Bridging Divides – learning from Common Room workshops in 2024 

After taking part in our Common Room workshop on Hate Crime led by Communities Inc, one participant commented:

I made connections with some partners I had worked with previously and also established some newer connections.  In light of the recent national disorder, it is even more important that these partnerships continue to work together and reach out to the community.

We couldn’t agree more. This is exactly why we organise Common Room workshops. They provide a friendly, safe space to hear from people with lived or learned experience, connect with others and share ideas for the development of community practice.  

Series 4 of our Common Room workshop programme in 2024 was titled Bridging Divides and Connecting Communities. The aims of these Common Room sessions were to:

• Provide training and practical advice on topics that relate to bridging divides, countering hate, increasing social connection and promoting community cohesion; 
• Increase the knowledge and skill set of More In Common Network members and a wider audience including professional, community groups and individuals.

The topics were drawn from the work and concerns of our network of groups and partnerships and based on values that Jo Cox was committed to.  In 2024 we chose topics which were deeper and more sensitive than previous years, due to demand.

On 23rd May in Nottingham with Communities Inc we discussed Hate Crime: the impact on communities in Nottingham, and how to respond. 

Giving feedback, one person wrote:

I got the opportunity to meet other criminal justice and community members with a common interest in relation to tackling hate crime and working to improve community cohesion.

With Mahmooda Qureshi of The Faith and Belief Forum (Walsall) and Gabriella Gay representing Under One Roof community heritage project (Stoke) we explored Social Action in a Zoom session online, on 10th June.

Martin reflected on:

Two exemplary practices for bridging communities and faiths respectively. [I was] struck by Gabriella finding that communities did not have many existing cross-links.

Who Is Your Neighbour? led our session on 10th July in Bradford, in which we talked about conversations that matter:  the ways dialogue can disrupt division.

When discussing key takeaways from the session, Pete said:

Thanks to everyone who showed up. I think it’s ABOUT showing up! I took away [the] power there is in really listening, and equally the satisfaction in being heard by my peers. I talked with several people and felt their passion at the training.

We learned about taking the middle ground: how to respond to anti-minority views, on 18th July in Cardiff with Gareth Harris.

One participant enthused:

Hearing from someone with the knowledge, experience and view points that Gareth has – a training like no other I have done before in terms of the subject matter. It was incredibly useful and important to hear and see different perspectives.

The sessions were unexpectedly timely, as within a week of the final event, a series of violent protests took place around the country including in Nottingham, Leeds, and Stoke (areas of focus in the sessions), instigated by some of the anti-minority groups which Gareth informed us of in the final session. 

What did we learn?

Over the four sessions we learned that building trust and bridging divides in communities relies on offering deep listening beyond immediate expressions of fear and hate, relational approaches, attending to grievances, connecting people over shared concerns to build power and take action together. 

Our learning from each Common Room workshop, with links to resources we found useful, will follow in future blog posts. Come back soon to find out more! 

What’s next?

In 2025 we are holding series 5 of the Common Room programme in Cardiff, Nottingham and Stoke on Trent, and one online, between March and June. These events will be by invite only, to keep the spaces safe and focussed. However we are always keen to speak with potential collaborators, so if you would like more information or to arrange a chat please email [email protected] 

We are planning our More In Common In Action conference in Manchester in May, an opportunity for More In Common Groups and Partnerships and interested individuals to share learning and ideas for action. Please sign up to the More In Common Newsletter at the bottom of this page if you would like to know what’s coming up.

Find out more

You can read more about each of the Common Room workshops that we held in 2024 in the separate blog entries that are linked to below:

• Hate crime: the impact on communities in Nottingham, and how to respond
• Bridging Divides through Social Action
• Troubling conversations in everyday settings
• Taking the Middle Ground: How to respond to extreme views in your area