Conference celebrates diversity in Plymouth

Plymouth is today hosting a conference to celebrate its diversity by bringing together different people from all walks of life under one roof to share stories and experiences of living, working and playing in the city.

The ‘In Our City’ conference, hosted by Plymouth City Council’s Social Inclusion team, and organised by and for people from diverse communities, involves at least 50 representatives from diverse groups and includes key figures from the Council, police, health and other organisations such as the Centre for Faiths and Cultural Diversity.

Councillor Chris Penberthy, Cabinet Member for Cooperatives and Community Development, opened the event this morning. He said: “Today is all about talking and learning about each other and asking those questions you always wanted to. It is about celebrating our differences and recognising our similarities.

“We want to spread the word that Plymouth is a city that welcomes people with all their differences. The history and heritage we celebrate is of Plymouth the port - many of the modern world’s great achievements started or ended right here. Throughout history people have been arriving and leaving from Plymouth. We want to continue to celebrate that same ethos that welcomes people to our great city, some may stay only briefly, but others fall in love with it and stay here for years.

“Our message is clear, regardless of where you are from, your beliefs, sexuality, ability, disability or life-choices, if you come to Plymouth to work, live, play and contribute to our fantastic city, then you are very welcome.” 

The event involves a series of workshops designed to spark conversations and challenge stereotypes, as well as tackle some tough issues such as hate and mate crime in the city.

The conference links to the ‘Welcoming City’ work which in the last 12 months has helped to drive forward several important initiatives including: opening five new community and voluntary sector centres to report hate crimes and incidents, four ‘Welcoming City’ meet and greets held with over 70 delegates from all protected characteristics and 89% satisfaction rate achieved for people reporting hate crime/incidents.

Multi-agency training has also taken place for 64 Plymouth Community Homes and Citizens Advice staff on how to deal with hate and mate crime, people form diverse communities have designed and produced the new ‘Report It’ posters have been designed and produced by members of Plymouth's diverse communities and dedicated events have been held for people from diverse communities to discuss the Council budget, First Stop Shop and the Fairness Commission.

Future Welcoming City work will focus on tackling some of the findings and recommendations in the Fairness Commission final report.

Look out for Plymouth Welcoming City Facebook and Twitter accounts coming soon!