentioned that I'd nothing to illustrate this blog entry. I was glad to hear from him that plans for the Mosque in Bath Street are still proceeding.

2009'S TOP 10: 3

Inter Faith Week exhibition,

Highcross, Sunday 15 – Saturday 22 November 2009

Anyone who saw the exhibition, or took part in it, may be surprised to see that it's not at number one in my top ten countdown for 2009. But in this list I've tried to balance things that affected me deeply, or things that I feel I did well, alongside things that brought benefit to, or spread the good name of, Leicester Council of Faiths. No doubt this exhibition for Inter Faith Week met all these criteria. It was by far the biggest single project that I was involved in since taking up my post and it was surely the biggest single public event that the Council of Faiths has mounted in its history. Rather than write loads of new stuff about the exhibition here, I'd rather refer anyone who hasn't already seen the earliest entries in this blog to go back to the start and see the full week's worth about what went on at Highcross.

Having said that, I would like to add a little, from an unexpected source. I posted this entry on the morning of Tuesday 29 December, shortly before catching a train to London, where I visited an exhibition at the Design Museum, entitled, "Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams". Rams was the chief designer for the Braun electrical consumer goods company in Germany, whose principles and practices had a significant influence on the aesthetic of everyday life from the late 1950s onwards. In the texts on display that accompanied the exhibition, there were two statements that resonated with me when I thought about their relation to the exhibition we put on at Highcross. One text stated how Rams's designs "used different materials and colours but they all reflect a single sensibility", another how he adopted "restrained simplicity as the route to order in a chaotic world." Though speaking about something utterly different - and purely coincidental - both these quotes stood out enough for me to copy them down and want to add them here. Potentially, the exhibition at Highcross could have been chaotic. For many people, inter-faith work itself is chaotic and muddled. Several people, out of perfectly sound motives, asked for certain elements to be featured - pictures (photos of places, paintings illustrating sacred themes, portraits of special people), artifacts, music, food and drink, ready-made exhibitions that had been used on earlier occasions, one source even offered to come along with a number of helpers to build what sounded like a semi-permanent structure out of wood. While all these offers were appreciated and acknowledged, they would have made the Highcross exhibition a ragtag jumble, without theme or dynamic, not following any kind of line or narrative - and not linked to the other material the Council of Faiths had already produced (our series of leaflet and our new website). Some might have looked at what we presented there during National Inter Faith Week and wondered how such a display could have taken so many weeks in the planning and execution. For me, those two quotations in the Dieter Rams exhibition expressed perfectly how I would want to encapsulate the spirit of what we showed in Highcross that week, and that is now a lasting legacy for promotion of our work in Leicester: "different materials and colours but they all reflect a single sensibility"; "restrained simplicity as the route to order in a chaotic world."

Well, I'm not going to apologise for this significant and successful event not making number one in the list. However, I imagine that the entries that take up the top two slots will be surprising!

2009'S TOP 10: 4

Volunteering and Faith Communities Briefing Day,

Birmingham Centre for Voluntary Action,

Monday 11 May 2009

This event at Birmingham Centre for Voluntary Action was intended for leaders in the faith and volunteering sectors who want to hear firsthand what new research in this area has revealed; faith organisations who want to learn about other faiths and volunteering and find out about the next steps for this project; volunteer development agencies interested in developing faith based volunteering and learning about the potential funding opportunities for innovative pilot projects.

Leicester Council of Faiths was asked to help organise a number of focus groups earlier in 2009 to help provide information for the research project, “Volunteering and Faith Communities”. In recognition of this support for the project, Barbara Regnier at Dare to Change asked me to be the opening speaker at this event, which drew around 60 or so attendees, from all parts of England. This was followed by researchers from De Montfort University’s Centre for Social Action who presented their findings on volunteering and faith communities in England. A free copy of the published report was given to delegates (Leicester Council of Faiths was given 50 copies of this publication, with compliments for our cooperation in the project; there are still some available if anyone would like one).

In the afternoon, we heard from Professor Harris Beider, of the Institute for Community Cohesion, who set up round table discussion where attendees worked together to share experiences and expertise to help shape the outcomes for the remainder of this programme. On a personal level, this day was important for seeing the following text for the first time, entitled “The Helping Grace”. I’d discussed this briefing - and the presentation I was intending to give - with Clare and she sent me this (from a book entitled Helping the Client by John Heron) on the morning of the event:

"People who help people move by the grace within the human spirit. This grace is the primary source of effective helping behaviour. Its presence and expression are entirely independent of professional training: it can inform and be enhanced by the latter, but can also be obscured, suppressed and distorted by it

“This helping grace seems to have five key attributes: warm concern for and acceptance of others; openness and attunement to the other's experiential reality; a grasp of what the other needs for his or her essential flourishing; an ability to facilitate the realisation of such needs in the right manner and at the right time; and an authentic presence. This combination of concern, empathy, prescience, facilitation and genuineness is, I believe, the spiritual heritage of mankind. . . . What makes the effective helper is, then, an interaction between inner grace, character and cultural influence. Inner grace is a spiritual endowment and potential, which everyone has. Character is what persons make of themselves in the light of this endowment and in response to their culture."

I picked this up on my BlackBerry, while on the train on the way to the briefing. Having read it, I decided to ditch the presentation I had prepared, and with hardly an hour to go before my talk, redrafted the whole thing, putting this text onto PowerPoint slides at double-quick time. This passage just seemed so apposite to the theme of the day and particularly the approach I was taking, that would help set the tone for the whole event. I spoke for half an hour, and gave a very different sort of presentation from the one I thought I would; it was also different from the presentations that followed, mine being the only one that presented a perspective from inside the faith communities. Two things struck me in particular, having helped organise the focus groups in Leicester and having taken part in two of them myself. One was how people within the faith communities who routinely offer services that the rest of the world consider to be "volunteering" don't see it that way themselves - it's just how they live and what they do (sometimes it's what is expected of them) individually or collectively. The other was how some belief systems embrace (or even institutionalise) service voluntarily offered and practised as "seva" or something along those lines. I made reference to these two aspects in my presentation. I'd been looking for a way to connect these two approaches that would allow them to be united without flattening out their differences; the notion of the Helping Grace allowed me to do that.

2009's TOP 10: 5

Faiths Trail,

Sunday 13 September 2009

This has become a regular fixture in the Council of Faiths calendar over the past few years, organised in conjunction with English Heritage as part of their programme of open days during this week. I got to go on the first one of these tours (it was called a "Peace Pilgrimage" then) after I took up my post in 2007, but missed last year's excursion, so I was pleased to be able to take part this time.

Our party of 25, from a variety of backgrounds and interests (and some from outside Leicester or Leicestershire) convened at Pilgrim House at 0930. We had a few words of welcome and introduction from Minou Cortazzi (Chair of the Council of Faiths), Cllr Manjula Sood (Deputy Lord Mayor and trustee of the Council of Faiths) and Resham Singh Sandhu (Chairman of the Sikh Welfare and Cultural Society and former Chair of the Council of Faiths). Our coach left Town Hall Square shortly before 10 o'clock. First stop was the Jain Centre, Oxford Street (pictured above), where we were joined by the Lord Mayor of Leicester and the Lady Mayoress. From there we proceeded to Shree Jalaram Prarthana Mandal, Narborough Road; then to Guru Amar Das Gurdwara, Clarendon Park Road, where we were treated to lunch (and where the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress had to take their leave of us). After lunch we went to the Orthodox Synagogue, Highfields Street; then to the Central Mosque, Conduit Street; and finally, St Philip's Parish Church, Evington Road. As we approached each place of worship, we handed out copies of the relevant leaflet to everyone on the coach, so they'd have a chance to read something about each faith community before each stop on the tour.

Everyone was impressed by the hospitable reception at the various places of worship. Arrangements for the day were made by Ajay Aggarwal, Co-Ordinator at Leicester Council of Faiths.

2009'S TOP 10: 6

Launch of “Beyond Tolerance” DVD,

University of Glasgow,

Tuesday 2 June 2009

Dr Maureen Sier and her daughter Sonya (Director of Freshlight Films) launched the DVD and education pack, Beyond Tolerance, an inter faith resource for young people and adults. Young people from a variety of religious and national backgrounds were interviewed in the film and spoke at the launch about the ways in which interfaith engagement had made a positive impact on their lives.

I was invited to attend this event and I just couldn't say no. Great to see this happening in my old stomping ground, have the chance to catch up with some old friends and colleagues from the early days of my interfaith activities in Glasgow - and, hopefully, to make some new ones.

In Sonya's presentation at the launch she told the story of how this inspiring project got started (Sonya's words below are lifted wholesale from the Firstport website.

"This interfaith documentary project all started a few months before my mum, Dr Maureen Sier, left for America in August 2007. She'd received a UK/US Fulbright Interfaith Scholarship and I was very proud of her and eager to hear about everything she'd be doing. We were sitting at the dinner table late one night, mum was excitedly telling me about the amazing people she would be meeting in America; activists and scholars from around the globe who were at the forefront of interfaith learning. The plan was for the Fulbright scholars to share what they knew and explore ideas for the future. Each scholar would then go to a different grassroots project, to see what life was really like on the ground. Finally they would each return home and use their experiences to improve interfaith relations in their home country. 

"My mind was buzzing, this was really something - people who cared, who wanted to really make a positive difference. At the same time I started being plagued by the question - How were people going to hear about this? The answer came to be in a flash, literally a light bulb moment. I was convinced that if I could make a documentary about mum's journey, the people, places and organisations she met along the way it would be of interest to everyone, especially to young people who I think are the key to making real change in the world. At the same time as all this was happening I noticed whenever I watched the news, it was a doom and gloom, in fact depressing, broadcasters showed nothing but images of war, terrorism and violence, as one of the my interviewees says in the DVD 'if it bleeds it leads!' No wonder people feel hopeless!

"And so it was from this desire to make a difference, to show the world in a more positive light that Beyond Tolerance was born. I wrote a proposal and sent it to everyone I knew and sometimes people I didn't. Mum left for America and there was no sign of funding, and I was beginning to feel like perhaps it was not meant to be. Then all of a sudden some funding arrived from the Scottish Government, the Baha'i Council for Scotland, British Airways, and Scotland UnLtd. It was enough to take a small crew to America. 

"There we found wonderfully inspiring people especially youth, in fact so many people wanted to share their stories and experiences that we ended up with over thirty hours of footage. When I got home I knew the one thing that was missing was UK and Scottish voices, particularly those of young people and so another bout of filming took place and I was able to interview amazing young people from the UK. 

"The editing process was a long labour of love there was so much footage than we could ever have anticipated and I really wanted to make the most of it. Thankfully some further funding arrived from the Sikh Community and the Scottish Inter Faith Council an this allowed for the process to be completed. While the post production work was happening, work started on the education pack which could be used in schools, universities, religious groups, homes and youth centres. It had to be relevant to issues of diversity, full of activities that could be done anywhere from a small classroom to a large church hall and it had to be engaging for the participants. A tall order I hear you cry. Well, yes, but we had the assistance of many wonderful consultants from across the learning and artistic sectors. The final combination of interfaith documentary and education pack is something we're very proud of and it's already being used here in the UK."

The launch went without a hitch and the guest speakers included Dr Rose Drew, from the Glasgow University Centre for Inter-faith Studies, MSP Fergus Ewing and Haroon Ahmed, Magdalen Lambkin, Frances Hume and Dr Maureen Sier, all of whom are interviewed in the film. The atmosphere was one of hope, excitement for the future and positivity about the role interfaith can and does play in building good community relations. Many personal stories were told and MSP Fergus Ewing spoke of the continued need for education against sectarianism, bigotry and religious hatred. Dr Drew said, "This project is timely, education is vital and not just the academic level at the grassroots is really where it will make the biggest difference." There are great plans for Beyond Tolerance, already Sonya has been in discussion with Australia and New Zealand about it being used down under so it is with great expectations that we "watch this space" for further development of this inspirational project.

2009'S TOP 10: 7

“Sacred on Location”,

Central Lending Library, Belvoir Street, Leicester,

Friday 16 January - Friday 6 February 2009

This was a touring version of the British Library’s most successful ever exhibition (on show at the British Library’s St Pancras site, April to September 2007). It visited Leicester’s Central Lending Library for three weeks. The exhibition brought together some of the world’s most important and beautiful religious texts, exquisite and rare examples of Jewish, Christian and Muslim sacred texts from the British Library’s collections were presented in a unique and compelling modern context, which included a distinctive interactive element, enabling visitors to leaf virtually through some of the Library’s greatest treasures and even to hear extracts from the texts chanted aloud in their original languages. It also provided people with the chance to explore information about customs and rituals from the three faiths featured in the original exhibition: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

I was commissioned to run a series of workshops on behalf of Leicester Council of Faiths, for several schools and colleges who were booked in to visit the exhibition. Unfortunately, this coincided with the worst snowfall in England for over 25 years; a fairly small amount of snow brought the country to its knees for days on end. So only two of the workshops went ahead, with Crown Hills Community College and Regent College. This was an excellent exhibition to have come to Leicester and it's a pity that more people didn't see it. Of those who did get to see it, many complained that it didn't reflect the nature of religious diversity in our city, focusing as it did only on Judaism, Christianity and Islam. But that was missing the point and there are always plenty of people who will do that, sadly. To counteract any such feelings of omission or misrepresentation, we were able to display our full series of leaflets, featuring all eight of the religions represented on Leicester Council of Faiths, in the entrance to the library. Loads of these were taken away by visitors to the library over the course of the exhibitions.

Sacred on Location launched at an event split between the The Mitchell Library and Botanic Gardens in Glasgow on 27 April 2007 before touring the UK for more than two years in all.

2009'S TOP 10: 8

“One Leicester: Harmony & Diversity”

Secondary RE conference,

Salvation Army, Ladysmith Road, Wigston,

Monday 28 September 2009

The Salvation Army Leicester South HQ is an excellent facility and our hosts were very hospitable. The key purpose of this event was the founding of the Students' Council on RE. Being at this day was part of the ongoing process of strengthening relations between Leicester Council of Faiths and Leicester SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education). There were around 12 schools represented out of a possible 17, with well over 100 students there. There was a good number and variety of workshops and sessions on offer, but I didn't get in to any of them. My part was to bring a small exhibition, stand by it for most of the day and ensure that staff from the various schools attending the event went away with sets of our leaflets to use as classroom resources. "They also serve who only stand and wait" as John Milton famously wrote.

2009'S TOP 10: 9

Andy Cooke Show,

Eava FM,

Wednesday 8 April 2009

I'd met Andy a few weeks earlier, at a meeting of the short-lived Leicester Community Network which was held in the LCB Depot, Rutland Street. He'd asked me then (in principle) if I'd appear on his morning show on Eava FM, which goes out daily, live for an hour, from 0900-1000. Eava FM is a multilingual community radio station, with licence to broadcast only within Leicester. I was the only subject on this edition of Andy's show and, apart from four or five pieces of recorded music, the whole hour was given over to the two of us chatting. I got to talk about my early experiences in inter-faith work in Glasgow and what I did before taking up my current post with Leicester Council of Faiths; so I got to big up ReMit and Network for Change while talking about my teaching adults with long-term mental health issues. We covered some interesting ground on the show, such as how an organisation like Leicester Council of Faiths would relate to the increasing number of people in this city and country who describe themselves as being "spiritual" but not necessarily "religious" - those who express a genuine and lively interest in values and lifestyles that go beyond the merely material, while not aligning themselves to any religion or belief system. In this context I got to explain, live on air, how the pickling classes at Network are one of the most spiritual activities I've ever heard of! Only two people whom I know told me that they'd actually listened to the programme, since I didn't have much time to alert anyone about it.