WiYN? is claiming more space at the national level – with 20 organisations now exploring what partnership might look like or actively planning training / events with us. Some are also resources for us.
They include:
- UK-wide – Gareth Harris (expert on anti-minority groups), IMIX, the Jo Cox Foundation, Hope Not Hate, Naccom
- York – York Travellers Trust
- Liverpool and London – the Jesuit Refugee Service (also a national and international organisation)
- London – a STAR group
- prospective – 12 more organisations are in conversation with us, watch this space!
Jill (National Development Manager) said:
These are challenging and difficult times locally, nationally and internationally. Encouragement comes from seeing the emerging level of interest in WiYN?’s work.
These (potential) partners came to us in a variety of ways. Violet (Senior Facilitator) is CEO at YTT. Gareth Harris, a long-time friend of WiYN? , is widely respected and connected. He will deliver with us an event at the JCF Spring Conference. JCF had links with Jill before she came into role at WiYN? and wanted to work with us again after Ian and Violet delivered introductory training with the More In Common network in Bradford (July). One more organisation is exploring partnership with us, following that event.
Jill and Tariq (Director) delivered an online workshop for IMIX in September, after CEO Jenni Regan met Tariq at the Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s Migration Residential (May). We featured on their blog. Workshop attendees representing five organisations then reached out to enquire about working with us. One is the JRS, for whom we will run an introductory training event in January. JRS will also become ‘guinea pigs’ for the delivery of the next level of WiYN? training, in which participants learn how to deliver an intervention like ours where they are. This will be an opportunity both to develop this resource, deliver it and learn from the process.
Jill said:
Organisations with a wide range of skills and based in key areas around the UK, embedded in local communities, want to work with us. The JRS is one example.
In this partnership, we can learn from one another as we go along and establish WiYN? as one organisation within an ecosystem of organisations who understand the value of dialogue, and support community resilience to and disruption of anti-minority, divisive influences.
A well-received introductory session led by Tariq and Ian for STAR will be followed by a second training day. Naccom was another PHF connection and WiYN? will contribute to its spring conference – further training events may follow. We are in exploratory stages with one other organisation that attended the Migration Residential.
Hope Not Hate invited Tariq onto a panel at the Labour Party Conference fringe programme, which resulted in four prospective partnerships. Someone from another organisation has asked about working together since finding our website.