Who is Your Neighbour? holds conversations.
In these conversations, all participants are able to talk openly, and listen to others talk, about race, immigration and culture.
“Who is Your Neighbour? does a bloody good job. The facilitators are impressive - they hold the room. I trawled the country … and it’s the only organisation I could find that is doing this kind of work.”
WiYN? Independent Research Partner and expert on anti-minority groups
WiYN? is a registered charity (#1196667) with over a decade of experience and expertise holding facilitated conversations. It has operated in South Yorkshire since 2010, first under the umbrella of another charity and now independently. Find out more about our work here
Our values
Every one of our conversations is different and our way of working is responsive and tailored to the people and place. Here are some things that matter to us:
Focused Attention - every conversation is different and led in a responsive way. We allow time for people to finish speaking, we listen carefully and reflect on what was said - or left unsaid.
Openness - we encourage people to listen to those around them, including those often left out of the conversation; we ensure every person has chance to speak and be listened to; we invite a diversity of opinions, experiences, feelings and thoughts.
Reliability - we try to ensure there is time to build relationships carefully and slowly, being honest about our limits as well as about our skills.
Knowledge-sharing - we work in local and national partnerships and invest time in exploration and evaluation, so that we can keep learning and adapting.
Relevance - we are interested in how people actually experience things, rather than headlines and stereotypes. We respond to how things are and adapt our approach to the context.
Courage - we move towards disagreement and difficulty, making space for people who want to say things that may be uncomfortable or that generate strong feelings.
Every conversation is different and led in a responsive way. We allow time for people to finish speaking, we listen carefully and reflect on what was said - or left unsaid.
We encourage people to listen to those around them, including those often left out of the conversation; we ensure every person has chance to speak and be listened to; we invite a diversity of opinions, experiences, feelings and thoughts.
We try to ensure there is time to build relationships carefully and slowly, being honest about our limits as well as about our skills.
We work in local and national partnerships and invest time in exploration and evaluation, so that we can keep learning and adapting.
We are interested in how people actually experience things, rather than headlines and stereotypes. We respond to how things are and adapt our approach to the context.
We move towards disagreement and difficulty, making space for people who want to say things that may be uncomfortable or that generate strong feelings.
Change
Change is happening. It has affected - and continues to affect - South Yorkshire communities in particular ways. Change can create vulnerability and tension that build up over time or are triggered by particular events. We can help people who want to reduce division and conflict in the places where they live, by facilitating tailored conversations in their communities.
“There’s a mixture of - ‘we find this other lot of people difficult, worrying and scary’ and - ‘Change is good.’”
The decline of industry hit our region hard and its impact is still felt in many places. More recent events - elections, the Brexit referendum, COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis, increasing polarisation - all affect local people and, as a result, the conversations we hold.
Our conversations create spaces where people can be heard and in which new ‘lightbulb moments’, reflection and resilience can emerge.
Learning from conversations translates into other contexts. We work with national partners to contribute to wider change, through consultancy and training for those who (want to) hold conversations or get equipped for responding to troubling things.
Get in touch to find out more.
Our team
Who is Your Neighbour? is made up of a diverse team of staff, trustees, freelancers, volunteers and partners led by Director Tariq Bashir and Operations Manager Cath Chirgwin. Trustees are led by chair Mariam Shah.
Who is Your Neighbour?’s conversation facilitators come from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds. They are trained and expert in either dialogue facilitation, mediation, process work and / or conflict management and have experience of exclusion from conversation.