Published Wednesday 26 October 2022 at 11:15
Successful projects which have brought people from diverse backgrounds together through shared interests were the focus of a visit from government officials last week.
Senior civil servants from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing & Communities were in Blackburn with Darwen to reacquaint themselves with successful social integration projects funded through the Our Community, Our Future programme.
Back in 2018, the borough became one of only five areas in England designated as national Integration Areas to trial plans to break down barriers between people from diverse backgrounds and cultures.
Banu Adam BEM, who leads Blackburn-based Arts2Heal, spoke to the delegates from government about her organisation’s work to support people’s mental well-being through visual art. More recently Arts2Heal have become a partner in the borough’s Learning English Together programme, supporting ESOL learners to develop language through creative activities.
Banu said:
“It was wonderful to have the opportunity to showcase the work we do at Arts2Heal and also to talk about the work that goes on behind the scenes. It is impossible to capture all the many layers of successes, accomplishments and overall impact of the charity in a single report, which I hope the visit was able to demonstrate.
“I’d like to thank the DLUHC team for taking the time to understand the needs of our members and for being so supportive.”
The group also visited a Lancashire Wildlife Trust project in Witton Park that has brought a number of greenhouses back into use, through development of a gardening project that attracts people of different ages and cultural backgrounds.
Councillor Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Public Health, Prevention & Wellbeing, said:
“This was a really useful visit that allowed us to share local success stories. We’re really proud of the work that’s been done under the Our Community, Our Future and Learning English Together programmes, and during the course of the pandemic the Community Champions programme too.