a community festival which took place in 2004 created by local people to celebrate who we are

What is the Diversity Festival? (And its aims + themes)
Who is organising the festival? (Contact info)
What activities have been proposed so far?
How you or your organisation can support the festival
List of proposed contributions (+ contributors) to the Diversity Festival to date

Diversity Radio - Follow this link to find out about Diversity Radio and how you and / or your group can contribute to / benefit from local open-access Community Radio broadcasting to this area since 3 October on 107 FM.

What is the Diversity Festival?

It was a community-based festival, which ran throughout October 2004, with the following aims and themes:

AIMS
Recognising and celebrating diversity

Awareness raising and education

Challenging oppression

Supporting long-term partnerships and programmes

Bringing groups and individuals together

Linking local and global

THEMES
Age, Religion, Gender, Race & Ethnicity, Disability, Sexuality

Who organised the festival?

The idea for the festival originally came from the race & Ethnicity Task Group of MAPfED (the Multi-Agency Partnership for Eliminating Discrimination).

A Steering Group of volunteers from many different organisations and community groups was set up in January 2004 to co-ordinate the festival.

Sue Garner from Global Link acted as overall co-ordinator - she can be contacted at 24a New Street, Lancaster LA1 1EG. Tel: 01524 36201, or email: globallink@gn.apc.org

What activities have been proposed so far?

The festival opened with a big event at the Platform in Morecambe on Saturday 2nd October 2004, and closed with another headline event at St Martins College in Lancaster on Saturday 30th October. Both events included a lively mixture of workshops, exhibitions and entertainments, and a
'global café'.

Throughout October, organisations in the district staged their own diversity-related events, including:

Films at the Dukes about sexuality and black history
Exhibitions, workshops and talks about different faiths, travellers, the criminal justice system, asylum seekers
Dance events from Ludus, the Corrymeela Support Group and Vincent Dance
Theatre performances at the Platform and the Nuffield
Music from local performers and from other parts of the world
a series of LGBT pride events

For further information about minority groups, issues, resources and support services see:

Disability	Race & Ethnicity		Religion
Sexual Orientation		Senior Citizens
	Women		Young People