Who we are ...

A group  of people willing to give time and energy to help build good relations in the city.

Our current focus

Neighbourhood conflict, young people, racism, community cohesion.

How  we are funded...

By grants from Newcastle Quaker Meeting  www.quakers-in-newcastle.org.uk and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust www.jrct.org.uk

Our values... peace, truth and integrity, simplicity and equality.

Our approach....

• we think conflict is  inevitable in life,  and may be necessary in the search for justice and equality

• avoiding or confronting it rarely helps
  
• conflict needs to  be acknowledged  and addressed  in constructive, creative ways
• early identification and response is important
  

How we work...

• we are independent of other organisations,  and unaligned with any  political or  pressure group.
• we forge links with and work in partnership with a wide range of organisations  and interested individuals.

What  we do NOT do..

• provide  hands-on conflict resolution ourselves.  We can involve people who do.

What we  DO:

• support those facing frontline conflict, sharing expertise, training and knowledge from Newcastle and beyind,  and promoting effective ways of handling conflict.
  
• communicate accurate information,  including positive thinks local people are  doing to reduce conflict
  
• work with local residents and community groups 
  
• encourage efforts of decision-makers to develop and deploy  more effective and coherent policies, resources and learning.
  
• provide 'safe spaces'  for people to talk frankly and honestly in order to increase understanding of the causes of conflicts and what can be done to resolve or reduce  them.

How we are organised...

We are not building-based and we do not employ permanent staff. Instead we operate through a management group under the auspices of Newcastle Quaker Meeting, and commission people to do specific tasks.

Management  group

Beryl Balls* (convenor), Neil Denton*, John Eversley, Patsy Healey*, Grigor McClelland*, Chris Trippett,  Gordon Smith,  Rosemary Hartill (activities group convenor)*

(*members of activities group)

Activities organiser: Peter Kenrick 0191 280 3312; 07762 202230. E-mail: ncrn1@yahoo.co.uk