Headed by Professor Nishan Canagarajah, Susan Whelan and Bishop Martyn, Together In Hope is highlighting messages of encouragement and the many acts of kindness and concern for one another that have been springing up during lockdown. Sports, education, business, charity, arts, community and faith leaders and personalities are supporting ‘Together In Hope’ on social media, rallied by Turi King, Professor of Public Engagement at the University of Leicester, who is well known for her work on the discovery of the body of Richard III, and Revd Dr Tom Wilson of the St Philip’s Centre, Leicester’s internationally recognised interfaith centre. Using the hashtags #TogetherInHope and #WeAreLeicester the coalition of leaders and personalities invite anyone with connections to the city and county to tell the world what we celebrate about Leicester and Leicestershire and how we’ll come through this current challenge and move forward together in hope. You could produce a piece of art, poetry, make a film clip, create some spoken word, share a recipe, write a letter, pose for a photo with the Together in Hope branding, highlight your community and charitable work, whatever you like that tells the world how great Leicester is and how we’ll continue moving forward together in hope.
Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Leicester said: “Leicester is an incredible city. There is so much diversity and unity in one place. It has the world at your doorstep. “I am proud of Leicester and it is one of the reasons why I want to champion this great initiative, Together in Hope, to ensure we come out of this lockdown stronger and more united. “It’s more important now than ever to shine a light on what is great about our city. Together we can be a beacon of hope for others.” Susan Whelan, Leicester City Football Club Chief Executive, said: “Leicester is a truly special place, whose diverse and passionate community has been both the backdrop and the inspiration for some of the city’s finest achievements. “As we’ve seen throughout this pandemic, it’s also a community that comes together to support each other when support is most needed, which gives me great confidence that we can overcome the current challenges and emerge from the lockdown stronger than ever before.” The Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester, said: “We’re launching Together In Hope because we’ve been so encouraged by the way people have come together across Leicester and Leicestershire during the pandemic and lockdown. “We want the world to know about this and we want to tell people that our diversity is our strength. “We believe that this diversity and togetherness will enable us to emerge from this crisis with renewed hope for a society in which we care for one another and care for our planet. I’m delighted that so many partners have already come on board with this initiative and we hope you will join us and start sharing stories of Together In Hope.”
Personalities and organisations supporting #TogetherInHope #WeAreLeicester include: Professor Nishan Canagarajah, President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Leicester Susan Whelan, CEO, Leicester City Football Club Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Bishop of Leicester Rosemary Conley CBE, Businesswoman, author and broadcaster Jonathan Agnew, The BBC Cricket Correspondent Gary Lineker OBE, BBC Sports Correspondent Maggie Philbin, Tomorrow’s World Simon Cole QPM, Chief Constable, Leicestershire Police Rick Taylor, Chief Fire and Rescue Officer Professor Robert Allison, President and Vice-Chancellor, Loughborough University Professor Andy Collop, Interim Vice-Chancellor, De Montfort University Geoff Rowe BEM, Festival Director, Big Difference Company Scott Knowles, Chief Executive, East Midlands Chamber of Commerce Flor Healy, Group Chief Executive, Samworth Brothers Kevin Routledge, Chairman, Leicester Riders Sean Jarvis, Chief Executive, Leicester Cricket Club Andrea Pinchen, Chief Executive, Leicester Tigers Verity Hancock, Principal, Leicester College Dawn Whitemore, Principal, The SMB Group Chas Bishop, Chief Executive, Leicester Space Centre Karamjit Singh, Chair, University Hospitals of Leicester Andy Williams, Chief executive of the NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland CCGs Chris Stafford, Chief Executive, Curve Theatre Nikolai Foster, Artistic Director, Curve Theatre Revd Mark Burleigh, Head of Chaplaincy and Bereavement Services, Leicester’s Hospitals Suleman Nagdi, Spokesperson, Federation of Muslim Organisations Resham Singh Sandhu, MBE, Leicestershire Interfaith Forum Pradip Gajjar, President, ISKCON Leicester Rt Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Loughborough Jonathan Kerry, Chief Executive, Leicester Diocese The Very Revd David Monteith, Dean of Leicester Revd Jenny Impey, Minister, Leicester Trinity Methodist Circuit Revd Novette Headley, Superintendent Minister, Leicester West Methodist Circuit Dilwar Hussain, Chair, New Horizons in British Islam Associate Professor David Bartram, Chair, Leicester Progressive Jewish Community Jiten Anand, Director, Inspirate Sean Carroll, Director, Inspirate Bipin Anand, Director, ImageNova Glynis Wright, President Leicestershire Law Society Ravi Tara, Group Finance Director, Mattioli Woods Professor Turi King, Professor of Public Engagement, Leicester University Revd Dr Tom Wilson, Director, St Philip’s Centre |