On Monday 10th January Gurvinder Sandher Artistic Director of Cohesion Plus was invited to speak at Hope Not Hate’s online webinar and launch of their new Inclusive Events Guide which featured the work of Cohesion Plus and its long standing partnership with Gravesham Borough Council.

The report published by Hope Not Hate is a practitioner’s guide to public events and how such events can bring together different communities in a meaningful way that has a lasting effect. The report showcases the work done by Cohesion Plus working in partnership with Gravesham Borough Council as an example of best practice to building resilient and cohesive communities using the arts and culture as the hook.

Gurvinder spoke about the importance of being embedded in the local community, working in partnership, having a broad range of funders and getting a wide range of community partners involved in the respective events. The full report can be accessed via the link below:

https://www.hopefultowns.co.uk/inclusive-events-guide

Other speakers included former government minister John Denham who now is based at the Centre for English Identity and Politics, Sunder Katwala from the think tank British Future and Melanie Norris from Gravesham Borough Council.

Gurvinder Sandher commented. “It was a pleasure to showcase our work on a national platform, highlighting our long standing partnership with Gravesham Borough Council. It is important to not underestimate the impact that arts and culture can have in bringing communities together and promoting cohesion in a locality. Our work I believe is a testament to this. We hope that those looking to deliver inclusive events in the future now have a useful tool to do this. Many thanks to our colleagues at Hope Not Hate for their support and recognition and to Gravesham Borough Council for our ongoing partnership.”