“It has given us the confidence to get started” – Learning from Who Is Your Neighbour?
![It has given us the confidence to get started [photograph]](https://whoisyourneighbour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/It-has-given-us-the-confidence-to-get-started-16-9.webp)
Who Is Your Neighbour? works with a diverse range of organisations and individuals to share our experience and learning. Here, one attendee, who began with our 1-day training, describes what they’ve learned from on-going engagement with us and the positive impact on their work.
"I’ve had the joy to receive training and on-going support from Who Is Your Neighbour? this past year. I attended the 1-day training in early 2025. Their experience, wisdom, and storytelling gave life and richness to the training and made each option seem viable in the real world, depending on the specific circumstances you may find yourself in. The training gave me a toolbox of options in how to or not respond as an individual.
Following this, I had further training and reflective practice with Who Is Your Neighbour? on their principles, approach, and practice for development work and facilitated dialogue. This involved regular online sessions, in-person training, and shadowing a development worker’s meeting with a community organisation.
I have had the privilege to meet, ask lots of questions to, and importantly, listen to a wide range of the team at Who Is Your Neighbour? The time spent with the team has been invaluable for my own work. It has given me clarity on the distinct role that my organisation and my role as a practitioner in my organisation has to play in wider peace-building, community cohesion, and countering hatred.
More skills and confidence
It has undoubtedly given me more skills and confidence to begin and proactively reach out to residents and communities and open difficult conversations about the places and communities where people live, changes that have happened, and how they feel towards newer arrivals.
Because of the support of Who Is Your Neighbour? I have held pop-up conversations in neighbourhoods over the summer. This includes holding stalls at various community events, doing street and park walkabouts, and attending community groups. Whilst each activity and event looks and feels different, the purpose of each has remained the same. Listening to residents to understand the realities and dynamics of how they experience and see their community, changes that have happened, and how they feel about new arrivals – particularly people who have migrated and claimed asylum.
Deep trust and understanding
We hope to build deep understanding and trust with residents and community groups to then offer a space to talk about it more openly, build curiosity and ask questions, and help understanding between different residents and groups.
We are still very much in the early days of developing and undertaking this work in our area, and the support from Who Is Your Neighbour? has been critical in helping us understand and define our role and providing us with skills of building relationships in new groups and communities, opening and holding conversations about difficult topics, what to listen out for in conversations and importantly has given us the confidence to get started in meeting and reaching residents and community members."