Projects
Cohesive Society: Pioneering Community Initiatives in the United Kingdom
Cohesive Society CIC is an esteemed organization dedicated to fostering a unified and interconnected society through a wide array of multifaceted activities and meticulously designed initiatives. At the forefront of community development, our projects are tailored to address the specific nuances of the communities we serve.
As a trailblazer in our field, Cohesive Society CIC is committed to tackling pressing societal issues that necessitate innovative and bespoke planning and execution. Our comprehensive initiatives encompass a diverse range of areas, including Education, Sports, Games, Exercise, Promoting Healthy Lifestyles, Career Guidance, Mentoring, Preserving History and Heritage, Language and Cultural Preservation, Addressing Anti-Social Behaviour, Training, Volunteering Opportunities, Cooking Lessons, Conducting Research, Rehabilitation Support, Operating Helplines, and Empowering Women.
Through these initiatives, we strive to facilitate positive change and empower individuals to lead fulfilling lives within their communities. Our unwavering dedication to fostering a cohesive society has earned us recognition as a reliable and transformative force in the community development landscape of the United Kingdom.
Mental Health, Learning Difficulties, and Autism for Bangladeshi Diaspora in Northampton Project Overview: The project focuses on addressing the mental health, learning difficulties, and autism needs of the Bangladeshi diaspora in Northampton, United Kingdom. It aims to create an online platform, www.cohesivesociety.org, specifically tailored to cater to the unique challenges faced by this community. The platform will serve as a comprehensive resource hub, providing culturally sensitive information, support, and connections to relevant services. Objectives a. Cultural Sensitivity: Develop content and resources that take into account the cultural nuances and specific challenges faced by the Bangladeshi diaspora in Northampton. b. Increase Awareness: Raise awareness about mental health, learning difficulties, and autism within the Bangladeshi community through culturally appropriate educational materials and targeted awareness campaigns. c. Support Services: Provide access to culturally sensitive mental health support services, therapy options, and resources to assist individuals, families, caregivers, and professionals within the community. d. Community Engagement: Establish a supportive online community where Bangladeshi individuals, families, and caregivers can connect, share experiences, and seek advice from peers and experts. e. Collaboration and Partnerships: Collaborate with local community organizations, mental health professionals, educational institutions, and cultural centers to leverage their expertise and ensure the provision of accurate and culturally relevant information. Website Development a. Culturally Adapted Design: Develop a user-friendly website design that incorporates culturally relevant visuals, language, and symbols to resonate with the Bangladeshi diaspora in Northampton. b. Language Localization: Provide content in both English and Bengali languages to ensure accessibility for all community members. c. Tailored Resources: Create and curate resources that address the specific mental health, learning difficulties, and autism concerns of the Bangladeshi diaspora, including articles, videos, podcasts, and interactive tools. d. Community Features: Implement discussion forums, support groups, and messaging systems within the platform to facilitate community engagement and support. Community Engagement and Outreach a. Culturally Sensitive Events: Organize culturally sensitive online events such as webinars, workshops, and group discussions, featuring speakers from the Bangladeshi community and mental health professionals. b. Partnerships with Community Organizations: Collaborate with local Bangladeshi community organizations, mosques, cultural centers, and schools to conduct awareness campaigns, workshops, and outreach programs. c. Mental Health Champions: Recruit and train community members as mental health champions who can act as ambassadors, disseminate information, and provide support within the Bangladeshi diaspora in Northampton. Capacity Building and Training a. Mental Health Education: Provide training sessions and workshops to community members, including parents, caregivers, teachers, and community leaders, to enhance their understanding of mental health, learning difficulties, and autism. b. Cultural Competency Training: Conduct cultural competency training for mental health professionals and service providers to ensure they can deliver culturally sensitive and appropriate support to the Bangladeshi community. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Feedback a. Metrics and Analytics: Implement tracking tools to measure website usage, engagement, and resource utilization among the Bangladeshi diaspora in Northampton. b. User Feedback and Satisfaction: Collect feedback through surveys, focus groups, and user testing sessions to assess user satisfaction, identify gaps, and improve the platform and services. Sustainability Plan Develop a sustainability plan that includes strategies for long-term funding, community partnerships, and potential revenue streams, such as grants, donations, sponsorships, and collaborations with local service providers and organizations. In summary, this project aims to address the mental health, learning difficulties, and autism needs.
Ukrainian Integration Project: Building a Cohesive Society through Job Skill Training and Support Introduction: The Ukrainian Integration Project, initiated by www.cohesivesociety.org, aims to empower members of the Ukrainian community by providing comprehensive job skill training and support. By equipping individuals with essential skills such as language proficiency, writing skills, CV writing, Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint training, and job interview preparation, the project seeks to enhance employment prospects, promote social integration, and foster a cohesive society. Job Skill Training: The project focuses on delivering a diverse range of job skill training modules tailored to the specific needs of the Ukrainian community. Language training offers proficiency in the local language, enabling participants to communicate effectively in their new environment. Writing skills workshops enhance written communication abilities, while CV writing sessions guide individuals in crafting impactful resumes. Training in essential office tools such as Outlook, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint also equips participants with valuable computer skills crucial in the modern workplace. Job Interview Skills and Training: The Ukrainian Integration Project recognises the importance of job interview preparation in securing employment. Through mock interviews, guidance on interview etiquette, and tips for answering common interview questions, participants gain the confidence and skills necessary to excel in job interviews. Interview training also includes guidance on effective self-presentation, body language, and building a solid personal brand. Impact and Benefits: By providing comprehensive job skill training and support, the Ukrainian Integration Project aims to empower members of the Ukrainian community, enabling them to secure meaningful employment opportunities. As a result, individuals gain economic independence, enhance their social integration within the broader society, and contribute positively to the local economy. Moreover, the project's focus on language proficiency and communication skills fosters cross-cultural understanding and bridges the gap between communities, building a more cohesive and inclusive society. Conclusion: The Ukrainian Integration Project by www.cohesivesociety.org is a robust platform for Ukrainian community members to acquire essential job skills and support. Through targeted training in language proficiency, writing skills, CV writing, Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and job interview preparation, participants gain the necessary tools to succeed in the job market and integrate into their new society. Promoting empowerment, social integration, and fostering a cohesive culture, the project significantly builds a brighter future for Ukrainian individuals and their communities.
Food Vouchers in Association with Hope Centre Cohesive Society is always at the fore front of helping all the BAME communities. Hope Centre & Cohesive Society are now collaborating to promote the vouchers amongst the members of these communities in Northampton.
COVID - 19 Vaccination BAME Project & Rohingya Relief Programme I am a Consultant paediatrician in the NHS and also CEO of the above charity. I was involved in Humanitarian aid with Covid globally – www.miatwalsall.org.uk. Imran Chowdhury BEM, the founder of Cohesive Society was one of the pioneers who undertook the initiative of increasing uptake of the Covid vaccination within the BAME communities in the UK. He was in the forefront and volunteered to reach out to those marginal communities who were misinformed about the vaccination myth and were therefore vaccine hesitant. Mr Chowdhury collaborated with me and we jointly wrote a Public Letter. This letter was published in English, along with the his translation of the same in Bengali, and was printed repeatedly for a few weeks in Janomot and Bangla Post newspapers. The same letter was also translated into posters and leaflets which were distributed in Northampton, Luton, London and Birmingham by the Cohesive Society volunteers. This was undoubtedly a unique initiative and which must have resulted in uptake of the vaccination amongst the BAME communities – and in the process decrease pressure on the nHS and indeed decreased deaths! Secondly during the Rohingya Refugee crisis in Bangladesh our charity reached out to give relief in Bangladesh Rohingya refugee camps. Here Mr Chowdhury also helped our initiative with logistics and other administrative supports through the Bangladesh Army, Local administration & Relief and Rehabilitation authorities. Mr. Chowdhury has done a sterling job in both these instances and needs to be commended for his efforts.
Professor Abdul Rashid Gatrad OBE, DL, PhD, Dsc (Hon) FRCP, FRCPCH, MRCS
CEO Midland International Aid Trust (U.K)
COVID Safety, Support & Guidance Project Cohesive Society has been working with the Community Champions Programme from October 2021 to March 2022. They have supported us at local events providing COVID safety, support and guidance. They have distributed COVID resources such as masks, lateral flow tests and sanitisers to Bangladeshi and Pakistani communities. They have coordinated community conversations with local restaurants and Bangladeshi/Pakistani food shops; raising awareness of the barriers they face when it came to COVID, keeping safe during the lockdown periods and wider health care issues. They also supported with a letter campaign to 100s of households in the Bangladeshi community promoting the vaccine in Bengali language and were able to have a more national reach by producing articles promoting the vaccine and COVID safety in 2 UK-wide Bangladeshi newspapers (Janomot and Bangla post). Their reach and profile in the Bangladeshi Communities in Northamptonshire has aided us to give COVID support and guidance to these people who we otherwise would not have been able to access. Pratima Dattani, CEO Support Northamptonshire
Cost of Living & Food Banks Cohesive Society is working with the Food Aid Alliance of West Northampton to set up Food Bank for the Bangladeshi Community in Northampton and Voucher distribution logistics. Public consultation, spreading the news and collating information with the communities by visiting places of worship.
How Can We Help you? Cohesive Society provides telephone, face to face help for members of the communities. This is ongoing support. Book an appointment, contact us via our website or telephone call.
Booster Jab & Flu Vaccination Promotion Cohesive Society is running a project from Nov 21 to promote Booster Jab and Flu Vaccination uptake within the BAME communities in the Northampton area. The project will mainly focus on motivation, one to one sessions, door to door leaflets and pledge letters to increase the jab intake within these communities
Weight Management Programme " My Health Matters " Cohesive Society is running a new project from November 2021 till June 2022 in association with Public Health Northamptonshire. We will be promoting a weight management programme for the communities. The programme will be run by a Nutritionist, fitness and well-being coach to encourage healthy eating and lifestyle.
First Vaccination Promotional Project 2020 Cohesive Society carried out a campaign during the first vaccination programme to encourage uptake of vaccines within the diaspora communities. Cohesive Society undertook Extensive leafletting, FaceBook Ads, Publishing articles in ethnic print and electronic media, Mainstream press articles with Bengali scripts, BBC Radio interviews to ascertain the safety of the vaccination. Make communities aware and assure them of the myths spreading about the contents of the medicine and its ingredients.
Community Fitness Project Cohesive Society undertook this project to improve health and well-being of community at large. Running - Cycling - Badminton- Cricket programmes are run by Cohesive Society.
Youth Cooking Lessons Healthy Meal cooking lessons initiative was under taken to teach youth how to cook less fat, less carb, less oily cuisine. Learn to cook from burger to butter chicken, from chilli con carne to chicken tikka masala in healthy way.
Community Cohesion & Integration Interaction with the wider communities to build cohesion and integration. Uniting diverse diaspora communities together to build a better and stronger society.
Empowering the Youth Cohesive Society is always at the forefront of helping the youth achieve the best goals in their life. The life journey, at times, begins with obtaining employment. Still, from the outset of hearing the findings of the recent Poverty Report - Cohesive Society envisaged that there is a requirement for an organisation like Cohesive Society ought to come forward to help facilitate the youth, preparing them for achieving and securing a job or employment. The Poverty Report categorically stipulated that the YOUTH of BAME communities cannot prepare their curriculum vitae and other paraphernalia of requirements to secure employment.
Let's Be Health Conscious This project of making the community more aware of health consciousness was launched during the first lockdown. We organised a walking and cycling programme for the men and yoga classes for the women. During the project, Cohesive Society also distributed 6000 free meals and 10,000 masks for the general public. This pilot project continued for five months.
Free Meal & Masks for the Teachers During Pandemic Cohesive Society organised Free Meals and Mask for the schools in the Northampton Town areas.
Speeches & Interviews Imran Chowdhury B.E.M has been working for community cohesion, integration, youth motivation, community inspiration in communal affairs, businesses and other forums for the last 12 years in the United Kingdom. His passion for motivation and inspiration has led to the Cohesive Society setting up. Please view the speeches, interviews, talks, seminars and meetings. You can watch his other activities on our YouTube channel.
BAME Football Tournament Cohesive Society sponsored a Football tournament in Northampton on the 24th October 2021. This was the first of its kind ever took place in the town. A total of 16 teams from all over the country participated in this epic event. Cohesive Society had all the shields, cups, and trophies made bespoke for the event. The Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire and the High Sheriff graced the occasion as the Guest of Honours.
Healthy Food For The Elderly Cohesive Society is organizing Healthy Cooking Lessons for the Youth. This is to encourage the youth to cook their own healthy meal instead of consuming unhealthy processed meals to avoid obesity and other health-related issues. The COVID 19 has given the communities an enormous amount of evidence of how the underlying health issues can make communities across the country susceptible to these kinds of viruses and what detrimental effects this can cause. Please call our HOTLINE or Email us to book your lessons. This will take place in Northampton Town locations
Badminton Competition Cohesive Society organised a tournament in Northampton recently where there were 88 teams coming from all over UK. This was the first an ethnic minorities players from all over UK came together to make the tournament a very big success. Prizes were distributed by Councillor Imran Chowdhury B.E.M; the founder of www.cppp.org.uk The tournament attracted a huge audience from all over the UK. There were spectators from India, Bangladesh, UK and Ireland.
Build A Stronger Britain By Integration and Cohesion Building a Stronger Britain Together (BSBT ) was launched by the Home Office in 2016 as the main programme under the government’s new strategy. Cohesive Society CIC joined 2017 this programme to create cohesion and integration amongst youths from all communities to make Britain stronger.
Educating the Diaspora Generations about the History & Heritage Cohesive Society is one of the vanguard institution which has been writing regularly in the press & media about the diaspora’s Inherent history , culture, ethos, heritages both in English and Bengali languages weekly.
Socio - Economic - Demographic - Qualitative - Ethnographic studies based Research Projects We are engaged in multi-tier bespoke research initiatives in diversified research within the UK's BAME demographies.