Life of a Chickpea
Life of a Chickpea brought our mission to life in classrooms across the country. Through our schools programme, young people explored equality, diversity, belonging, and British values through creativity and dialogue. In 2025, the project reached 3,305 students through 56 sessions in 25 schools across 14 cities, and was recognised publicly in a feature on BBC South Today.
Ramadan: Voices in Unity
During Ramadan, our Dialogue Community Iftars created powerful moments of connection and belonging. Across 62 Iftars in 30 cities, we welcomed more than 6,000 people, turning shared tables into spaces where strangers became friends and conversations became trust. With the support of over 200 youth volunteers, each gathering carried a warm, youth-led welcome that helped communities meet, connect, and build lasting understanding.
The same spirit reached campuses. We hosted university Dialogue Iftars at nine universities, bringing students, staff, and local communities together to break fast and share stories. Our Iftar at Mansfield College, University of Oxford reached over 6 million views across social media, showing how widely people still respond to real unity.
Trust also grows in smaller spaces. Through IftarMe, we supported 415 home gatherings and connected over 1,600 guests around iftar dinner tables.
Talking Bubble
Through Talking Bubble, our phone befriending service, 57 volunteers delivered 561 sessions — more than 11000 minutes of conversation — supporting 48 people at risk of loneliness with consistent, compassionate contact.
Open Doors
In 2025 we formally established Open Doors, strengthening our work connecting long-term residents with new Britons and helping neighbourhoods become more welcoming and inclusive.
Sukkot Shalom gatherings
In autumn 2025, we launched Sukkot Shalom gatherings, delivered with local partners in Camden and Barnet to turn the festival’s themes of hospitality and a “shelter of peace” into lived community trust.
Christmas 2025- Building Community Trust
At Christmas, our Building Community Trust campaign brought people together through 34 Christmas Community Dinners, welcoming over 2,000 people and working with 39 partners.
Scriptural Reasoning Sessions
Our long-standing interfaith work continued to offer steady spaces for deeper understanding: 134 Scriptural Reasoning sessions in 17 cities, with over 250 regular participants. During Inter Faith Week, our Noah’s Pudding distribution campaign brought neighbours together across the UK and was featured on BBC One’s Sunday Morning Live.
Journal of Dialogue Studies
Through the Journal of Dialogue Studies, we partnered with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, the Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace, and the UNESCO Collective Healing Initiative to host a one-day international workshop at Mansfield College, University of Oxford, titled “Intergenerational Dialogue for Well-Being Futures.” It brought together researchers to explore how conversations between generations can help build healthier, more inclusive futures.
Building on this work, the Journal published a special issue on the same theme, linking it to major global conversations — including the UN’s Pact for the Future.
Recognition
Our work was recognised in encouraging ways. Our North East coordinator, Tugay Yalcin, received the High Sheriff of Northumberland Award; our North-East branch was a BBC Make a Difference finalist in Newcastle and featured on BBC Radio Newcastle; and we were honoured with an invitation to a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace.
Future
As we look ahead, we’re building on 2025’s momentum: deepening local presence, empowering youth leadership, strengthening partnerships, and creating accessible ways for people to meet, listen, and belong.
Thank you to the volunteers, partners, teachers, and community members who make this possible. Together, we will keep building a more connected society — one conversation at a time.
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