Public Libraries
Libraries are the heart of local communities and taking part in Inter Faith Week is a great way to strengthen ties with a diverse population
Below are some ideas for Inter Faith Week. These draw on successful activities held by public libraries in recent times.
Batley Poets giving a reading at Batley Library, 2021
Faith leaders and local authorities at a talk at St Helens Library, 2021
ADULTS
- Produce a video of local faith community members talking about why libraries are so important to local communities and what their faith has to say about the importance of learning
- Produce a video about how you serve local communities in our religiously diverse society
- Invite authors of different faith backgrounds to talk about how their religion has influenced their writing
- Create a display of books and/or an online collection relevant to Inter Faith Week
- Organise a group of helpers from different faiths to do some volunteering for the library, such as planting flowers or creating a display
- Host an event such as a panel of faith leaders speaking on a topic like climate change
- Set up a ‘Living Library’ event where visitors can borrow a ‘human library book’ for half an hour to learn about the person’s faith
- Hold an arts and crafts session or workshop for different ages, inviting participants to contribute to an Inter Faith Week display that can be exhibited throughout the Week
- Arrange a week-long programme with music, stalls and displays, workshops and film
- Produce a social media series throughout the Week highlighting books from you collection with an Inter Faith Week theme
- Initiate a plan on how to diversify further your collection to reflect faiths and beliefs in the local community, engaging in outreach with local faith communities and inviting feedback
- Offer a space in your library for community Inter Faith Week events
Artwork by Hillingdon school children at Botwell Green Library, 2021
CHILDREN
- Create an Inter Faith Week book display in your library
- Choose a book for Storytime that has an Inter Faith Week theme, or invite guests of different faiths to tell a story from their faith tradition or history - this could be followed by a discussion of how people with different faiths can live in harmony
- Organise an Inter Faith Week poetry or short story competition, with the winning entries put on display or read out loud at a special awards ceremony
- Organise an Inter Faith Week 'reading challenge', with a prize, with children invited to read two or three short books throughout the Week with themes and topics linked to the Week
- Provide Inter Faith Week themed activities for children to participate in, such as arts and crafts, quizzes and wordsearches
If you hold an activity, please do take a few minutes to register it on the IFW website. If you register you will also be eligible for a free pack with Inter Faith Week stickers, a poster, flyers, and a blank message card on which to share an Inter Faith Week message!
Published 24 August 2021