Religious groups and inter faith charities, with backing from the UK Government, are calling on people across Britain to join in a celebration of unity in diversity as Inter Faith Week 2026 launches at the Nishkam Civic Association in Birmingham. The Week formally starts on Remembrance Sunday (November 8th) and runs through to November 15th.
The 2026 campaign has the theme “Lighting the Way for a Shared Future”, with organisers seeking to highlight examples of how faith communities all over the country work together week in, week out to foster understanding and build bridges between diverse communities. This year’s campaign – backed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) – will see events taking place at every level of society, with a youth roundtable being held at 10 Downing Street and a reception for parliamentarians, in addition to local activity happening up and down the country led by faith groups, charities and schools.
One of the highlights of this year’s national campaign will be a special roundtable of young adults aged 18 – 35 at No 10 Downing Street with Faith Minister Florence Eshalomi. Chosen from a wide range of social and faith backgrounds, these brilliant young people (including Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, a Zoroastrian and a Baháʼí) will have the chance to share their experiences of the successes and challenges facing inter faith work in the heart of government.
As well as encouraging faith groups to host events in partnership with each other and national events like the one at Downing Street, this year the national Inter Faith Week campaign has funded twenty grass roots projects across England to deliver activities during the campaign. Grant winners include schools, refugee assistance groups, anti-racism charities, community centres, university student societies and even a community radio station. Examples of some of the projects funded include:
- House of Rainbow, in partnership with Manchester City Council, will host a space for honest conversations, shared experiences and meaningful connections for LGBTQ+ people of faith.
- Voice FM is creating a series of “intimate audio stories”, recording real people from different faiths coming together over the dinner table for authentic, organic dialogue about their differences and similarities.
- The North East Religious Learning Resource Centre will provide free educational resources, teacher training workshops and delivery support for inter faith learning and discovery activities in schools across their networks.
- Coastal Wealth will bring together an inter faith action group for an ‘active dialogue’ between faiths, with participants exploring inter faith relations whilst working together to litter pick and clean up their local environment in Yorkshire.
- Loughborough Council of Faiths are supporting young people from different faith communities to come together to create and deliver performance art pieces around social cohesion and the celebration of diversity.
- Leeds-based Community & Education Centre will bring together West Indian/British Caribbean, African, Polish, Bangladeshi and local Sikh voices to discover local stories of the Windrush generation and what the legacy of Windrush tells us about resilience, belonging and faith.
Many of the projects being funded by Inter Faith Week stand out for their effort to include some of the UK’s smallest faith communities and for their focus on activities and ways of engagement that help shatter stereotypes about what inter faith work looks like, with a focus on celebrating the real work that happens every day in communities across Britain to bring people together around common values and shared spaces.
In addition to the microgrant winners, grassroots events will be happening all over the country, and members of the public are encouraged to find an event on the Inter Faith Week website or checking local event listings for activities that might be happening in their area. The organisers estimate that hundreds of organisations will be taking part in this year’s campaign up and down the country.
The Rt. Hon. Florence Eshalomi MP, Minister for Homelessness, Democracy, Communities and Faith, said:
“At a time when global and local challenges affect us all, it is more crucial than ever to applaud the extraordinary inter faith work taking place in communities across the country. Not only do I celebrate the achievements or inter faith groups, schools, and workplaces in fostering understanding, but I also urge everyone to get involved. Attend a shared meal; take part in a multi faith walk; join a debate. By connecting in these ways, we can discover our shared values, build lasting hope, and strengthen our resilience against those who seek to divide us.”
Carrie Alderton, Chief Executive Officer of the Faith and Belief Forum, said:
“Interfaith encounters can be transformational experiences. Having the opportunity to understand how someone else sees the world, what motivates them, what inspires them, it can help us transform our understanding of others and ourselves and make us feel more connected to our local community. In a context of polarisation, division and a crisis of belonging, interfaith encounters become a vital civic practice. This is why it’s incredibly important that the Inter Faith Week microgrant winners are from all over England, and from multiple different sectors and civic spaces. They show us that interfaith experiences aren’t just reserved for our religious leaders. Interfaith experiences can be accessed anywhere, as long as we’re brave enough: schools, faith communities, workplaces, universities, radio stations, and comedy clubs.”
Rabbi Charley Baginsky and Rabbi Josh Levy, Co-Leads of The Movement for Progressive Judaism, said:
“British Jews have long played a leading role in building bridges between faith communities in the UK. Progressive Jewish synagogues across the country every year connect with mosques, churches and other faith institutions in their communities. This year’s Inter Faith Week theme, ‘Lighting the Way for a Shared Future’, resonates deeply with the Jewish value of tikkun olam: repairing the world. By coming together and encountering each other in our shared humanity, with authentic respect for an interest in one another’s traditions and values, we can build a more cohesive country and a brighter world for all people.”
The launch event at the Nishkam Civic Association on Tuesday November 3rd acted as a showcase of the potential and impact of Inter Faith Week both this year and in the past, featuring contributions from Florence Eshalomi, West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor Richard Parker and a host of religious leaders from across the West Midlands who shared insight into how interfaith work was having a transformative impact on the cohesion of their local communities.
Bhai Sahib (Prof.) Mohinder Singh Ahluwalia OBE, KSG, Chair of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, said:
“Faith traditions contain vast reservoirs of wisdom accumulated over centuries. They ask questions about meaning, purpose, responsibility, human dignity, service, forgiveness and hope.
These are not peripheral concerns – they are central human concerns. The greatest educational challenge before us may not be choosing between the secular and the spiritual, as if the two are opposed; it may be learning how to bring them into constructive dialogue for the benefit of future generations. The future requires more than technically competent citizens. It requires morally responsible citizens, and it requires peacemakers.”
For more information contact Stuart Diamond at
comms@interfaithweek.org or +44 7858 910 651
NOTES TO EDITORS
A non-exhaustive list of events happening during Inter Faith Week can be found here https://www.interfaithweek.org/events/programme.
National Inter Faith Week is an annual initiative which takes place every November, aimed at increasing awareness of the diversity and contribution of faith communities in the UK, and fostering understanding between people of different religious and non-religious beliefs. Since its launch in 2009, Inter Faith Week has seen thousands of events including discussions, dialogues, community walks, cultural festivals, and educational activities. For more, information, visit https://www.interfaithweek.org/ or contact Stuart Diamond.
Nishkam Civic Association, launched in 2002 and part of Nishkam Organisations, established by Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (Handsworth, Birmingham) a faith-based, charitable organisation, The Nishkam Civic Association (NCA) is a UK-based civic and community organisation rooted in the Sikh principle of Nishkam Sewa — selfless service. Working across faith, cultural and civic boundaries, the Association is committed to promoting social cohesion, equality, human dignity and peaceful coexistence. For more information contact Ajit Singh Ubhi, Director, Nishkam Centre: ajit.singh@ncauk.org.
