We have teamed up with Hackney CVS and Hackney Unites to create a course in 'community bridging'. In Hackney we have a proud record of 'standing together' in the face of adversity, provocation and terrorist incidents. But recent events have convinced us that rather than wait for the next provocation to unite us in a shared sense of disgust and sorrow, we should be building a stronger united community every day. That is why we are looking to bring together people from Hackney's diverse communities to explore how we create 'bridges', opportunities for understanding and friendship to be forged between people from different communities. We take inspiration in doing this from the legacy of the murdered MP Jo Cox, who famously said: 'we have more in common than that which divides us'. At this meeting we. will explore how to make this happen, bringing the community together to plan the course and its delivery.

We use the term 'community' very loosely, you could be from a particular estate, a particular religious or ethnic group, or you could be bound by ties of culture, or of a shared experience of oppression. The idea is that at the end of a course of six sessions, a diverse group representing different communities, will have learnt a lot about each other, and hopefully, will want to work together to increase the opportunities for Hackney's communities, to find ourselves in each other.

If you are interested either in attending the course, or participating in a project advisory group, then please sign up and join us at the offices of Hackney CVS on 3 February.