FOUR WARDS INTERCULTURAL PROJECT
Background EMEN, working in partnership with the Society For Intercultural Understanding Leicester and Leicester City Council has completed the Four Wards Intercultural Project. Five Intercultural events, a DVD (available to buy from £10 click here), an evaluation and a new report: Engaging With Cultures which raised some eyebrows. Now available to buy from £5 click here. Read about it below.
This project follows on from a Neighbourhood Renewal Funded Leicester InterCultural Project completed by the Society for Intercultural Understanding in 2004. 'Integrated Cities', the report that followed the completion of that project can be found in our archive.
The aim of this project funded by Leicester City Council's Community Cohesion Fund was two-fold:
Picture: Leader of Leicester City Council Roger Blackmore opens the Pakistani Women At Work exhibition as part of the new project:
The project was to carry out six related activities: Intercultural Events:/Benefits
Instead of four events, five were organised. Another very important achievement was that more people were actually involved in the various events than was originally planned. Instead of 400 people, the number involved was 668, or + 167% on the original requirement. Intercultural Training Engagement With Cultures: From Diversity To Interculturalism
Good Practise DVD
Added Value
Follow this link for more pictures from the project.
1. To reduce the level of tension between different communities in the City and to establish and encourage inter-cultural activities and events valuing shared and distinct cultures in the four communities of Braunstone, Belgrave, Saffron and Spinney Hills.
2. To gain a greater understanding of Interculturalism in the four wards concerned.
• Establish a four-estate group to organise and implement intercultural events across the four wards
• People in the group will receive cultural training to improve their knowledge and understanding of other cultures
• Hold four specific intercultural events, one in each target area
• Record and film those events, and create a DVD, to make this information available to a wider audience, and to show what has been done. This will DVD will also be used to disseminate good practice
• Undertake an Evaluation of the project
• Update the publication, Integrated Cities
One of the Intercultural events was a Qawali show that included a Sikh Mendhi (wedding)
EVENT
TYPE
DATE
LOCATION
Pakistani Women at Work Poster Exhibition
Exhibition
22 to 30 August 2005
Belgrave Hall, Belgrave
Qawali & Mendhi Night
Theatrical
25 August 2005
Sparkenhoe Theatre, Highfields
Bhangra & Stars & Angels Dance Show
Musical
22 September 2005
Aylestone and District Working MenÕs Club, Saffron
Intercultural Football Competition
Sports
21 October 2005
Multi Use Games Area, Braunstone
Dont Dilly Dally on the Way
Childrens Musical
27 October 2005
Marriott School, Saffron
Intercultural training was provided for all members of the Steering Committee: 13 events were held instead of the 8 mentioned in the application.
As part of this project a report (Engagement With Cultures: From Diversity To Interculturalism
)by Asaf Hussain, Bill Law and Tim Haq has been published by the University of Leicester's Institute of Lifelong Learning. The book includes:
FOREWORD by Ted Cantle
INTRODUCTION
SECTION 1: EXPLORING MULTICULTURAL CITIES
SECTION 2: RECOGNITION OF CULTURAL BOUNDARIES
SECTION 3: CROSSING CULTURAL BOUNDARIES
SECTION 4: BUILDING INTERCULTURAL BRIDGES
SECTION 5: TOWARDS CULTURAL INTEGRATION
This book is a must for anyone involved in Community Cohesion or Regeneration
It is available to buy - click here
In addition, a DVD (The Four Wards Intercultural Events: A Documentary Record
) has been produced by Contact Cultures to disseminate good practice. To buy this DVD click here
A good example of added value
is the valuable illustrated publication printed for the Pakistani Women At Work Poster Exhibition. This had not been expected of the project, but was felt to be a useful contribution in countering stereotypes. At the suggestion of the Leader of the City Council, Roger Blackmore, it has been placed in secondary school libraries via the network and good offices of the School Development Support Agency (SDSA).
A SICUL
project managed by EMEN in partnership with:
