THE Chief Executive of Bradford Council, the sister of Jo Cox and the Bishop of Bradford will speak at an event to celebrate the efforts of faith communities working to unite people in the district.

Kersten England, Kim Leadbeater, the sister of the late MP and Ambassador to the Jo Cox Foundation, and the Right Reverend Toby Haworth are taking part in Believe in Bradford.

The event will celebrate positive cross-faith work and social action that is being delivered in the district to challenge division and prejudice in all their forms, including ‘Hate’ crime.

Examples of work being carried out include The Sewa project, which is led by the district’s Hindu community and involves performing an act of kindness without expectation of reward.

Another example is Touchstone, which runs various creative groups for women of different faiths, so that they can come together, increase understanding of each other’s faiths and cultures, form friendships, and transform our community for the better.

The two projects that Touchstone will showcase are Light In Communities and Baking A Difference – both very successful.

Councillor Abdul Jabar, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety, said: “Lots of great community cohesion work goes on under the radar so we need to bring it out in the open and celebrate its important and effective results.

“These multi-faith projects make such an important contribution it would be unfair not to recognise the efforts of all the people involved.

“The important thing is that by working together even on the smallest of projects, we can make a big difference.”

The event will also launch a small grants fund to support inter-faith social action projects.

It will take place on Monday, September 24, from 6pm until 8pm at the Kala Sangam arts centre at St Peter’s House, Forster Square, Bradford.