BBC Woman's Hour and Exciting Events Abroad
Some updates from us here at The Forgiveness Project
Marina Cantacuzino and Marian Partington on BBC Woman’s Hour
Last week The Forgiveness Project received a lot of attention!
Inspired by our Radio 4 series “Forgiveness: Stories From the Front Line”, which was broadcast Monday-Friday last week, Marina (who presents the series) was interviewed for Woman’s Hour alongside Marian Partington (whose story features in episode 2). This flagship BBC programme dedicated a substantial amount of time to the subject of forgiveness, inviting listeners to call in with their thoughts on the subject.
One listener responded: “This was such an excellently done piece on forgiveness which was enhanced by the humanity, compassion and knowledge of the participants. It has widened my view and helped me on my own difficult journey.”
The programme was then discussed on the Naga Munchetty show on Radio 5 Live, where Marina was interviewed alongside Paul Kohler (whose story features in episode 1), as well as being featured in the Radio Times. You can catch up on all episodes from Series 1 and 2 on BBC Sounds: Forgiveness: Stories From the Front Line
The Narrow Bridge
Our screening of The Narrow Bridge Film at the Lexi Cinema (N.W London) is very nearly sold out for Thursday 22nd February at 6.30pm.
This remarkable film by director Esther Takac is a timely reminder of courageous activism. It follows the paths of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis who are transforming their grief into a bridge for reconciliation.
In a post-screening QA we are incredibly lucky to have with us Magen Inon, a London-based father of three whose parents were murdered in the Hamas attack on October 7th, and Julie Siddiqi, founder of Together We Thrive, a platform for Muslim women, and the Together for Humanity Campaign.
Clinging Onto Hope
Downloads for the webinar we held with The Parent’s Circle Families Forum just before Christmas have proved popular. Don’t forget you can watch Clinging Onto Hope here for free – although we would greatly appreciate a donation!
Here, Marina speaks with Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli, whose lives were brought together by a shared grief: In 2007, Aramin’s 10-year-old daughter, Abir, was shot by an Israeli soldier. In 1997, Elhanan’s 13-year-old daughter Smadar was killed by a suicide bomber.
These two fathers who met through the Parents Circle Families Forum, a joint Israeli-Palestinian organisation of 700 bereaved family members, are uniquely qualified to talk about these issues. In speaking with Marina, the two discussed how we can harness hope and hold onto humanity as the Israel-Hamas conflict intensifies global divisions.
"We need to double our efforts, we need to bang our heads against this very high wall of fear and hatred that is dividing us, and we must put cracks in which the light can come in.” - Rami Elhanan
Our Work Abroad
Conversations with Shame Symposium and Workshops
We are delighted to be collaborating with Matthew Clarke and Annabella Rossini-Clarke for Conversations with Shame in Sydney, Australia. Running from the 7th-10th of April, Conversations with Shame is both a one-day symposium and a three-day workshop inviting practitioners interested in and working with the dynamics of shame, with a special focus on those working in prisons, human trafficking, counselling and chaplaincy.
Our Creative Lead, Sandra Barefoot, and RESTORE facilitator, Ruth Chitty, have developed a bespoke 3-day immersive workshop. As part of this gathering, which is limited to 30 participants, Sandra and Ruth will share their extensive experience of working with shame, both in the context of offenders and prisons as developed through their leadership of our RESTORE prison programme, and also in the context of shame in relationship to ourselves and others in both group and individual contexts. They will also be presenting their research conducted under the Griffin Society: Women, Prison and Shame: developing resourcefulness within shame.
Bookings are being taken now. Please do share with anyone you feel would be interested to attend the one-day symposium, and/or the 3-day interactive workshop.
The F Word Exhibition in Wisconsin, USA
Louisa Hext, North American curator of The F Word: Stories of Forgiveness will engage members of the Union Congregational Church of Christ in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in a ‘lunch and learn’ after services at Noon on Sunday, February 25th.
If you are interested in hiring out the exhibition for your organisation, do visit the information page on our site.
Reminder: Forgiveness: An Exploration is on sale!
A reminder that Amazon has selected Forgiveness: An Exploration to be a Monthly Kindle Deal, on sale for 99p for the whole month. This is great news as it spreads the word and brings new audiences!
Using real stories, expert opinion, politics, psychology and personal insights, the book explores the messy, complex and gripping subject of forgiveness.
We need to be Bold: Can you help?
The Forgiveness Project needs support. A global pandemic and a diminishing pool of available funding has meant challenging times for small charities like ours. But we believe that The Forgiveness Project’s influence is needed more than ever. We know the power of storytelling and have seen first-hand how stories that focus on compassion and connection change mindsets, helping people make sense of their own lives while staying curious to the lives of others.
Please check out our Support Us page here. You can give a one-off donation or join up to our Supporters Programme. At the cost of just one quality coffee per month it would make a world of difference to us.
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