Supporting and Promoting the Value of Inclusive Dialogue – 20 April 2022

On Wednesday 20 April, Forward Thinking convened an online meeting to celebrate Ramadan. Discussions focused on how to support and promote the value of inclusive dialogue and participants from the North West, Yorkshire, London, Tunisia and Istanbul shared their insights.Communities who have been excluded from engagement with Establishment institutions have often been described as ‘hard to reach’. However, during meetings previously held by Forward Thinking, participants have underlined that their communities are not ‘hard to reach’, rather they have not been actively included or sought out. The meeting provided an opportunity to share perspectives from across the UK and internationally and to discuss how communities can be better understood and given due consideration in dialogue.Participants emphasised that the understanding that certain communities are ‘hard to reach’ must be challenged and highlighted the importance of Establishment decisionmakers reaching out to ensure that a range of voices are heard. The group also discussed challenges related to Islamophobia, community cohesion and inclusion within communities.