The first in a series of high-profile forums on managing community cohesion and integration is to take place in Bradford later this month.

Among the speakers at the Improvement and Development Agency's event will be Professor Kay Hampton, commissioner at the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, Professor Charles Husband, chairman of social analysis at Bradford University and Zaiba Malik, community affairs correspondent at the BBC.

It will take place on Tuesday, November 27, at the Midland Hotel, and is being hosted by Bradford Council in partnership with IDeA and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

They will focus on meeting the needs of local areas that face different challenges, as outlined in Our Shared Future, the final report from the Commission on Integration and Cohesion.

The events, of which the Bradford one is the first of three, are designed to bring the local government sector together to shape policy development, debate key issues, network and share ideas.

It will broadly look at the issues faced by more urban, ethnically and religiously diverse areas and is open to all councils and their partners.

Bradford Council leader, Councillor Kris Hopkins, said: "I am pleased the Bradford district has been given the opportunity to host the event. Community cohesion is an issue that comes very high on local authority agendas across the country at the present time and there is much for us to learn from each other."

Angela Mason, national advisor on equality and diversity at IDeA said: "It is undeniable there is widespread concern around community cohesion and issues like migration, extremism and Islamophobia'. Dealing with a diverse population poses problems for many councils, and it is vital to draw on the experiences of others - like the response in Bradford to the 2001 disturbances.

"The challenges areas face depend on a number of factors - population age, background and education, as well as neighbourhood and community characteristics. These events will provide an opportunity to look at how local authorities in different situations are addressing them."

Coun Hopkins and Bradford Council chief executive Tony Reeves will both make speeches and the Council will host a workshop about new understanding of multiple identity and meeting the needs of modern communities. Kirklees Council will also be involved in a workshop on intergenerational approached.