BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.3.2//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:649@auntysocial.co.uk DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251011T103000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251011T150000 DTSTAMP:20251006T144128Z URL:https://www.auntysocial.co.uk/events/defeating-narratives-of-division- community-day/ SUMMARY:Defeating Narratives of Division: Community Day DESCRIPTION:Join us for a full day session aspart of our Defeating Narrativ es of Division training programme for local residents.\nYou're invited to attend our Defeating Narratives of Division (community and local residents ) training day from 10:30am - 3pm at Blackpool Central Library on Saturday 13 September 2025.\nWhat will I learn?\nOver the last 18 months\, we've s een narratives of division poisoning community relations\, escalating to v iolent conflict on our streets. More and more otherwise decent people seem to be being drawn into blaming ‘minorities’ for problems that they ha ve not caused. It could be someone in your group of friends\, your family or your wider circle. Sound familiar?\n\nThese sessions will share ways th at you can create long term change by developing your confidence and skill s so that you can build genuine understanding and lasting connections in y our own spaces and communities.\n\n\nOn the day\nWe'll:\n\n Recognise tha t even good people can sometimes hold problematic views\n Identify the pa rticular frictions between groups within your community and explore interv entions to reduce these frictions\n Help to find ways to engage meaningfu lly with people who have been influenced by toxic narratives\n Identify w ays to refocus your community on finding solutions rather than blaming sca pegoats\n Strengthen local democracy through building strong inclusive co mmunity groups\n Respond effectively when if the far right announce a div isive march or protest in your area\n\nThis informal space will allow you to connect with others who feel similar frustrations and are keen to creat e an environment of understanding and collaboration.\n\n \;\nThe essen tials\n\n 10:30am - 3pm\, Saturday 11 October 2025\n Blackpool Central L ibrary\, Queen St\, Blackpool FY1 1PX\n Hot drinks and water will be avai lable\n A vegetarian/vegan lunch is provided\n You can tell us about any special or dietary requirements when you book your ticket\n\n \;\nTic kets\nWe ask for a small contribution of £4 to secure your attendance. Th is will go towards the provision of food/refreshments.\n\nIf you're going to struggle to afford a ticket\, please get in touch using the contact but ton at the bottom of the booking page and we'll see what we can do to help .\nBOOK HERE\n \;\n\n\n\n\n var exampleCallback = function() {\n console.log('Order complete!')\;\n }\;\n\n window.EBWidgets.cre ateWidget({\n // Required\n widgetType: 'checkout'\,\n eventId: '1602412481869'\,\n iframeContainerId: 'eventbrite-widge t-container-1602412481869'\,\n\n // Optional\n iframeContain erHeight: 425\, // Widget height in pixels. Defaults to a minimum of 425p x if not provided\n onOrderComplete: exampleCallback // Method cal led when an order has successfully completed\n })\;\n\n\nYour Training Lead\nJohn Page from the Ella Baker School of Organising has been a long-t ime organiser in the trade union\, anti-racist and community spheres and h as worked as a specialist union organiser and as lead organiser at a numbe r of leading anti-racist charities.John has won significant campaigns in t he workplace\, and has helped organise communities to oppose narratives of division.He is an experienced trainer and has delivered hundreds of on-li ne and face to face training sessions to the BMA\, trade unions\, environm ental and a variety of voluntary and community sector organisations.\n\nJo hn is co-author (with Jane Holgate) of Changemakers: Radical Strategies fo r Social Movement Organising.\n\n \;\nBackground\nAt a time when our c ommunities face real challenges\, unaffordable housing\, job insecurity\, and public services under strain\, it feels as if we are always being enco uraged to find a minority community to blame rather than to come together to work towards finding solutions.\n\nThese narratives of division are tox ic\, and in August last year we saw rioting throughout the UK and on our d oorstep.At a time of increased insecurity within our communities\, narrati ves of division and hatred are growing\, and it is no longer a question of a tiny minority of far-right thugs. Court reports indicate how people who started out as bystanders got caught up in these events and committed cri mes that even they found shocking.\n\nUnfortunately\, some people believe that desperate times call for desperate measures\, and more people within our communities are beginning to believe that upholding human rights\, equ ality\, respect for minority opinions and the rule of law is part of the p roblem.\n\n \;\n\nThese training sessions are supported by the Communi ty Cohesion Fund (Ministry of Housing\, Communities &\; Local Governmen t Community Recovery Fund) administered by Blackpool Council.\n\nThe fund was created to support those communities impacted by the public disorder t hat took place in July/August 2024. It aims to Foster Community Understand ing: Promoting a shared understanding of the issues at a community level\, developing community cohesion. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.auntysocial.co.uk/wp-content/uploads /2025/10/DNOD-community-taster.jpg CATEGORIES:Workshops END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250330T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR