Project partner search is launched for scheme to bring people together during Commonwealth Games

The Stronger Communities project will utilise an allocation of £500,000 from the council’s £6million Commonwealth Games Community Fund. Following engagement and consultation with our communities on our approach to community cohesion and tackling inequalities, a range of activities have been identified. These activities are brought together under the following five workstreams:

• A city connected by inclusive heritage trails - Development of an interconnected network of heritage trails that navigate through Birmingham’s history
• We made Birmingham - Small grants projects to record and share stories of heritage, community activism and migration from as many of Birmingham’s diverse communities as possible
• Getting Communities Talking - Delivering small community grants to enable women from particularly marginalised communities to forge long-term connections with others in their communities
• Birmingham Peace Garden proposal - The development of a programme of commemoration and celebration events to coincide with the Games and working with the community on longer-term plans for the improvement of the site
• Inspiring future leaders – A development programme to grow and inspire our future educators and leaders from under-represented groups across the range of leadership positions in the Birmingham education sector

Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) have been appointed by the council to project manage the delivery of Stronger Communities, but other organisations are now being invited to step forward and submit proposals to enable and facilitate the five workstreams.

Cllr John Cotton, Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion, Community Safety and Equalities, said: “Birmingham is a diverse, welcoming, and inclusive place - the Commonwealth Games will be a moment to celebrate our distinct identity and personality with the world.

“We want to enable local people and communities to participate in the Games in a way that builds cohesion, inclusion, and civic pride.

“The Games have the power to bring people together in the Proud Host City of Birmingham like never before. We can use this as a turning point in uniting our population and tackling inequalities.

“We’ve engaged with people in the city to shape the programme and will be working with BVSC to deliver the programme – now we need other organisations to join us to help do this and I hope we receive a wide range of submissions to help us achieve one of our key legacy aims from the Games.”

Brian Carr, CEO of Birmingham Voluntary Service Council, added: “The voluntary and community sector in Birmingham is part of what makes our city great. The sector will bring its understanding of how to work with communities to help Birmingham deliver a fantastic Games in 2022 and to go on building an amazing city for everyone who lives and works here.”

The deadline for submissions is 5pm on November 26. To find out more and to put forward a proposal, visit the dedicated Stronger Communities page on the BVSC website.

Background notes

The following is a brief summary of the five Stronger Communities workstreams:

A city connected by inclusive heritage trails

Development of an interconnected network of heritage trails that navigate through Birmingham’s history, shaped through honest and diverse stories of settlement. This will include steps to properly champion the telling of “unheard histories” with communities defining their own narratives of place.

The trails will be co-designed with communities and local historians. There will be printed and downloadable Heritage Trail maps for Games visitors and the network of Heritage Trails will be promoted on a web-page as part of the Commonwealth Games. Beyond the Games, the Heritage Trails will have an enduring digital presence and will be promoted through heritage and visitor organisations, community venues, social media and online.

We Made Birmingham

Small grants projects to record and share stories of heritage, community activism and migration from as many of Birmingham’s diverse communities as possible. The aim being to promote wider public understanding of how different patterns of migration and settlement have shaped Birmingham, its localities and communities and the connections which exist between its places and people.

Getting Communities Talking

Delivering small community grants to enable women from particularly marginalised communities to forge long-term connections with others in their communities. A key objective is to create spaces for migrant, refugee and asylum-seeking women and British women together in Birmingham to develop English language skills and confidence by creating spaces, opportunities and connections for dialogue and interaction across perceived divides of language, culture, ethnicity, race, age.

Birmingham Peace Garden proposal

The council has already commenced regeneration of the Peace Garden attached to the remains of St Thomas’ Church in Birmingham City Centre. This project will deliver 2 strands of work:

1. The development of a programme of commemoration and celebration events to coincide with the Games and involving audiences from all communities, ages and organisations across the city
2. Bringing together a community partnership to be part of consultation, involvement and options-appraisal for the longer-development of the Peace Garden and producing a plan which the council and its partners and stakeholders can use to guide longer-term development activity and approaches

Inspiring future leaders

Growing and inspiring our future educators and leaders from under-represented groups across the range of leadership positions in Birmingham. The leadership development programme will be designed for those from under-represented backgrounds to help kickstart and accelerate career progression and development.