The Feast is a youth organisation that brings together young people from different religious and ethnic backgrounds for fun, food and dialogue.
At the recently held Friends of The Feast Evening at St. Mary’s Church in the heart of Luton Town Centre, The Feast Youth Worker Kristina said, “Tonight is about experiencing a Feast event the way our teenagers do.”
So guests were invited to “draw something you enjoy doing on a paper plate, placing it on your heads and then show it to the person sitting opposite, to guess what it is and introduce yourself.”
Another fun icebreaker got people walking and talking to the opposite side of the circle if they had lived in Luton for more than 10 years if they were born in Luton if they work in Luton if they lived in a country other than the UK for more than two years if they fluently speak a language other than English or have close family members living in a different country.
Later, The Feast’s Guidelines for Dialogue were introduced. These are simple but powerful in transforming discussions. People were invited to share which one stood out most to them and why. Event facilitator Ros said, “At The Feast, we are passionate about the dialogue that allows us to be truly open to someone else’s perspective; dialogue that allows others the dignity of their point of view; dialogue that creates bridges of understanding and cooperation.”
The Feast Youth Worker Kristina said, “We believe it is possible to create spaces for interaction where we don’t end up watering down our own beliefs, yet are able to appreciate and value someone else’s beliefs even if we don’t own those for ourselves.”
“As a youth organisation, our aim is to help young people to be confident in their own identity and beliefs, which help them to be able to live well with and appreciate someone whose identity and beliefs are different to their own.”
The Feast works with up to 3000 young people across the country through an average of 50 Youth Encounter Programmes. Nearly 1000 people have been trained in the use of The Feast’s Guidelines for Dialogue and Approach. Just last year in Luton, 18 encounters, some more deep than the others, and series of workshops have helped young people to develop relationships, gain more confidence, learn about discussing tricky topics better so it has a positive impact on our mental well-being and to be able to live well with the difference.
The Feast has been supported by Near Neighbours Programmes, nationally as well as locally in Luton.
In a statement, The Feast Luton Development Manager Ulrike Hunt said, “It is a real privilege to be able to work with and inspire young people to become community cohesion champions in Luton. Our aim is to enable more young people in Luton to meet with others from a different background to be peacemakers and change-makers in our town.”
For more info about The Feast, please visit their website www.thefeast.org.uk
