Discover the impact of radical kindness on social cohesion through our project, featuring webinars, stories, and events that bridge differences and foster community connections.
Discover the impact of radical kindness on social cohesion through our project, featuring webinars, stories, and events that bridge differences and foster community connections.
‘Radical Kindness’ is a project funded by Spirit of 2012 celebrating acts of radical kindness and drawing on findings from ‘Beyond Us and Them’, our nationwide research project funded by the Nuffield Foundation and in collaboration with the University of Kent exploring the impact of Covid-19 on social cohesion.
Acts of radical kindness are those actions that intentionally seek to build bridges across differences, develop shared ground, and promote social connection between different groups and communities.
At the heart of ‘Radical Kindness’ is the need for creative and inspiring reminders of the power of social connection, particularly across difference, as we begin to emerge from lockdown.
Learn more about the project through our online resources
From November 2020 to April 2021 we hosted a series of webinars at 11am every Tuesday – ‘Radical Kindness Elevenses’ where we were joined by inspirational residents, community leaders and those doing work to promote social cohesion to hear about their experiences and views of radical kindness.
These webinars are available to watch on the Stories of Radical Kindness page as well as podcasts and short video stories from those involved in the project.
Radical Kindness Week
This year we launched our first Radical Kindness Week – a week long celebration of radical kindness – which ran from Monday 17 until Friday 21 May 2021 and featured a range of free events including workshops and a webinar. To watch recordings of these events or find out more about the week then please visit the Radical Kindness Week page.
Cultivating Radical Kindness
Discover the 10 conditions that must be in place for radical kindness to thrive in our latest paper – ‘Cultivating Radical Kindness’.
You can find resources relating to the Radical Kindness project here.
Over the past nine months, Belong has collected countless examples of radical kindness from our conversations with people from across the country. This paper presents what we have learnt. It illustrates the power of radical kindness for reshaping community relations and challenging narratives of fear and division, especially in times of crisis.
Explore a range of materials that celebrate Radical Kindness.
A range of tools and resources are available to allow you to engage with Radical Kindness Week 2021.
This report tells the story of that two-year journey and reflects on challenges and learning, particularly over the last 6 months. It finishes with five priorities for sustaining and developing kindness, which we hope will feel relevant and urgent not just for North Ayrshire, but for local government everywhere.
There is growing recognition of the importance of kindness and relationships for societal wellbeing. But talking about kindness does not fit easily within the rational lexicon of public policy.
The Practice of Kindness brings together practical examples of things that can be done to create the conditions for kindness. However, it also highlights the barriers to relationships within organisations, and posits kindness as a radical concept that demands challenging the systems and structures – including risk and regulation, professionalism, and performance management – that currently govern our institutions.
Jo Broadwood, CEO of Belong, explores the ability of the arts to connect people across identity groups quickly and powerfully. Broadwood proposes a series of recommendations for arts practitioners interested in the impact of their work on intergroup relations and generating empathy with the other.
This report brings together 10 years of research showing that the arts can play a practical and imaginative role in building a kinder and more caring society. The paper contains a series of illustrative case studies demonstrating that arts participation can result in increased empathy, willingness to help others, and self-efficacy.
The Carnegie Trust presents findings from the first ever quantitative survey on kindness in communities and public services.
We are grateful for the support of Spirit of 2012. Spirit of 2012 is the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games legacy funder. The National Lottery Community Fund founded Spirit in 2013 with a £47 million endowment to continue and recreate the spirit of pride, positivity and community that inspired people across the UK during the London 2012 Games.
Spirit of 2012 builds sustainable social legacies from the inspiration of events, investing to improve how people feel about themselves, other people and their communities. Spirit of 2012 awards grants for community-based arts, sports and volunteering activities that bring people together to improve their wellbeing.
For more information visit www.spiritof2012.org.uk.
