Brave Space Cafes and the Intercultural Cities Programme
Brave Space Cafes and the Intercultural Cities Programme
Camden joined the Intercultural Cities Network and the ICC-UK in February 2020. The Intercultural Cities Programme is an initiative that helps cities review their policies through an intercultural lens and develop comprehensive strategies to manage diversity positively, maximising the advantages of that diversity.
The Intercultural Cities Programme is part of the Council of Europe. Read more about The Intercultural Cities Programme.
In summer 2024, Camden Council and Leeds City Council seized the opportunity presented by the Council of Europe’s Intercultural Cities Programme and their Intercity Grants to field test our exciting new concept of ‘Brave Space Cafes’ to transform community engagement.
Over the course of the project, we engaged with residents from all backgrounds, including some of our most vulnerable, to discuss often unspoken myths, misunderstandings and issues that, when addressed collectively, can improve community cohesion. Learning from the lessons of existing good practices in the Intercultural Cities Programme (ICC), such as the anti-rumour cafés in Botkyrka, Sweden, and Bilbao, Spain, Camden and Leeds decided to apply this approach to the UK.
Our aims were to improve their understanding of how rumours and false information work, and to develop their confidence as ambassadors for accuracy and understanding within their communities. Both councils intend to take this important work forward and continue to engage their communities in these new and innovative ways.