Building Healthy and Cohesive Communities November 2006 Ted Cantle - The Institute of Community Cohesion

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Building Healthy and Cohesive Communities
November 2006Ted Cantle - The Institute of
Community Cohesion Associate Director IDeA
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The World is on the move.

• In 1965 75m people lived outside home country,
  now 180m do so.
• 500,000 Brits now live in Spain, more in other
  countries, (NZ 200,000) and millions 2nd homes
• 30m tourists to UK and 70m from UK, to ever
  widening list of countries
• And globalisation in many forms international
  students, business, brands, internet, etc

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..with a new picture of ourselves...
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.. but are we comfortable with diversity?

• Riots in Britain, France, Australia and other
  countries
• Demands to limit migration the growth of the
  extreme right
• Divisions and tensions within communities and
  neighbourhoods
• More change to come

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The UK is Multi-Cultural

• 5 million BME people, many 2nd/3rd generation,
  with settlement pattern little changed in 40
  years, e.g. 50 all BME in London
• White flight from citiesincreasing
  segregation?
• But also now growth of international cities.
  London over 300 languages in schools
• Rural areas experiencing real change too
• New diversity new opportunities and challenges

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What does this mean for public services?

• Changing workforces
• New emerging needs
• Dynamic population and churn
• New and different services
• New partnerships to tackle wider societal
  issues
• And, new information / data requirements

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A Long Way in 40 years

• Were the 60s swinging
• 1965, 1968, 1976 etc combatting naked racism and
  discrimination
• Development of equal opportunities, ethnic
  monitoring, positive action
• To Scarman, urban programme and Macpherson

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What was found in 2001

• Polarised and segregated communities
• Parallel lives
• Ignorance, fear and demonisation
• Lack of honesty and openness
• Lack of leadership and values
• Many initiatives reinforced difference and
  separation

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And Settlement not Managed well

• Managed migration in economic terms, but not
  managed settlement
• Some resource conflicts are real, if
  transitional, but myths abound
• Attitudes and fear of difference also real
• Structural segregation often reinforced
• Little by way of real support to migrants, or to
  the host community

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A New Identity challenge

• From small number of identifiable groups
  struggling to maintain heritage to
• Large number of diasporic identities which
  compete with national identity faith providing
  a new set of identities
• Premium on difference, little investment in
  commonalities
• Limited shared experiences and values

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Has Multiculturalism Failed?

• Response to racism/discrimination acceptance of
  pluralism with some real success
• Multicultural model focussed on difference not
  commonalities
• Differences between BME groups too
• Equalities and anti-discrimination not enough
  change attitudes and values too

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What does Cohesion mean to

• Tewkesbury
• Hastings
• Kirklees
• Belfast
• Lincolnshire
• London Boroughs

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What is Community Cohesion?

• A Cohesive Community is one where
• There is a common vision and a sense of belonging
  for all communities
• The diversity of peoples backgrounds are
  appreciated and positively valued
• Those from different backgrounds have similar
  life opportunities
• Strong and positive relationships are being
  developed between people from different
  backgrounds, in schools and within neighbourhoods

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We all Belong..
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In Blackburn.
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And in Scotland.
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Valuing diversity - understanding the Fear of
Difference

• Not dismissing racism and identity loss
• Rigid social and economic patterns
• Limited conceptions of others
• Challenged by all differences
• Cross-cultural or bridging social capital the
  workforce, volunteers, and vol. orgs

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Tackling Inequalities

• Key to cohesion disaffection will threaten
  community well being
• Health inequalities impacts on economic position
  and
• social participation, social capital etc
• Community mapping vital population and churn,
  as well as needs

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Mapping Community/Inequalities

• Mapping community dynamics change in number and
  settlement pattern
• Using health records (and housing, schools, NI
  registrations, employers, other factors)
• Understanding perceptions, as well as realities
  Anticipating disaffection and tensions
• Mapping Needs and inequalities

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Building Positive Relationships

• Tackling fear and prejudice
• Breaking down insular communities
• Supporting diversity and clustering, but avoiding
  exclusiveness
• Creating safe experiences and shared spaces

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Working Across Communities

• Examples
• School twinning
• Sports and arts programmes
• Inter-faith networks
• Youth projects
• Older people visits, cookery, dance
• Health prevention, exercise classes etc
• Shared spaces e.g. GP surgery?

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Building Social Capital

• The institutional and social networks which
  enable communities to function collectively
• But what capital exists now?
• How do we build it create bridging social
  capital?
• Is it more difficult now to get people involved
  in their local community?

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A healthy community

• Free of fear, insecurity, misunderstanding
• Positive experiences improve health
• Shared experiences to develop trust and shared
  values
• Working together on commonalities
• And separately on genuine differences what are
  they?

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Cooperation not competition

• Local and community organisations making change
  or reinforcing separation? Capacity building, but
  for what?
• Structural changes and funding regimes to
  incentivise people and orgs to co-operate
• Community leaders gateways or gatekeepers?
• And personal v collective choice?

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Leadership a place for health

• Vision challenging extremists, avoiding
  communal politics and competition
• Promoting the diversity advantage creative and
  entrepreneurial cities
• Local employers, Local celebrities, faith
  leaders, sports personalities and GPs!
• Other public sector agencies
• Values, symbols and celebration

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Action in Local communities .

• A corporate programme
• Education english teaching twinning parental
  networks citizenship education
• Housing social housing development programmes
  private sector controls
• Employment skills programmes, ensuring new
  opportunities for local people

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Action in Local Communities ..

• Regeneration programmes
• Police and criminal justice
• Youth and community services
• Sport, Leisure and social, cultural, faith events
• Voluntary and community work
• BUT, the process is vital too

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Questions

• How do we promote common national and local
  identity and belonging, whilst accepting
  difference
• How do we use our services to tackle inequalities
  and promote interaction and cohesion
• And build on success!