A virtual event to celebrate the launch of the first ever European Roma Communities Strategy for Bradford 2021-2025 took place on Wednesday 15th December 2021.

Three years ago, Bradford was selected as one of five National Integration Areas by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. This led to the development of the Stronger Communities Strategy and Bradford for Everyone.

CNet Bradford were then commissioned by Bradford for Everyone, to research and develop a strategy for the European Roma Communities in Bradford.

This European Roma Communities Strategy for Bradford aims to improve opportunity of access for members of the Roma Community through working with the Voluntary and Community Sector, Bradford Council, Health, Police and Fire and Rescue Services.

The community questionnaire was completed by 115 residents of Roma ethnicity across the district, as well as 25 Case Studies. This, along with other secondary research, fed into the Strategy which will be taken forward by agencies throughout the Bradford district.

To enable this strategy to have as wide an input as possible, CNet Bradford worked with over 60 different organisations. This included the West Yorkshire Police, Bradford Council, Department of Work and Pensions, NHS Bradford and Craven CCG, Family Action Bradford, Better Start Bradford, Connecting Roma, Sharing Voices and KaskoSan.

The aim is to make Bradford district a great place for everyone – where each one of us can play an active role in and be proud of calling Bradford district their home.

The Right Revd Bishop Toby Howarth, Chair of Stronger Communities Partnership Board, said: “Not only does this strategy help us to build and improve wider community dialogue with the Roma community it sets out actions we can all take to be more aware and responsive to the needs of the Roma community as a whole.”

Cllr Abdul Jabar, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Neighbourhoods and Community Safety, said: “The aim of our whole strategy is that by working together and recognising what we have in common, we can collectively ensure that everyone in our district can reach their full potential, access opportunities and services, and that no one is missed out.”

Please view the strategy here: Roma-Strategy-2021-2025.pdf

ust over a month on from the WOW Girls Festival, in partnership with WOW – Women of the World, we want to take a moment to say thank you for being involved and to reflect on the project.

The project in numbers:

• 6 areas visited – Bradford city centre, Keighley, Shipley, Little Horton, East Bowling and Wyke
• 1,400 residents engaged
• 15 community partners
• 100 mentors connected with 100 college and university students
• 127 secondary school students participated in workshops, including intergenerational linking with local older women
• 107,061 impressions on social media

The WOW Bus visited Bradford from Saturday 2nd to Wednesday 6th March touring to Bradford city centre, Keighley, Shipley, East Bowling and Wyke with over 1,400 people taking part in activities.

On Saturday 2nd we delivered creative activities for families and adults in partnership with Impressions Gallery and Bradford Libraries, followed by Sisterhood poetry open mic night by Spoke Poetry Hub. On Sunday 3rd Keighley Creative opened their doors for a day of interactive activities and performances with almost 400 people exploring the bus throughout the course of the day.

Through the week we visited Titus Salt School, Bronte Girls’ Academy and Appleton Academy where 127 students took part in activities on the bus, a printing workshop delivered by a local female artist and an inspiring intergenerational workshop led by The Linking Network. Appleton Academy also visited Sedbergh Sports and Leisure Centre for a panel talk and sports taster sessions with three local sporting women.

On Tuesday afternoon we held a lively community event at MAPA Cultural Arts Centre with 300 visitors, and on Wednesday afternoon we delivered speed mentoring with 100 students from Bradford College and the University of Bradford.

Members of the BCB Radio team joined us at various points, recording conversations which were featured on their International Women’s Day broadcast.

We received lots of positive feedback from the event, including from our schools who said ‘This has been a fantastic experience and our girls have enjoyed it thoroughly!’ and ‘Hearing from other local women was really powerful.’

Leeds Mencap Siblings community group who visited our Saturday family activities said ‘The day has exceeded expectations. We anticipated a few activities but the range and breadth and conversation prompts have been brilliant for our young people. Thank you for this amazing opportunity.’

We also had plenty of reach through press and marketing with 107,061 social media impressions, 442 engagements and 3,695 clicks on WOW content, and 12 pieces of press coverage including BBC Radio Leeds, BBC News, Bradford Telegraph and Argus, FE News and Keighley News.

Thank you everyone involved for making this such an engaging and impactful event.

Bradford District is proud to support the annual National Hate Crime Awareness Week of action.

The 2023 Events Programme highlights some key events and activities running across the district. There will be a Service of Hope and Remembrance on Monday 16 October, at Bradford Cathedral and a series of workshops, training sessions, and pop-up stalls happening throughout the week.

For more information, view our programme, or take a look at our Hate Crime Awareness Week event.