“I THINK this is just about the happiest I’ve ever felt a few days before Christmas” smiles Gill Saunders to the dozen or so people gathered around: “and I know that one of the reasons is that I’m here with you all”. Gill is secretary of the Cardiff “Friends and Neighbours” (FAN) group, a non-profit organisation that since 2003 has set-out to promote cross-cultural relations within the Welsh capital. Rubina, originally from Pakistan, encapsulates what FAN means to many newcomers to Cardiff: “When I came to this country I did not know many people, I was alone…at FAN everyone can discuss their problems and share ideas”
Cardiff is a city steeped in ethnic and cultural diversity owing to its past as a trading port and post-war immigration. Grangetown, for instance, has been home to generations of Somali families. Like many other parts of the UK Cardiff has experienced a new wave of immigration during the last few years. FAN member and Cardiff resident David Davies said: “I notice how Cardiff is changing in its demographics, you can sense it just walking around the city and I really do celebrate that”.
The FAN groups represent both an acknowledgment of these changes, and an attempt to reach out to Cardiff’s increasingly diverse population. Originally devised as a way of helping new immigrants develop their English skills and meet Cardiffians, FAN now boasts 10 separate groups from Pentwyn to Grangetown, where people of different ages, races, cultures and faiths can interact: “There are aspects of life in our world today which seem to be splitting people up” says David: “FAN is such a simple and effective vehicle for integration and community spirit.”
FAN Meeting Locations Throughout Cardiff
Each meeting begins with members reading extracts from the FAN statement, whose principles emphasise the ethos of equality and tolerance, before moving on to a group discussion. Topics of conversion can range from serious issues such as family or employment to more light-hearted chats on the foibles of everyday life. In this way FAN hopes to make newcomers to Cardiff feel welcome and reinforce shared values held by people from different backgrounds. Gill Saunders agrees: “This is what FAN is: so many wonderful people all across Cardiff. I have never met anyone at FAN who hasn’t been interesting in their own special way.”
The simplicity of the FAN concept could easily lead some cynics to dismiss the groups’ activities as yet another example of “woolly liberalism”. The issue of social cohesion is however highly relevant in Wales today and one that the Welsh Assembly is keen to address in 2009 with its “All Wales Community Cohesion Project” (AWCCP). The project, which seeks to improve community cohesion through raised awareness, has already endorsed the work of the FAN groups in initiatives to encourage: “Mutual understanding and respect amongst all those who live in our country.”
Click below to listen to a reading of the FAN opening statement
“There is a human need to feel accepted and safe in a foreign land.” says David adding: “Through FAN people have always felt that they have had a friendly ear to their concerns.” Thanks to the funding provided by bodies such as the Home Office, NHS and Oxfam Cymru, the FAN groups have been enabled to build on the successes of the last 5 years into 2009 and beyond.
The work of the FAN groups were also showcased in the 2004-2008 final report (on page 22) of the Advisory Board of Naturalisation and Integration (ABNI) as examples of what community projects could achieve at a grassroots level. “FAN was not really acknowledged as having a main role [in social cohesion] until quite recently” admits David.
Perhaps the simplest way of measuring the success of FAN is through observing the feedback of members such as Zahra, who came to Britain from Iran in 2003. As a political activist in her native country, Zahra was persecuted and imprisoned by the Iranian government and eventually forced to seek asylum in the UK. Zahra has now managed to start a new life in Cardiff and regularly attends FAN meetings: “I’m very pleased to live in Wales and Cardiff.” She says: “This was one of the best choices in my life”.
Cardiff man, David Coombs, is also in no doubt about the importance of the groups: “People who come from another culture are very much a stimulus to your normal way of thinking.” Says David. Gill reiterates this view: “It’s taught me not to think: ‘who is this person?’ and turn around. Now I think: ‘this is someone who will have something interesting and important to give’”.
The FAN groups meet weekly all across Cardiff and are always keen to welcome new members whatever their background, faith or nationality. For more information visit the FAN website by clicking here.
Click below to listen to David Coombs give his views on FAN
