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Cultural & Community Cohesion Partnership

What is the purpose and what are the goals of the Partnership?

The aim of the Cultural & Community Cohesion Partnership is to positively celebrate local culture, heritage and promote community cohesion and integration in Tameside. The partnership brings together a broad range of stakeholders from statutory & voluntary sectors in Tameside to work in partnership in developing strategies and work which address the needs of all of Tameside’s residents.

What is the national context?

Community cohesion is a major current strand in national & local government work since 2001. Much of the focus of community cohesion has been, and will continue to be, about how communities from different ethnic groups can live together better and prosper. However, it is important to stress that other factors, such as age and class differences, may spark conflicts that impact on the cohesiveness of a community.

The Local Government White Paper has placed more emphasis on local councils to boost community cohesion. At the 2006 Local Government Association (LGA) conference, Local Government Minister, Phil Woolas said:

“The traditional pillars of society have diminished, whether the church, trade unions and youth clubs. We have to rebuild these institutions that people feel an affinity to and local government is at the spine of that.”

The Government established the Commission on Integration and Cohesion in June 2006. It was led by Darra Singh, Chief Executive of Ealing Council. The independent advisory body explored how different communities and places in England are getting along. It also looked at what more might be done to bring people together – respecting differences, but developing a shared sense of belonging and purpose.

The commission's final report was published in June 2007. It drew on a large number of submissions from many organisations, including councils. The report underlines the need to move away from a single approach towards more sophisticated analysis and tailored local solutions.

The Government has now published its response to the Commission of Integrations & Cohesion “Our Shared Future” report in February 2008.

What does community cohesion mean?

Community Cohesion is what must happen in all communities to enable different groups of people to get on well together. A key contributor to community cohesion is integration which is what must happen to enable new residents and existing residents to adjust to one another.

Our vision of an integrated and cohesive community is based on three foundations:

People from different backgrounds having similar life opportunities
People knowing their rights and responsibilities
People trusting one another and trusting local institutions to act fairly

And

Three key ways of living together:

A shared future vision and sense of belonging
A focus on what new and existing communities have in common, alongside a recognition of the value of diversity
Strong and positive relationships between people from different backgrounds.

What are the Cultural & Community Cohesion Partnership’s priorities in Tameside?

Develop realistic perceptions between young and old people
Build understanding and knowledge of diversity in Tameside
Promote integration between communities/groups through the use of sport, leisure and cultural activities
Provide opportunities for people to share experiences and activities
Build the capacity and resources to deliver on community cohesion
To oversee the delivery of the Tameside Cultural Strategy

Key projects

THIP (Tameside Hate Incident Panel) is a group which meets up on a regular basis to monitor levels of hate crime in Tameside. Partners attending the group include the police, housing providers, council service representatives, Victim Support & Witness Services, Tameside Race Equality Council.

Cultural & Cohesion events in Tameside
A photograph of a firework display at the delwali festival celebration Tameside Arts and Events Team are responsible for organising an annual programme of public events and heritage projects throughout the Borough and for co-ordinating a range of community arts projects in Tameside examples of these include.

Splendid Weekend is one of the Council’s most successful annual events. It takes place during the last weekend of July each year and includes a ‘Proms in the Park event’ as well as a family Fun Day on the Sunday afternoon

Dewali event

The Tameside Diwali celebrations are run in partnership with Tameside MBC’s Arts and Events Team and representatives from the local Hindu community in Tameside

The 2007 Festival welcomed hundreds of people and engaged the wider community through a series of lantern making workshops in local schools and community centres. The event has grown dramatically over the past four years and the Tameside Diwali Celebrations are now some of the biggest in the Northwest.