This is a national Government initiative, to highlight the voluntary service that people of faith carry out in their local communities and to forge links between volunteers. Throughout 2012 there will be 12 Days of Volunteering, each coinciding with a religious festival or existing volunteering day, and each focusing on a particular kind of social action (e.g. feeding the hungry).

Each faith community in turn will promote its own day or days in neighbourhoods and businesses, and invite people from other faiths or without religious beliefs to join in. Projects will also give people from different backgrounds a chance to mark the Diamond Jubilee together, and there will be a national celebration in November.

One of the most pressing concerns we constantly hear from faith groups (and many others!), is about how to engage meaningfully with young people. They are the future, after all! We hope our conference gave you some ideas on fresh approaches to stimulate developments for the future. Read our full conference briefing and fill in our feed back form.

Our Targeted Support Project - 'Increasing Participation'

Faithnetsouthwest’s Targeted Support work has been aimed at supporting young people aged 16-25 and people from Black and minority ethnic communities to get more involved with their local community. In just two years, a number of exciting projects have been initiated and supported. Here are some of the highlights and lessons that we have learned from them. You can find out more by downloading the Targeted Support brochure here and by going to the website of the Empowering Communities Partnership.

The launch of the Bristol Faith Audit has taken place at the Council House in Bristol. The report confirms the major contribution made to society by faith communities, not least the financial value of these services. The launch was an opportunity for faith groups to share the platform with representatives of civil society and highlight much of our work to policy makers. The keynote speaker was Barbara Janke the leader of Bristol City Council. In her introduction to the report, Barbara Janke said it was time for an action plan between faith groups and the Council, to agree a way forward on how faith groups can best contribute to community support in Bristol.