Karuna and ClearVision collaborate to promote awareness of Buddhist-led development work and social action in Asia

Maitrisara, a member of the Western Buddhist Order based in Oxford, UK, writes with news of a major survey of UK Buddhists’ interest in and knowledge about Buddhist-inspired and Buddhist-led development work and social action in Asia.

The initiative came from a shared realisation that although there is a great deal of such work, spread across Asia and involving many different Buddhist Sanghas, much of it is hardly known about.

She says -

“A recent online survey completed by 295 Buddhists (77% from the FWBO!) aimed to find out more about UK Buddhists' interest in and knowledge about Buddhist-inspired and Buddhist-led development work and social action in Asia; also to find out how they understood the relationship between personal and social transformation.

“To see a summary of the results, and respondents’ reflections on the question "Personal and social transformation are indivisible - do you agree?” – click here. The reflections especially are extremely interesting!

“The outcome of this process is that a project application has been submitted to the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DFID) by Karuna www.karuna.org in partnership with Clear Vision www.clear-vision.org.

“Original study materials will be created including video footage of projects in the global South. This will be accessed on an online learning hub. There will also be exchange and networking spaces such as inter-group meetings, retreats and conferences. We wait to see if the application has been successful.

“We would like to thank all those who contributed to the survey. We were impressed with the responses, both in the thought given to them and the number completed in such a short time. The information will have value beyond this project as we think it's the biggest survey ever completed on Engaged Buddhism and certainly the most current”.

Maitrisara (Oxford, UK)

Sub-30 retreat at the London Buddhist Centre

SuYen Tan writes from the FWBO’s London Buddhist Centre with news of their new ‘sub-30’ group. He says-

“Dear Friends,

“Young people at the London Buddhist Centre are getting ready for an under-30s retreat. The ‘Sub-30’ weekend retreat will take place at Vajrasana, the LBC's retreat centre in Suffolk, from the 29th to the 31st of January. The retreat provides an opportunity for men and women under the age of 30 to make connections with other young Buddhists, discuss the Dharma, and practice together in a retreat environment. The focus of the weekend will be on meditation and communication.

“The retreat is open to everyone under the age of 30, and who know both the mindfulness and metta bhavana meditation practices as taught within the FWBO. The retreat will be co-led by Knut Wilmott and SuYen Tan.

“There are still a couple of places left on this retreat - please contact the LBC at 0845 458 4716 for bookings. More information can be found at www.lbc.org.uk/Sub30.htm”

The LBC’s Sub-30 group is one of a number of young Buddhists’ groups (eg Birmingham, Brighton, Sheffield) that have sprung up around the FWBO in the past year, many in response to a realisation that action needed to be taken to make sure the Dharma in the West was handed on to the coming generation.

There’s a Young FWBO Facebook group that aims to be a one-stop shop summarising what’s events are coming up - it’s also of course a way to connect with other young Buddhists.  You’ll find this at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=49821059114 .  Looking beyond the FWBO for young Buddhist resources, try the American-based Buddhist Geeks site at www.buddhistgeeks.com/.

Meanwhile ClearVision are hard at work on new video material specifically aimed at communicating Buddhist teachings to a younger generation.  A central component of their work is a forthcoming DVD on Buddhism and Citizenship .  Already available is the wonderful  ‘Ask a Buddhist’ service for students (one-minute answers to all those difficult questions!); plus material for children and young people of all ages - 

ages 5-11 (with some wonderful stores from the Jataka tales), 

11-14 (with an interactive Wheel of Life), 

15-16 (with sections on religious authority, and citizenship, and finally 

17-18 A-level students (where there's sections on human rights and responsibilities, also sex and relationships).

Christmas at Clear Vision...

 Christmas at Clear Vision

Following up their post of a few days ago introducing their new website, the Clear Vision team, Aparajita, Munisha and Upekshapriya, have written with some suggestions for where you could buy your Christmas prezzies - from them! And why not...?

They say -

• Children 4 to 8 years old are captivated by our Buddhist story DVD, The Monkey King.
• The DVD What is Buddhism? (adults and young people 12 years +) could be the answer for someone interested in your Buddhist practice but unlikely ever to read a book.
• Give someone a flavour of meditation with our DVD Meditation for Everyone.
• Buddhist friends might enjoy receiving our new poster of Aloka's Wheel of Life.

Clear Vision launch new website

Clear Vision are the FWBO's experts in educational and media work, offering a wealth of  resources for school teachers, students, and young Buddhists, plus a huge photo and video library, much of it available or free on the internet.  

They've been working for a while on a whole new website to display their wealth, and have just written to FWBO News to announce it - and to appeal for a bit of financial support.  They say - 

Clear Vision launches new website!

Our new website contains a mass of information, DVD, online video and pictures, for adults and young people. Please give generously to support this work for the FWBO.

Five hundred video clips

       [yes, that really is 500! - ed]

Over 500 video clips, mainly of Bhante Sangharakshita, organised into themes such as

• Sangharakshita's life
• Buddhism in the Modern World
• and even The Buddha! 

Young people's section

                             There are a lot of teenagers out there surfing the net looking for the Dharma.

We've always had a section for schools but this new section is for young people following up an independent interest in Buddhism.

As well as quizzes and information, you'll find here our recently completed Life of the Buddha interactive materials for 8-14 year-olds, combining video, questions, information and activities, as well as notes for parents/Sunday school leaders.

We believe that online interactive Dharma materials are the future - especially ones featuring Bodhi, the help lion!

General improvements

• Better FWBO photo section
• Clearer navigation 

Please give money to support this work.

All this free material, for the FWBO and for young people, costs money. Previously supported by sales to schools (now dwindling in recessionary times), we have had to reduce the hours of one of our three workers simply to stay in the black. There is so much Clear Vision is uniquely qualified to do, especially encouraging more young people around the world to engage with the Dharma through modern media. (We're very grateful to the FWBO Chairs for money for materials for teenagers.)

Please make a one-off or monthly donation. It's very easy: check here for information about donations or go straight to our Just Giving page.

With many thanks from

Aparajita, Munisha and Upekshapriya

PS - coming soon - another message from them with suggestions for Christmas at Clear Vision

Watch this space - it's possible it'll be the first time Christmas has been mentioned on FWBO News!

Sheffield launch 'Still Learning' schools project

The FWBO’s Sheffield Buddhist Centre have recently launched a new Right Livelihood business - their ‘Still Learning’ education service for schools. You’ll find it at www.fwbosheffield.org/schools.html.

The project is the brainchild of two Sheffield mitras, Allan Kirkman and Kate Arrowsmith, who’ve teamed up to create a complete spectrum of activities, tours and workshops for schools. Among their repertoire are introductions to -

• Stilling Exercises
• Artefacts and Shrines
• Story-telling
• Questions and Answer sessions
• Drama/role-play
• Information about Buddhism
• The Buddha’s life story
• Buddhist Ethics and Beliefs
• Buddhist Doctrine and Teachings
• Buddhist Statues and Images
• Talks about Buddhist Festivals

- everything a school teacher might want to pass on to their pupils about Buddhism!

In preparing themselves for this venture, they’ve drawn heavily on the FWBO’s ClearVision project’s experience in this field - they have a huge on-line resource library at www.clear-vision.org/Students - including the new on-line interactive ‘Life of the Buddha’ - check their demo at www.cvinteractive.org/lob.

Videosangha celebrates 360 videos

Videosangha is a relatively new addition to the FWBO’s stable of websites, it’s been set up to enable people within the FWBO mandala to share what they are doing, what they are inspired by and even just what they look like - through the medium of video.

They’re just celebrating their first 360 videos - allowing you to watch (if you choose) not quite one/day for a year, but close!

Among the most recent uploads are a series of talks by Subhuti, entitled the “Seven Trees of Enlightenment”, referring to the legend that the Buddha, immediately after his Enlightenment, spent seven weeks at Bodh Gaya, a week under each of seven trees.

Fittingly, his talks were given at Bodh Gaya - Subhuti himself, of course, lifts the talks out of the realm of legend and plants them firmly in the realm of our own daily practice. On the theme of India, Amitasuri’s another new addition to the site with an introduction to the plans for the FWBO/TBMSG’s land at Bodh Gaya, filmed at a fundraising evening in Manchester.

The site is divided into subject areas, ranging from Arts to Questions to Sport - under Questions, for instance, you’ll find a thought-provoking series of clips of young Buddhists offering answers to all those difficult questions Buddhists get asked.- vegetarianism, life after death, Enlightenment and more...

Contributing to the site is easy - you’ll find the very simple instructions on their home page www.videosangha.net

New video of Sangharakshita available online

Upekshapriya, from the FWBO's ClearVision video team, writes with news of Sangharakshita's recent talk in Birmingham, UK, given as part of their FWBO Day celebrations. He sys " You might want a heads-up that the talks from FWBO day in Birmingham are now on VideoSangha".

There's three talks, all around the launch of 'The Essential Sangharakshita', Wisdom Publications' new collection of Sangharakshita's writings.

Vidyadevi, the book's compiler, begins her talk by describing the difficulty of adequately representing in a book the "ongoing process that is Sangharakshita", an author who Wisdom describes as being “equally at home with science, philosophy, myth, art, and poetry,” and using “every inner avenue to communicate the timeless Dharma.”

Her talk is at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-1-by-Vidyad-3

Subhuti, in his first public talk in the West for three years, rejoices in the "glittering but muddled heap" that has been bequeathed to us in the FWBO - meaning the sum total of Sangharakshita's output over the past 60 years of Dharma teaching and practice. He goes on to evoke the spirit of the times when the FWBO and Order were founded, when in the air there was a thirst for something new, for radical change - and Sangharakshita was there to meet it. His talk is at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-2-by-Subhut-3

Sangharakshita, in his talk, available at www.videosangha.net/video/FWBO-Day-2009-Talk-3-by-Sangha-3, expresses very eloquently his gratitude to Vidyadevi and others. He goes on to launch 'Living with Ethics', and offers a series of reflections on ethics and altruism.

VideoSangha www.videosangha.net hosts over 260 videos, long and short, related to the FWBO and Western Buddhist Order.

Archive photos from early days of FWBO now on-line

For the past two years Padmakara, an Order Member from Manchester UK, has been occupying himself in his spare time scanning hundreds and even thousands of historic photographs from the FWBO Archives, held by ClearVision.

Four collections of these have now been uploaded to the FWBO Photos website, covering-

people

retreats

communities

and Team-Based Right Livelihood

We hope a further collection, covering the early days of TBMSG in India, will be added soon.  Further contributions are very welcome - please email FWBO News.

Any statisticians among FWBO News’ readership might be interested to know FWBO Photos
(www.flickr.com/photos/fwbo/sets) currently contains 3,767 photos related to the FWBO, which have been viewed 70,002 times.

Interactive Buddhism from ClearVision

What would the Buddha have said if he'd known schools would be studying his life 2,500 years later - using online interactive media?

The ‘Life of the Buddha Interactive’ is an exciting new resource for 8-12 year-olds in Religious Education.

Clear Vision, the FWBO’s educational charity based in Manchester UK, have a reputation for lively, informative, video-based materials for Buddhism in RE. With their first interactive resource, they've become possibly the UK's first faith group to embrace the new opportunities offered by online learning in RE.

The Life of the Buddha Interactive features 7 video clips with questions, activities, extra information, teacher's notes and a friendly help-lion called Bodhi. (See if you recognise his voice!)
Later in the year a home-use version will be available – there’s already a sample section available here.

Munisha, education officer at Clear Vision told FWBO News - "It's very exciting finding new ways of stimulating young people to examine their experience in the light of the Buddha's teaching. These new materials are really distinctive: we believe that new kinds of activities, involving carefully guided use of the internet, can offer schools unprecedented access to the contemporary Buddhist world."

The move from DVD to interactive online materials has been made possible through the generosity of a Manchester Friend who specialises in Flash software.

All product details may be found at http://www.clear-vision.org/Teachers/LOB.aspx, or contact them at the Clear Vision Trust, 16-20 Turner Street, Manchester M4 1DZ. tel 0161 839 9579

Clear Vision in Asia - from Bhutan to Bangkok

A year on from an assignment working for Bhutan's Ministry of Education, the FWBO's Clear Vision Trust (www.clear-vision.org) has just returned from an international conference on Buddhism and Ethics, held in Thailand near Bangkok.

As education officer at Clear Vision, Munisha was invited to give a presentation on “Using Video to teach Buddhist Ethics in British Schools” at the first conference of the International Association of Buddhist Universities (IABU). (The FWBO's Dharmapala College is a member of the IABU).

Munisha writes: “It was extraordinary to be part of a gathering of up to 3000 Buddhists, mostly Asian monks, as well as nuns and a small number of westerners. I went with Mokshapriya and Aparajita. Among the robes of yellow or brown or stylish grey linen, our kesas attracted a fair amount of interest, as did our display of Clear Vision DVDs for schools. The Dharma is not yet available in such formats in Asia!

"My strong sense is that young people of Buddhist background are losing touch with Buddhism, both in the UK and across Asia. You have to wonder whether there will be another generation of lay Buddhists as young people often know nothing of the Dharma and are less and less interested in tradition. To be fair, there were conference presentations from people who are running Dharma activities for young people in Burma, Thailand and Sri Lanka, one or two of them innovative, but still I suspect they are exceptions.

Meanwhile, some very good teaching of Buddhism for young people is being delivered in British schools, by and for non-Buddhists, using modern teaching materials such as Clear Vision's. If Asian young people are to be interested in the Dharma, I'd argue Asian Buddhists could benefit from seeing what we are doing here in Britain.

"We went hoping to spread the word about our materials and invite sponsorship and dana. It was a bonus to meet Asian Buddhists who approached us to tell us of their respect for Bhante and the importance of his work for the future of Buddhism. Then there's my favourite souvenir from the conference pack: a mustard yellow umbrella with a limb of the Eightfold Path printed on each section!”

Munisha's paper is available on FWBO Features here. This is a longer, written version of her PowerPoint presentation to the conference, which included video clips.

Click here to see what Clear Vision has to offer school teachers and students.

ClearVision launch new photographic archive

ClearVision, the FWBO’s film and video arm, based in Manchester UK, have been working hard over the past months digitising Sangharakshita’s photograph library – a vast collection stretching back many decades.

It's full of many glimpses of Buddhist history – including several glimpses of a very youthful Dalai Lama, among many others. Substantial sections of it have now been uploaded and are available for public viewing.

There's sections for Sangharakshita pre-FWBO, of the early days of the FWBO, and post-1980.

There's also sections for Sangharakshita's teachers and the start of a new section showcasing FWBO artists.

Many thanks to Padmakara especially for all his work in digitising and cataloguing the photographs.  There's more to come we believe but thanks to his work there's a great deal already available!

The three photographs shown are respectively, an early passport photograph of Sangharakshita, the first ordinations into the WBO in 1967, and a recent one of Chetrul Sangye Dorje, the only one of Sangharakshita's teachers still living. 

Meanwhile their pages for schoolchildren (of all ages) have had a makeover; and Videosangha continues to grow – it now hosts nearly 200 video clips on a wide variety of Buddhist- and FWBO- related subjects – meditation, arts, activism, Sangharakshita, pilgrimage…

The award for Videosangha's most-watched clip may still be held by the classic ‘Heart Sutra’, sung by Karuna Carpenter (aka Kavyasiddhi) – over 2,000 and counting…

Sangharakshita on 'The Growth and Prosperity of the Sangha'

Upekshapriya from the FWBO's 'Videosangha' project has contacted FWBO News to say -

"You might want to let your readers know that Bhante's latest talk 'The Growth and Prosperity of the Sangha' given at the FWBO International Retreat is now available on www.videosangha.net. The direct link is here".

Since Videosangha was launched in 2007, it has grown rapidly to become an extensive video resource for the FWBO worldwide, with well over 100 videos spanning 24 'categories'. There's everything there from answers to those awkward questions ("are buddhists allowed to have sex...?") to many individuals recounting their first meetings with Sangharakshita - to others reflecting on their own ordinations...

Adding new videos is easy - simply upload to YouTube or Google Video with an 'FWBO' tag...

Taking Buddhism to the Himalayas?

Munisha reports from Bhutan...

Last August I spent a very interesting three weeks in Bhutan. As the education officer at The Clear Vision Trust, I'd been asked by the Bhutanese Ministry of Education to come and put the finishing touches to their draft Framework for Values Education - which overlaps with the curriculum areas known in the UK as Religious Education, Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural Education, and Citizenship Education. I asked Joyce Miller to accompany me; she's a Theravadin laywoman and recently retired Bradford (UK) Local Education Authority officer for Diversity and Social Cohesion.

Bhutan straddles the eastern Himalaya. It's about the size of Switzerland, with a population of 600,000 mostly subsistence farmers, mostly Buddhists. Sandwiched between two superpowers, China and India, its survival as a sovereign nation relies on the maintenance of its distinctive culture, traditions and landscape, whilst meeting modern, global culture. Bhutanese are among the millions who have jumped straight from no phone to mobile phone; from almost no TV to cable. They're also moving from 100 years of absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy: March 2008 sees Bhutan's first elections.

Perhaps the most valuable thing Bhutan has given the world is the concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH): the notion that the true wealth of a nation is to be measured not by its industrial and commercial output but by the all-round wellbeing of its people. All public policy is formed with GNH in mind, and education is part of this.

Our visit began with a presentation demonstrating our understanding of Values Education, and something of Bhutan's present spiritual and political culture. With the vice chancellor of the new university as Chair the officials sat in rank order down a long table. All in national dress, as he entered they bowed in turn, stroking the backs of their fingers across the floor towards their feet. During the discussion following our presentation, we noticed they contributed also in rank order. They'd specifically requested a PowerPoint presentation, which unfortunately became a PowerCut presentation. I won't forget their insistence on hearing some of the new Clear Vision CD of meditations for young people: the entire room in silence, most of them probably meditating for the first time, led by the voice of a female western Buddhist - me!

After that there were four fascinating days of visits to schools and teacher trainers, assessing the current teaching of Values. And further meetings, and work on the Framework - except that they kept taking us out sightseeing in office hours, so that eventually there were just four days for our work on knocking the Framework into shape, drawing up tables of exactly what values could be taught through what themes and activities, across all the years of school; all without explicitly mentioning Buddhism. The school system is secular (even if every day begins with lengthy whole-school prayers to Jampelyang, God of Wisdom - aka Manjushri - see photo) and up to 20% of Bhutanese are Hindu.

So, why did the government of a more than thousand year-old Buddhist culture consult a pair of British convert Buddhists? The Bhutanese educationalists we met love the Dharma and are exasperated at the lack of Dharma teaching for laypeople. Many of these educationalists are highly educated at western universities; one said he had learned all his Dharma from an Eastern Religions course at a Canadian university. Many are reading western Dharma books. We heard of school teachers sent abroad on Goenka retreats, much to the annoyance of Bhutanese monastics. “Well!”, commented the vice-chancellor - "What are THEY doing?"

I saw in senior educationalists a desire to introduce young people to what I'd call a “useable Buddhism”. Most Bhutanese lay Buddhists never learn to meditate or study even basic teachings, because Himalayan Buddhism is esoteric and traditionally the preserve of monastics, whom laypeople support out of a respect for tradition. But across Asia (and among British Asian Buddhists) many young people are no longer inspired by tradition. They want to be modern, western. If they become interested in Buddhism, it will be because someone teaches it from scratch, as we would do in the Religious Education classroom, with teaching materials such as Clear Vision's, and they find it makes sense.

Our hosts were keen to invite us back to train the country's headteachers in the new syllabus, which is planned to start in January 2009. However, the elections mean that the country's tiny civil service is entirely preoccupied with voter education. Add to this the coronation of the new king in May and I doubt we'll be hearing from them for some time!

VideoSangha and ClearVision – two brilliant resources

Videosangha is the FWBO’s video website. Here you can find short movies on a very wide range of FWBO-related topics. The site has expanded dramatically in recent weeks and now boasts sections on FWBO History, Questions, Centres, Retreats, Meditation, Dharma, Social Work, Activism, and the Arts – to name but some. It's easy to contribute to - the creators say "Feel free to submit any video related to your involvement with Buddhism and the FWBO - however tenuous! Just upload your video to YouTube (for example), give it a tag of FWBO and we will import it automatically". You can also register on the Videosangha website and then review videos submitted by others - most recently, Ramesh teaching Bollywood dance at the Buddhafield Festival, Jayamati directing Sangharakshita's 'Going Forth' on the recent Order Convention, and a series of videos from our FWBO centres in Finland - rarely seen on these pages - such as the fast-moving, beautiful, and curious Kamnitsanmatka minuutissa .


ClearVision provides educational audio-visual resources for students and teachers to explore Buddhism. This site too has become a rich treasure trove of material – besides selling DVDs for teachers the ‘Students’ section contains a mass of free material for children of all ages – all carefully graded to match children’s needs and interests plus the UK RE syllabi. There are four sections, one each for children aged 5-11 (with some wonderful stores from the Jataka tales), 11-14 (with an interactive Wheel of Life), 15-16 (with sections on religious authority, and citizenship, and finally 17-18 A-level students (where there's sections on human rights and responsibilities, also sex and relationships).

For teachers, and adults generally, there is their new audio CD of non-religious ‘stilling exercises’ and a fascinating collection of on-line art by Western Buddhists.

Ask a Buddhist...

Clearvision launches their new ‘Ask a Buddhist’ service for students.

Clearvision, an FWBO educational charity that provides audio-visual teaching material on Buddhism to schools, has launched its new on-line video service called ‘Ask a Buddhist’. Buddhist teachers from the FWBO (and, they plan, from other Sanghas too) give personal answers to all sorts of difficult questions posed by the many students who've visited Clearvision and the Manchester Buddhist Centre over the years. Several questions have multiple replies, indicating that Buddhists sometimes have different points of view and there is no one ‘right answer’ in the Buddhist tradition.

So far they’ve uploaded some 24 video clips in seven categories, covering such questions as -
“What's the hardest thing about being a Buddhist?”;
"Is it OK for Buddhists to have same-sex relationships?";
"What's your view on abortion?"
and even
"Why does the Buddha have long ears?"!

They are inviting students to pose more questions and teachers from other Buddhist groups to submit answers. Click here to contact them.

This looks like a great resourse and an excellent use of the internet. Thank you Clearvision.

VideoSangha is a new website set up to enable people within the FWBO mandala to share what they are doing, what they are inspired by, and just to see what we look like - through the medium of video. Upeksapriya, its creator, who works for ClearVision in Manchester, says "Feel free to submit any video related to your involvement with Buddhism and the FWBO - and to rate the ones currently hosted there".

Sangharakshita FWBO Day DVD

On FWBO Day this year Sangharakshita gave a talk titled "Looking back, looking forward". This talk was filmed by Clear Vision and is now available on DVD from their website. Clear Vision have more than 20 DVD's of Sangharakshita speaking in a variety of settings on a broad range of topics.

New meditation CD for young people

The newest product from the Clear Vision Trust is "Stilling Exercises for Young People": a CD of meditational exercises featuring the voices of Munisha and Adiccabandhu.

Teachers bringing groups to the Manchester Buddhist Centre are often amazed at the effect of "stilling" exercises on their pupils, and ask, "Can we bottle you?" And now the answer is "Yes"!

Four stilling exercises lasting 7-12 minutes cover body, breath and lovingkindness. Two Buddhist meditations (Mindfulness of Breathing and Metta Bhavana) last 20 minutes each.

£10; listen to a free clip at www.clear-vision.org

Clear Vision awarded grant

The Clear Vision Trust has been awarded a grant to make Buddhist materials for Buddhist teenagers in England and Wales.

Clear Vision, the FWBO's audio-visual media project, was awarded £24K in the latest round of Home Office grants made through the Faith Communities' Capacity-Building Fund. This fund promotes initiatives in two areas: activities developing relationships between two or more different faiths; and activities developing individual faith groups' capacity to serve the wider community.

Clear Vision's grant will be used to make audio-visual study materials for young people, looking at issues related to citizenship and community cohesion from Buddhist perspectives.

Clear Vision education officer Munisha said this represented an exciting new area of work for their team, building its capacity to serve the Buddhist communities at large. "So far all our work for young people has been for Religious Education in schools. But these new materials will be for individual Buddhist or other interested teenagers, at home or place of worship. We'll be consulting with Buddhists outside the FWBO, and the product will fill a distinct gap: apart from some American books, there is virtually nothing available for the teenager interested in Buddhism."

Thanks to the grant, the finished product will be available for use at home or Buddhist places of worship at a nominal price of around £4. Release date: spring 2008. A revised version will be developed for use in schools.

FWBO Projects Receive Community Funding

The UK government recently announced the results of round 2 of the ‘Faith Communities Capacity Building Fund’, which attracted bids from over 1,200 UK faith-based organisations. The funding was given to “groups with practical solutions to build capacity among faith communities to support inter faith work”. The successful applicants were the Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, and Croydon FWBO Centres, the Clear Vision Trust, Dharmachakra (now known as Free Buddhist Audio), and the LBC’s Globe Community Project.

A full list of the 343 successful organisations is available online (pdf file). The fund is administered to the Community Development Foundation (CDF). FWBO News will be chasing up the recipients to find out how they will be using the money.

Story by Lokabandhu