Henbury Hangout was one of our Quartet funded cohesion events aiming to bring people from different communities and cultures together to encourage unity and reduce divisions and tensions.
What we did
Henbury is an area in Bristol which has been particularly impacted by these divisions, with an influx of St George’s flags on display as well as racist incidents and attacks happening within the community and online. We received a report from the school outlining some of the horrific events that had occurred since the ethnic breakdown of their cohort had changed considerably in the last four years – it makes for sober reading.
Henbury Court Primary Academy is striving to create a safer and more welcoming space for all who live in the area and as such we collaborated with the school to host this event to allow people of varying ages and backgrounds to come together to slowly begin making these positive changes.
With 150 people in attendance, we saw a real range of families, school staff and young activists with differing experiences and backgrounds come together to get to know each other and engage in conversations about how xenophobia and racism is impacting them. There were performances and speeches from children and young people as well as the screening of our latest film, Flagged, (before which children younger than 10 were taken to a different room) encouraging discussion about the impact of xenophobia on young people.
The majority of those who attended had a positive experience, with one Henbury staff member sharing:
“I left with some restored hope. Community is the antidote to hate. At times, it feels hopeless!”
However, there were still some barriers and lack of engagement from a select few in the room, which made facilitating discussion difficult for our young activists. One parent who attended commented:
“How hostile people can be when asked to talk about something difficult for them. There were families here who really struggled to talk about the subject which was a bit of a shock to me.”
Despite the disengagement of those few, the message of hope for a better future as a result of the event was clear, with positive feedback including:
“Community collaboration is key. Young people can shape this and have the power to move things on.” We hope to continue our cohesion work within Henbury and beyond!”
Impact results
| Stat | Impact |
|---|---|
150 | Attendees from the local community. |
29 | Children and young people performed/delivered speeches/presented at the event. |
64% | Said they learned something about misinformation, disinformation, and social media harms and how this can influence their views. |
It’s important to address issues like poverty, exclusion, and traumatic grief.
Project Worker
