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Join our creative workshop on July 13 in partnership with Civil Society Consulting CIC for an evening of poetry, inspiration and connection.

Are you interested in poetry, whether it is writing it or enjoying a spoken word performance? Are you looking for in person creative workshops where you can connect with others?

Through our various strands of work, we are seeing rising levels of loneliness across all age groups, and correspondingly increased social division. We need more connection and community! At Civil Society Consulting CIC, we are rolling out 32 Steps to Togetherness, a civil society movement based on a manual of practical actions that we can all take to build connections within and between communities.

As part of this initiative, we are running a national poetry challenge on the theme of Togetherness, open to all. For some of us, writing can be therapeutic! We believe poetry is a great way to bridge divides between people and communities, and to foster a sense of togetherness through words. Poetry inspires and unites us. The challenge was recently launched, and we have already received well over 100 submissions! Through these poems, we have identified how writing can be a powerful tool to release painful emotions.

When experiencing poetry in a shared space, we become more aware of our feelings, but also those of the people around us. That is why we want to bring people together to celebrate creativity and unity. Whether you have participated in our challenge or not, we are delighted to invite you to an in-person workshop at Libreria, in London. This workshop will be facilitated by Ovyuki and Aminah Rahman, both poets and creatives. They will guide discussions and writing activities to inspire participants to create poetry that reflects their understanding of togetherness and celebrates unity and diversity. You can also expect a poetry performance by Aminah.

What will you get from the workshop?

  • Enhance your poetic skills and confidence in expressing yourself through poetry
  • Increase your awareness and appreciation of the importance of togetherness in building strong communities
  • Connect with fellow participants and exchange your ideas
  • Be a part of a collection of poetry that will be created during the workshop!

If you can’t make it this time, join our mailing list here!

About 32 Steps to Togetherness

The UK is experiencing high levels of loneliness across all age groups and social fragmentation is on the rise. Why? Because individuals and communities are becoming more and more isolated from each other. Fast-paced lifestyles and the privatisation of public spaces are major factors, with changing social norms and technology altering how we communicate. People are desperately missing a sense of community!

Civil Society Consulting has developed a resource for combating loneliness and social fragmentation from the bottom up – through small but significant actions. The 32 Steps manual provides practical suggestions for how we, as individuals and community leaders, can build connections within and between communities, setting out ideas for how to change our thinking habits, foster community connections, encourage workplace inclusivity, and recognise the political nature of building diverse social networks.

Over the next two years, Civil Society Consulting CIC has Bringing People Together funding from the National Lottery Community Fund. We we want to:

  • Grow a community of togetherness champions – people and organisations who support and endorse 32 Steps to Togetherness
  • Spread a spirit of togetherness through them, inspiring individuals and community leaders to follow the 32 Steps.
  • Support, catalyse and empower community leaders within the community through providing free support.

Over the next two years, we’re focused on building the foundations for a bigger movement – i.e. a strong network of supported civil society and faith leaders. These foundations will be a launching pad from which to scale. Join us.

About Civil Society Consulting

Civil Society Consulting CIC (CSC) is a non-profit working across the UK, with strong connections in the North East, North West and East of England, as well as in London where we are based. In a nutshell: we want health, equality and social solidarity (cohesion). We believe that restoring a sense of community and developing communities is the key, and therefore that the voluntary community sector (VCS) is key! We aim to strengthen the VCS sector by being a reliable source of excellent support for VCS organisations, which is either affordable (to medium-sized and larger organisations) or free (to small, grassroots organisations led by and for marginalised communities).

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