The exchange focused on the Woodlands Community Development Trust’s anti-racism programme, and how community and volunteers have been key to its development. Everyone was provided with examples of how to approach community engagement activities and events in order to grow their network of engaged individuals. This helped identify actionable steps organisations could take towards making anti-racism a priority across programmes and organisational structures. Woodland’s anti-racism action plan added detail to the work they have done as a guide to action area themes.  There was space to discuss challenges that may arise when taking forward this work, and workshop solutions. Together, we carried out a strengths, opportunities, challenges and threats analysis of our own organisational anti-racism work which highlighted a shared commitment to challenging racism through working in partnership with communities. Funding short-termism  and structural inequality across national and local policy often present barriers to lasting change.

Learning Outcomes

• Deliver a network-wide exchange programme which appeals to community organisations with a shared common interest.
•  Identify knowledge gaps and transform them into cross-sector learning opportunities.
• Provide individuals with transferable knowledge/skills specific to their role and improve overall role performance.

"Any work in this field takes time, everyone's involvement and commitment. There is a lot that can be learned from an intermediary perspective on what is being done on the ground locally- we need space to have open conversations to embed proactive steps."