About the team

Upcoming courses

People’s health and well-being are seriously affected by prejudice and discrimination.
NCBI Lancashire is a charity whose aim is to work towards ending prejudice and discrimination and to make our communities and workplaces safer, healthier and happier places for everyone. Active in schools, organisations and communities since April 1999, we have done bridge-building work in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham in the aftermath of the civil disturbances in 2001, and deliver an on-going programme of community workshops and leadership training to build community cohesion and resilient communities in Lancashire and the North West of England.

Conflict between different points of view is inevitable and can be healthy. NCBI models help us to learn to negotiate our differences constructively through dialogue, and to build bridges across difference (nationality, race, gender, religion, class, sexual orientation, age, physical ability or life circumstance). Through a leadership development training programme, local resource teams become skilled in bridge-building, prejudice reduction and conflict resolution skills. People are empowered to take a lead in their home, workplace, neighbourhood and community to celebrate diversity, challenge prejudice and help understand each other better.

Internationally and nationally, NCBI provides a framework and skills training which form the foundation for community cohesion. Our training has been honed over a 20 year period of community-building in the UK, Europe and the USA.

Current work in and around Lancaster District

Diversity Dialogues: These are events creating a ‘safe space’ in schools, community centres, churches etc., where people can think and talk about ‘difficult’ issues. To date we have covered issues such as terrorism, faith and sexuality, the meaning of family in the context of the civil partnership legislation, and integration versus assimilation of minority communities (funded by CRE) >>>>>>
Anti-bullying in schools: An ongoing project in primary schools now in its 5th year (funded by the City Council and Francis C Scott Trust)
Community Listeners: Training and supporting teams of volunteers to take a lead in their families, communities and workplaces to help people understand each other better, to reduce potential tensions and to negotiate differences constructively through dialogue (funded by CRE)
Welcome Stories: Building on earlier work to demonstrate and celebrate the rich diversity of heritage in and around Lancaster District. The project will build bridges and challenge negative stereotypes between different groups. Workshops will support local people in thinking about their own diversity, and volunteers will gather stories recording experiences of “welcome” to the District (funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund)
Holocaust Memorial Day: Training and other events (for example, in schools) to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day in January each year (funded by the Local Strategic Partnership Small Grants)
‘Me 2’ project: In partnership with the Traveller Education Service to raise the attainment of Traveller children in schools (funded by the DfES)
Territorial Tensions: A project in partnership with Marsh Community Centre dealing with inter-group and inter-estate tensions (funded by the Local Strategic Partnership)

Director NCBI Lancashire

Liz Neat

Office Manager

Sasha Lasseter

Trustees

Chair - Tracy Cowle
Secretary - Sandy Staplehurst
Treasurer - Alison Parker
Chris Coates
Kusminder Chahal

Volunteer Co-ordinator

Diana Martin

Welcome Stories Co-ordinator

Georgia Cassar

Welcome Stories Project Workers

Sharon Lambert
Marie-Clare Balaam