Near Neighbours brings people together in communities that are religiously and ethnically diverse, so that they can get to know each other better, build relationships of trust, and collaborate together on initiatives that improve the local community they live in.
Our Objectives
Social interaction
to develop positive relationships in multi-faith areas i.e. to help people from different faiths get to know and understand each other better
Social action
to encourage people of different faiths and of no faith to come together for initiatives that improve their local neighbourhood
In many neighbourhoods across England, different faith and ethnic communities live and work next to each other, yet rarely interact with one another.
Such separation can lead to misunderstanding and a lack of trust or respect for one another, neither of which is healthy for a local community.
Often these are also areas of deprivation, where people share a common concern for a better community, but don’t come together to talk or act as much as they could.
Yet it is local people, in local communities, who are ideally placed to identify and develop solutions that can improve their own neighbourhood.
Stories of Change from Near Neighbours
Connections, conversations and confidence
A deep impact evaluation
Near Neighbours supports communities to come together, talk openly and productively about challenging local issues, and empower people to make a difference in their neighbourhoods. This publication brings this work to life by telling the stories of the individuals and the organisations who are making a difference in their local places, and the resulting impacts on communities.
Where we work
The programme works in a number of key locations across England.
We focus our work on a number of key locations across England, helping to develop positive relationships in specific multi-faith areas, whilst also supporting and resourcing the growth of new projects.
Our key locations are managed and supported by local hubs, acting as focal points for Near Neighbours activity. A local co-ordinator in each hub connects with and resources local projects, developing the work of the programme at a grassroots level and feeding into our national strategy.
We are currently looking to secure funding to keep up the brilliant work of these local hubs.
Working in partnerships
Near Neighbours works with a number of local and national partners which provide expertise and contribute to the programme with training, resources and events. Their work is developing the networks and capacity of local communities and organisations, through sustainable initiatives that will continue to impact long into the future.
The Near Neighbours programme is administered by Church Urban Fund. Working for over 20 years throughout England, including multi-faith communities, it has extensive experience gathering local people in transformative community work. It also gives Near Neighbours access to the Church of England’s parish system, which sees a vicar present in every community in the country; opening up networking opportunities with experienced community professionals of faith.
The Church of England’s parish system recognises a duty of care for all and has for decades been working locally with partners in multi-faith areas to foster the better relationships and understanding that help build better communities.
Sign up to our network
We offer knowledge and resources, online events, and downloadable resources to a wide network. We share knowledge about finding funding, good practice on community engagement, and experience and expertise on faiths working together.