ISLAMIC RELIEF EVENT
Lyrics n Friendship, Bradford, 2007
06/07/07

Thursday April 5th 2007 saw Islamic Relief Bradford, in partnership with Women Working Towards Excellence and the Islamic Society of Britain, launch the ‘Lyrics ‘n’ Friendship’ event.  The aim of this event was to work with children of all faiths, cultures, backgrounds and abilities; using a shared appreciation of music to foster community cohesion.

	The Venue: Bradford Grammar School The vision of this project was to inspire, encourage and support our future generation to champion common universal values of respect Bradford Grammar School

Flagship Event

Laughter Laughter is the best medicine – well it is for these children as they enjoy Mohammed Amer’s humour.

One-hundred enthusiastic Bradfordians aged between 12 and 16 were brought together at Bradford Grammar School.  Each was then given the opportunity to explore youth culture, and to learn about music and each other through various different workshops.

Motivational Workshops

Designed specifically for the youth involved, the children participated in workshops entitled; “Raw, Rap & Rhyme”, “Comic Genius n Friend”, “Creating Lyrics n Singing a Song” and “Lets Make Some Noise”.

Outlandish’s workshop Award winning group Outlandish, share the secrets of their success to a group of schoolchildren in Bradford.

The vision of this project was to inspire, encourage and support our future generation to champion common universal values of respect, tolerance and friendship in Bradford and around the world through the powerful medium of music.

The event was an unqualified success; achieving its aim of bringing together people from very different backgrounds and having them work together.

Waseem Aslam, Islamic Relief’s Bradford & North East Area Fundraiser said of the event:

“This was a highly successful event, bringing together people who would otherwise never interact.  We were able to create a shared experience through the children’s mutual appreciation of music.  We hope that the children will go back to their homes with a better understanding of people from other backgrounds, and an appreciation that they were not so different after all.”

Highly experienced mentors

Dawud’s Workshop Dawud Wharnsby-Ali goes back to nature as he teaches the children the secrets of his success in the great outdoors. End of day photo Schoolchildren from different backgrounds come together at the end of the day to say goodbye to the guests, but hopefully not to each other.

Award winning hip-hop band Outlandish, Zain Bhika, Dawud Wharnsby-Ali, Imad Rami, Hamza Robertson and American comedian Mohammed Amer all shared their skills and experiences with the children.

Fostering respect of others

We hope that each child who participated will pass on the message of tolerance and respect to others.  If enough people adopt this message, it might just help to bring together some unnecessarily divided people.