Most faith communities struggle to engage on social media or highlight their positive work online. This means their peace‑building inter-faith initiatives frequently go under‑represented or unnoticed online. This vacuum allows hateful and extremist actors to dominate social media spaces, propagating online hate, misinformation, cause religious tensions, and digital radicalisation. To address this challenge and strengthen the media skills and technical knowledge of faith leaders, Grassroots and the Luton Council of Faiths (LCoF) organised a media training session delivered by the London‑based Religion & Media Centre. The training focused on creating engaging online content, and understanding how social media platform algorithms work to increase online visibility.
The LCoF Chair Prof Zafar Khan, said, “Research on online extremism shows that anger, outrage, fear spread faster than positive, community‑building, and constructive news. This creates vulnerability for young people as extremists often use social media to target youth. It is therefore vital that we improve our digital literacy to develop new skills and insights. Our digital capacity must enable a better access to art, storytelling projects, and multimedia content that celebrate cultural diversity & identity.”
Ryad Khodabocus, Head of LCoF added, “The training focused on building confidence in telling positive stories using simple tools, such as a mobile phone. Faith leaders were given hands‑on opportunities to create social media content, and the ‘hot‑seat’ interview role‑plays offered a real taste of responding to challenging questions from journalists.”
Acknowledging the “strong talent in the room,” trainers Ruth Peacock and Dan Forshaw offered constructive feedback, praising participants’ delivery as well‑paced and impactful. They noted that some early responses could have been more focused and concise, as initial nervousness led to longer answers. Nevertheless, they felt the core messages came through clearly. The trainers encouraged Luton faith leaders to be brave in expanding their presence across radio, television, and social media, emphasising the importance of their motivation and purpose in showcasing positive community work, that will no doubt strengthen and uplift the community spirit in Luton.
We are grateful to the Near Neighbours Programme for supporting this training. Near Neighbours has always highlighted the importance of collaboration across communities and organisations, recognising that the success lies in fostering meaningful connections across faiths, and cultures, offering deeper engagement and helping communities learn from one another’s lived experiences.
Ruth Peacock (L) of the Religion & Media Centre, delivered Media Training, co-organised by Grassroots & LCoF and supported by Near Neighbours Programmes.
Luton faith representatives at Media Training delivered by the Religion & Media Centre, co-organised by Grassroots & LCoF and supported by Near Neighbours Programmes.
Luton faith representatives at Media Training delivered by the Religion & Media Centre, co-organised by Grassroots & LCoF and supported by Near Neighbours Programmes.
Luton faith representatives at Media Training delivered by the Religion & Media Centre, co-organised by Grassroots & LCoF and supported by Near Neighbours Programmes.
Luton faith representatives at Media Training delivered by the Religion & Media Centre, co-organised by Grassroots & LCoF and supported by Near Neighbours Programmes.