Community cohesion

Waltham Forest is proud of its diverse population and rich mix of communities. Community cohesion is about different communities across the borough getting on, supporting one another and feeling that they share an interest in what happens in the area and have the opportunity to get involved in what happens in their community.

The Council also has a duty towards Community Cohesion. Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council needs to have due regard to the need to foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. In particular, this involves having due regard to the need to tackle prejudice and to promote understanding. Protected Characteristics defined in the Act are age; disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief; sex and sexual orientation.

Marking Cohesion Events - give us your views!!

London Borough of Waltham Forest is proud of its diversity and would like to support organisations to celebrate or commemorate a number of days/months that take place through the year. We know that local community based organisations are often keen to mark these occasions which can bring the community together, and are best-placed to create the right activities for the borough.

Please see the Scheme Outline and Application form below which outlines the process and list of events. Up to £500 would be available per event, and costs would be paid directly by invoice by the Council. No costs would be paid directly to organisations.

Please note this scheme is not live and we are looking for your comments and views on the scheme only at this stage. Once comments have been received, if there are no major changes, we intend to publish the scheme on 1 April 2012.

Deadline for comments: 5 March 2012.

If you have any questions or to send in your comments, please contact Jo Edler on joanna.edler@walthamforest.gov.uk or 020 8496 4168.

Forthcoming cohesion events

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender History Month: 1-28 February 2012

LGBT month takes place every year in February. It celebrates the lives and achievements of the LGBT community, and is an opportunity for all of us to learn more about the histories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Waltham Forest Council is committed to respecting and promoting diversity. The Rainbow flag (sometimes called 'the freedom flag') will be flown at the Town Hall, during February.

To celebrate the start of the month, ELOP, East London’s LGBT Centre, will be hosting an LGBT celebration quiz night & a community healthcare consultation event for members of LGBT communities to discuss how local healthcare services can better meet their needs, and will conclude the months’ worth of various other activities for local LGBT community with a conference for young people. Please see ‘What’s On’ for details.

Recent cohesion events

Holocaust Memorial Day: 27 January 2012

Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) is a national event dedicated to the remembrance of the victims of The Holocaust; the Nazis’ attempt to annihilate all of Europe’s Jews. By the end of the Holocaust, 6 million Jewish men, women and children had been murdered in ghettos, mass-shootings, in concentration and extermination camps

Through HMD on 27 January we shared the memory of the millions who have been murdered in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur in order to challenge hatred and persecution in the UK today.

This year, two events were held in Waltham Forest to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

Holocaust and Genocide, never again!

An afternoon of reflection and discussion, remembering the victims of Nazi Germany and of other genocides in Bosnia, Cambodia, Rwanda and Darfur; highlighting the threat that fascism poses today, and discussing how we can play our part to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

Speakers:

·Marla Tribich Holocaust survivor

·Sandor Szoke leader of Hungarian Civil Rights Movement

·Jean Lambert MEP

·Weyman Bennett Joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism

·Ladislac Balaz, speaker of Czech Roma

Hosted and chaired by Amnesty International Waltham Forest and Unite Against Fascism Waltham Forest. Music by Pjotr Jordan and Dunajska Kapelye

The other event took place at a local school and will be attended by students from 11 other schools, local councillors, MP's and the mayor. The event included a testimony from a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp, a film, and Active Citizenship Activity on ‘Speaking out’ and promoting tolerance in our own lives.

International Women's Day: 8 March 2012
IDAHO: 17 May 2012