Living in a Multi-faith London: an event for young Londoners

A hundred young Londoners together came to the British Museum on Sunday October 2nd 2005, to think about Living in a Multi-faith London. They came from schools, faith groups, universities and as individuals.

Representatives from all of the nine major world religions participated - Bahais, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and a Zoroastrian - as well as those with no religious affiliations.

The aim of the event was to bring young Londoners from a wide range of faiths and backgrounds together and to ask them to share their ideas on how to create a successful multi-faith city. The conference aimed to show the positive sides of all religions.

Process

Participants were encouraged to talk to each other and to learn more about each other¬s faiths and values. The first sessions broke the young people up into small groups and asked them to meet each other and share their views on how people from different faiths get on in London. They also took part in workshops to learn new skills and listened to presentations from a wide range of organisations.

Christian Aid, Grassroots Ethiopia and Islamic Relief all spoke about their work in Ethiopia. They talked about issues such as HIV / AIDS, how support bridges religious boundaries and about the values that their work shares, despite being motivated by different faiths. We also watched a presentation from an interfaith group of young people in Leicester, who had gone as youth journalists to the World Parliament of Religions in Barcelona.

Participants then chose between five different workshops:

Religion and the media - a media skills workshop run by Sandra Herbert and Simon Cohen of Global Tolerance;
South Asian dance - a kathak dance workshop on identity run by Akademi;
All you wanted to know about religion but were afraid to ask: a chance to ask questions to representatives from nine world religions;
Keeping the City Safe - Camden Police and leading figures from the Muslim community discuss London post 7/7;
How to disagree without falling out - a workshop by Leap on conflict resolution skills

A main aim of the event was to launch the faith trail. The creators of the trail introduced the event and then acted as tour guides, standing in the galleries and introducing and explaining selected objects to the other participants at the conference. The participants walked around the galleries in small groups, stopping at the objects included in the trail and talking to its creators. They were shown the Museum from another young person¬s viewpoint and encouraged to use the artefacts and their interpretations as a starting point for discussion.

For more information about speakers and the event content, please look at the agenda or the event evaluation attached. Diversity and Dialogue will be producing guidelines and ideas to help others plan similar youth interfaith events.
Evaluation

Many of the participants had never visited the British Museum before and so the event was effective in bringing in new audiences. It gave young people a taste of what the Museum might be able to teach them about their own society and its different faiths.

The event was a great success in bringing a hundred young people together, from all over London and beyond, and with many different beliefs and backgrounds. There was an atmosphere of co-operation and excitement. The challenge is to engage those who would not choose to come to this kind of event and to create something that can be sustained over more than just one day.

Participants' Comments

"I think it is important to reach those people who do not mix with other cultures and help to break down all forms of prejudice through education." Bahai female

"I thought this event was great because it gave an equal say to everyone¬s religion and everyone was able to express their own views." Christian participant

"I realised that many young people are actually interested in improving London and in spreading understanding." Muslim participant