Tutu Foundation report

'God’s dream is that you and I and all of us will realise that we are family that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion. In God’s family there are no outsiders, no enemies. Black and white, rich and poor, gay and straight, Jew and Arab, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Buddhist, Hutu and Tutsi, Pakistani and Indian – all belong. When we start to live as brothers and sisters and to recognise our interdependence, we become fully human.’

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu

I went to the fundraising evening by the Tutu Foundation UK (TF) on Monday 28^th March at the South Africa House in Trafalgar Square on behalf of Solicitors International Human Rights Group. SIHRG supports the peace-building and reconciliation work of the Tutu Foundation UK.

The Tutu Foundation UK was launched in 2007 to continue the inspiring and transforming work of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Mrs Leah Tutu. The mission of the organisation is to transform lives and communities in the UK by building peace, respect, understanding and connections between people of different ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds.

The underpinning values of the Tutu Foundation UK came from the Southern African concept of Ubuntu. Described by Archbishop Tutu as “one of the gifts Africa can give to the world”, ubuntu shows how we can only be fully human when we value and appreciate one another, recognising that what we have in common is far greater than the differences between us.

The main areas of work of the Tutu Foundation are:

- Building bridges across divisions of race, religion, gangs and age;

- Inspiring projects that are continuing to transform some of the UK’s most divided and deprived communities;

- Building networks between community leaders, the voluntary sector and local public sector;

- Transforming individuals’ relationship with conflict in their family and community;

- Increasing tolerance, respect and understanding;

- Building self-confidence and helping the move into employment and training.

The Conversation for Change (C4C) Programme

Over the past two years TF has developed Conversations for Change in areas of social tension by equipping participants with skills to address and overcome conflict.

Conversations for Change have so far been delivered in 13 locations across the UK. Delivery in a further 6 locations in the East and West Midlands is underway. By April 2011, over 300 people have participated in C4C, with thousands benefiting from changed attitudes, reconciliation techniques and bridge-building projects arising from the programme. TF will deliver C4C in 24 Greater London locations by the end of 2013, with a further 600 people participating and up to 48 community initiatives established.

The key aims of the programme are:

- To develop an understanding of anger and conflict in relation to self and the community and to begin the process of transformation;

- To establish and explore the idea that we can be human only together – that we are all interconnected and are incomplete if we do not pay attention to each other’s needs and well-being;

- To support the participants to develop achievable projects to bring people together and address conflict in their communities.

The presence of the Archbishop Desmond Tutu made the evening very enjoyable. His incredible sense of humour, contagious laughter and enormous positive energy made the event very memorable and pleasant. The strength of his conviction that the goodness in human nature will always prevail contributed to the elating feeling of belief that ‘we are created for goodness.’ In the words of the man himself ‘the magnanimity and generosity of people will win’.