The Community Engagement team works to ensure that Londoners can play an active role in decisions that affect their lives. We also work with voluntary organisations and community groups to support their work to improve the lives of Londoners.
Every few months we'll be sharing our latest news, so do keep checking the page to find out what we're up to!
Here are some of our highlights:
Citizen-Led Engagement Programme
We have awarded grants to five community groups, as part of the Mayor’s Citizen-Led Engagement Programme.
We will now help co-design these community-led projects, exploring what it means to belong in London, looking specifically at social integration.
These projects will capture the stories of different generations and groups of Londoners including young black men, older BAME groups, Somali communities and the Bulgarian community.
More information will follow in March 2018.
Holocaust Memorial Day event
The Communities team helped deliver the Holocaust Memorial Day event on 22 January 2018, where victims of the Holocaust were remembered in a poignant ceremony. Held at City Hall, the event was attended by the Mayor of London, members of the General Assembly, Holocaust survivors, and many other groups including the Holocaust Educational Trust and Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, musicians from the Jewish Music Institute and London borough mayors and leaders.
This year's theme was The Power of Words - a reminder of how words can make a difference, both for good and evil. Read the event press release.
COACH exhibition
City Hall recently hosted COACH, a photographic exhibition in recognition of Black and Asian athletics coaches in the UK, such as Paula Dunn, Linford Christie, Fuzz Ahmed and Lloyd Cowan.
‘Women on Track’ was an evolution of COACH, showcasing empowered female athletics coaches from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Both exhibitions told a unique story of that invaluable and rarely seen athlete-coach relationship. And, in this important year for women, ‘Women on Track’ is the first of many UK Athletics initiatives aiming to encourage women and girls to get involved in athletics through positive female role models.
Upcoming community events
Chinese New Year: 18 February 2018
Chinese New Year celebrations kick this year off with a parade in and around Chinatown, followed by spectacular free stage performances in Trafalgar Square. Enjoy martial art displays, family-friendly cultural activities, music shows and traditional Chinese street food. Why not end the day in Trafalgar Square for the big finale?
Find out more on VisitLondon's Chinese New Year page.
Thrive Together Interfaith Event 15:
6 February 2018, 8:30pm, City Hall
If you’re passionate about faith and mental health - and how the two can work together - then come to this Thrive Together event. Thrive LDN is a citywide movement, supported by the Mayor of London and led by the London Health Board, that aims to improve the health and wellbeing of all Londoners. This event promises panel discussions, guest speakers, group discussions and engaging conversations about the relationship between mental health and faith.
Find out more and register for the event.
More information is on Thrive LDN.