Community Relations Council

• Jobs
• Press Releases
• News
• Links
• Speeches
• Contact
• Council Minutes

16 November 2004

PRESS RELEASE

16 November 2004

Breaking Down Division

Ted Cantle will be the guest speaker at the Community Relations Council's annual Live Issues conference to be held in the Europa Hotel on Wednesday (17 November 2004). His theme will be 'Community Cohesion'.

Ted Cantle is Associate Director of IDeA  Solutions which is currently working with about 20 weak and poorly performing local authorities in England and Wales. He was formerly Chief Executive of Nottingham City Council (1990-2001) and Under Secretary of the Association of Metropolitan Authorities (1983-88).

Ted Cantle was appointed by the Home Secretary in 2001 to chair the Community Cohesion Review Team set up to review the causes of the summer riots that year in a number of northern towns and cities in England. His report was produced in December 2001 and he now chairs the panel which advises Ministers on implementation of the recommendations (which numbered around 70).

In his report Ted Cantle found polarised and segregated communities in Britain with many people living parallel lives. He also found ignorance, fear and demonisation, a lack of honesty and openness, and a lack of leadership. He found that the challenge of community cohesion was to break down the segregation  and the fear of difference, to continue to tackle unequal life chances, poverty and disaffection,  and to build new vision and leadership.

In his presentation to the CRC conference Ted Cantle will also talk about coming to terms with change, including issues of identity and difference.

These are all issues of profound relevance to Northern Ireland, and the CRC conference will be dealing with many of these in its workshop sessions.

For further information

contact

Ray Mullan,

CRC Director of Communications

Tel 028 90 227500

Email: rmullan@community-relations.org.uk