Description of Project – Focus of work A collaborative project between Croydon College and Warwick College looking to develop an understanding of active citizenship learning through the exploration of the relationship between Interfaith dialogue, values and religious beliefs & community cohesion. Through this project, the aim was to empower the students to; voice their concerns, explore issues of difference and similarity, learn in an interactive, relevant way and take action for positive social good.

Description of Project – Focus of work At a planned conference in London, all students were given the opportunity to develop an understanding of community cohesion in theory and practice, building a common vision, sense of involvement and belonging for those with ‘All Faiths and None’ The activities encouraged students to focus on viewing similarities and differences as an asset, rather than a threat and to develop a project that would make a difference in the communities that they belong.

Project activity and outcomes Organise and run a conference for Year 8/9 pupils, including role play activities and an outcome based project proposal Liaised with the 14-16 Manager at Croydon College to arrange a trial session with a group of learners to work through any potential issues before working with local secondary schools Develop a set of resources and activities for use by local schools

What went well and not so well? Feedback from the conference in London was extremely positive Students come from a range of courses including, A Level, BTEC it Business and Motor Vehicle and at least two new students have joined the project since launch, The initial proposed idea has changed and developed into a plan they are really proud of Students have mentioned that they will feel a true sense of achievement if they meet the challenge to deliver the project successfully The VLE was not originally user friendly and the planned discussion forum did not occur due to timetabling constraints

Issues Raised