Inter Faith Week 2021

Inter Faith week 2021 will take place from 14 to 21 November 2021. The aims of the week are to:

• Strengthen good inter faith relations at all levels
• Increase awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, in particular celebrating and building on the contribution which their members make to their neighbourhoods and to wider society
• Increase understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs

Members of the BASES Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Group have shared a picture of them holding a piece of paper with a word or sentence about what Inter Faith Week means to them.

Savannah Sturridge

Lucinda Abell

Thirsha de Silva

Dr Tori Sprung and colleagues at Liverpool John Moores University

You can download a copy of the Inter Faith Week 2021 poster here.

In our daily life, we will all encounter people of other backgrounds. They might be family members, friends, work colleagues, neighbours or parents of our children’s friends. Throughout the week (and beyond), please try some of the following:

• Enjoy the outdoors - an easy way to gather together for Inter Faith Week is to organise a walk, in a park, nature reserve or area of interest nearby. This costs nothing to do, takes little advanced organisation, and is a great way to enjoy the company of others and the great outdoors.
• Play sport - sport, physical activity and exercise are great ways to bring people together. Get together with a small group of people of different faith and belief backgrounds, and play together. You can do this in a very informal way, using 'jumpers for goalposts' in a local park or hall, or you could try to arrange a more structured activity or add a competition dimension. The key, though, is to have fun doing it!
• Grab a Coffee - get together with a friend or two of a different faith and belief, and have a chat over coffee.
• Bake something - get together with some friends or workmates of different faith and belief backgrounds, and plan a day during Inter Faith Week where you will share an Inter Faith Week cake (or cakes!) together.
• Watch a movie - Inter Faith Week is a great time to get together with people of other faiths and beliefs, enjoy a movie, and discuss the themes afterwards.
• Plant something together - November is the perfect time to be planting trees and spring bulbs. Getting together to plant things - and maybe tidy up green spaces at the same time - is a wonderful way to bring people together and leave a lasting symbol of inter faith cooperation. It can also be an activity which different generations can enjoy together, an opportunity to spend some quality time with your friends and neighbours of all faiths and none, while also taking a positive action in greening your local environment.
• Talk - the idea here is simple - get together with a small group of people of different faith and belief backgrounds, and have a conversation. You could do this over a cup of tea (or whatever you like to drink), but the main thing is to ensure everyone is comfortable.

Ideas about activities can be found here.