Community Cohesion in Leeds: Vision and Perspective

On Wednesday, 05 May 2010, to Dialogue Society North, in cooperation with the Institute for Spirituality, Religion and Public Life at Leeds Metropolitan University organised a roundtable discussion at Leeds Hilton Hotel, with the participation of twelve community representatives, academics and professionals from the West Yorkshire region. The program commenced with an open buffet, followed by Assistant Chief Constable Jawaid Akhtar’s speech on community cohesion. Mr. Akhtar talked about community cohesion in the context of his experience as an assistant chief constable, a police officer, and a member of the larger community. The open discussion that followed was an accumulation of the ideas and input put forward by various speakers in the course of the seminar series. The roundtable discussion with Assistant Chief Constable Jawaid Akhtar was the last contribution to the Dialogue and Community Cohesion seminar series that has been running since the beginning of the year. Throughout the seminar series, representatives from various faith and non-faith communities, from civil society and academia have shared their perspectives and experience with regard to community cohesion and dialogue.