The British Council and The Institute of Community Cohesion hosted an international conference 28-29 January 2009 on the theme of Communities in Action.

The event brought together a mix of UK and overseas participants to talk about underlying issues that are at the heart of community tensions. It provided a unique opportunity for practitioners to share learning and to have a dialogue around the practical and creative ways of resolving these.

The workshop sessions on both days of the conference and a Community Café on the afternoon of the second day provided a lively, open and constructive forum for the sharing of experiences and good practice. Along with sharing and learning, networking and the establishment of new contacts and partnerships was at the heart of the event.

The objectives of the conference were to:

•Establish new international networks around the community cohesion agenda and support long-term learning in these areas

•Explore some of the issues that communities are facing globally and to commence a dialogue on how these issues can be addressed

•Share experiences, strengthen understanding and build a network of good practice internationally in community relations and cohesion

Topics covered over the two days included:

•Young people – citizenship, employment and engagement

•Civil society and how they work in communities

•The role of education, culture and media in promoting community cohesion

•How businesses contribute to the well-being of communities

Full Conference proceedings will shortly be available.

The conference programme, a selection of presentations made during the panel sessions and a publication providing details of all the case studies presented during the workshop sessions are available for downloading.