What drew you to interfaith work and Building Bridges Burnley specifically?

I just wanted to try and make a little bit of a difference, but I also wanted to tackle prejudice and do my bit to bring communities together, especially after the 2001 Burnley Disturbances. People thought differently of people of colour and people who were Muslim. So I just wanted to change the narrative and get people to actually get to know one another before they make judgements.

Can you share a moment when you realised the importance of Building Bridges between Communities in Burnley?

I think for the past 22 years we've been doing all of this work in peacetime, and then last year when we saw the disturbances up and down the country after Southport, I thought "well, is there any point to this work if it takes us back to where we were in 2001?" But actually, the fact that we had no incidents in Burnley is testament to the 22 years of hard work by all those people who set the organisation up. So that was probably the moment I realised - yes, it is all worth it.

What's your personal connections to Burnley and it's diverse communities?

Well, I am Mr Burnley! I just love the town, I love everything about it. I think there's something unique and special about this place. Through the work that we do, whether it's on a local level or just making people aware of the fantastic things that go on in this town and the fantastic people here, I get to share that with the rest of the community - and the world!