- Projects
The Lokahi Foundation provides a range of practical projects which tackle needs and tensions in our communities. The following case studies describe projects that Lokahi has delivered in the past or are currently running.
Lokahi promotes innovation in communication and civic engagement.
The Campusalam Project supports UK university students of faith with resources, skills and an online community to make the changes they want to see on campus a reality. Some of our recent work includes innovative student-led events such as Comedislam and the Rumble in Westminster, the development of a problem-solving discussion group model called FlashPODs (Providers of Open Dialogue), an online module called Vlogging for Change to empower students in shooting and sharing video of their projects and events on campus, and an original viral video advert depicting Muslim students responding creatively to a potential conflict with right-wing ‘extremists’. Find out more at campusalam.org.
Lokahi provides public education and a safe space for debate.
We have facilitated over 40 weekend events nationwide that aim to build cooperative relationships between communities and the police. Operation Nicole generates intensive dialogue with a mix of role play exercises, uses of the imagination, expert briefings from Special operations teams and intensive group discussions for each group to understand what it feels like to be in the others’ shoes and have to take key decisions, especially when it all starts to fall apart. The event helps communities appreciate the complexities police face in making counter terrorism decisions, helps officers understand the impact of their operations on communities, increases understanding on the roles each other can play in improving relations, and provides opportunities for open debate.
As part of the British Library ‘Sacred’ Exhibition, we created a conference entitled ‘Ways of Reading’ with leading scholars of Jewish, Islamic and Christian texts for members of the general public. Topics considered included political uses of the Scriptures, morally challenging texts, feminist readings of the Scriptures, Law and the Sacred texts, and communicating scriptural scholarship to the faithful.
Lokahi supports businesses, charities and community organisations to achieve their aims.
We are working with a portfolio of over fourteen organisations to build capacity of community-based projects to more effectively achieve their aims and objectives. Lokahi has developed a unique tool to measure and benchmark organisational performance while enhancing diverse working models. We empower organisations with intensive support, training and evaluation in target areas of methods, activities, governance and financial management. We also support organisations to strengthen their relations with relevant stakeholders and make wider use of evidence to respond to current issues. We offer support to a network of practitioners to further research and advance operational innovation. We also work with statutory partners to ensure that grass roots projects inform policy decisions.
For local councils, Lokahi offers workshops composed of trainings, problem-solving and conflict resolution forums according to needs of local councils. Past issues covered in these bespoke sessions include far-right extremism, understanding Muslim communities and police-community engagement.
Lokahi undertakes groundbreaking research.
In the 'What Works' Research Project, Lokahi has been exploring how religious and ethnic individuals and communities have successfully contributed to the wider community and whether various economic, professional, religious or social factors have played a role. Britain will always be a diverse nation, and people will always want to retain important aspects of their religious, cultural, ethnic and other heritage. Much public discussion has concentrated on what has not worked with integration. We need to look more closely at 'What Works': the ways in which individuals and communities have been successful in building social cohesion within Britain. We have conducted about 100 interviews with members of the Black Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities, and continue to study and analyse what they have told us.
Lokahi is conducting research on Barriers to Progression and enablers of recruitment for visible minority staff in Police forces. The key questions the research address are: 1) What barriers to progression exist among police officers generally; and in particular what and how are these experienced by visible minority staff? 2) What are the mechanisms or patterns whereby such barriers occur? 3) What factors enable or deter recruitment and retention for visible minority staff? 4) What lessons can be learned from the experience of staff to enable senior officers to improve the recruitment, retention, and progression of visible minority staff? and 5) What concrete steps for improvement can be undertaken for recruitment and progression of visible minority staff?