In July 2024 during the peak of the civil unrest, which was happening in England and Northern Ireland, a group of Greater Manchester (GM) Citizen leaders came together at Cheadle Masjid in a show of solidarity. It was from this that the seeds of the Building Bridges Project were planted. Three organisations, including The University of Manchester, formed a partnership to tackle hate crime and foster social cohesion in South Manchester.   

The GM Citizens leader then attended a panel event convened at The University of Manchester in which academic, civic and community leaders took part in discussions and reflections on the civil unrest. The mix of academic research and ‘lived community experience’ proved fruitful. The research shared at this panel event has provided a strong foundation to the project along with new areas to explore. The community expertise helped to root the learning from the event at a local level.  

An essential part of the project is listening and bringing communities of difference together. The project has organised community gatherings across different venues in South Manchester. These included a diverse range of people from local communities. Within this, the stories of asylum seekers and the Muslim community, key targets of the unrest, were heard. People shared their hopes and fears, exploring together how to build social cohesion. While many issues emerged from the listening, the main one was how grass root leaders can hold challenging community conversations.

To support the leaders, Professor Hilary Pilkington facilitated mediated dialogue training for 20 leaders involved in the project, led by the Peace Collective. The training took place earlier in October. Hilary has supported the Building Bridges Project since presenting on the panel and leads work nationally on social cohesion.  Alongside the community leaders who attended the training, were University of Manchester staff and representatives from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The training explored how to support and navigate difficult community conversations. 

• The Building Bridges Project continues to build and if you would like to find out more, please contact Mags Bradbury, Head of Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement at The University of Manchester.