Safer Communities Project - Diversity Without Division

Safer Communities Project – Civic Dialogue

Hate crime and social division continue to rise across the UK, with religious and ethnic minority communities disproportionately affected. In the past year alone, over 115,000 hate crimes were recorded, more than 10% of which were religious hate crimes. These trends underline the need for spaces where communities, institutions and leaders can work together — not in isolation — to strengthen social cohesion.

The Safer Communities Project brings together youth leaders, educators, faith representatives and civic actors to explore how diversity can be a source of strength rather than division. Hosted at St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, this civic dialogue forms part of a wider UK-wide process responding to hate crime through structured dialogue, peace education and coordinated local action.

The dialogue is convened through the Youth Empowerment & Peace Working Group (YEPW), an initiative of the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) — a global youth organisation working with over 1,000 partner groups across 119 countries. Since autumn 2025, IPYG UK has been hosting YEPW dialogues nationwide, creating a shared platform for young people, educators and civic partners to examine the root causes of hate and violence and develop practical responses.

Rather than a one-off discussion, the Safer Communities Project is a continuous civic process designed to move conversation into action.

Expert Speakers & Panel

This dialogue will feature contributions from practitioners and leaders working directly on human rights, law, reconciliation, education, religious harmony and community safety, including:

• Jo Berry CBE – Founder, Building Bridges for Peace
• Sanaam Naraghi Anderlini MBE – Founder, International Civil Society Action Network
• Sardarni Navleen Kaur MBE – Sikh Chaplain, King’s College London & Singh Sabha Gurdwara Southall
• Sabah Ahmedi – Imam & Social Media Influencer
• Najma Abdi – Knife Crime Community Activist, School Governor
• Dabi Jacob – Co-Chair, Ambassadors of Peace East Africa

What’s happened so far

This dialogue builds on two UK-wide civic dialogues held in October and November 2025, which brought together:

• 91 participants
• from 11 UK cities and 14 London boroughs
• across youth, education, faith, charity, health and civic sectors

Across these dialogues, participants reached clear consensus that:

• hate crime is often rooted in isolation, fear, misinformation and lack of interaction between communities
• prevention depends on skills such as empathy, dialogue, critical thinking and reconciliation — skills that must be actively taught and modelled
• families, schools, community leaders and civic institutions must work together rather than operate in silos

Importantly, these dialogues were followed by a period of implementation, during which reconciliation training sessions, peace education classes and an in-person panel on women’s safety were delivered. This ensured the process moved beyond discussion into tangible action.

The February dialogue

This session will bring participants together to reflect on lessons learned so far and examine how diversity, when supported by the right skills and structures, can strengthen communities and reduce fear, polarisation and hate before they escalate. The dialogue will also explore UK-based case studies and practical approaches that can be adapted locally.

Date: Saturday, 21 February 2026
Time: 13:00–15:00
Location: St. Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace (Central London)
*Entrance will be for registrations only. Late registration may result in joining a wait list or joining online.

Participation is free, but registration is required.

For further information or to receive outcome documents from previous dialogues, please contact ipyg.unitedkingdom@gmail.com.