On February 3rd 2005 in Manchester Town Hall, the Bishop of Manchester announced the launch of a Northwest Forum of Faiths.

The formation of such a body had been first raised in April 2002 in Blackburn at the conference Faith in Partnership: Faith Communities and Public Life in the Northwest.

The Northwest Forum of Faiths is a 'forum of forums'. Membership is not open to individuals but to representatives of existing sub-regional and local inter faith bodies. Much of the work of the Forum will be communicated on this site.

The purpose of the Northwest Forum of Faiths is:

• To promote good practice in relations between faith communities at every level of society.
• To promote the engagement of faith communities in public policy (civil society).
• To promote a vision of healthy spiritual values and integrated communities within the regional economic agenda (social cohesion).
• To promote the considerable experience and expertise of faith communities in caring for the weakest and most vulnerable in our society (service delivery).
• To provide a structure which will allow faith communities to have a voice alongside other sectors on the Northwest Regional Stakeholder Forum and in response to other regional initiatives.
• To promote religious literacy among strategic decision makers in the region.
• To provide a mechanism for responding to consultation initiatives at short notice.
• To explore potential funding opportunities for faith communities.
• To disseminate reports and other documentation relating to faith community engagement at national, regional, local and community levels.

The Bishop of Manchester announced the formation of a Steering Group of twelve to fifteen people representative of all faith communities and all parts of the Northwest. Their task was to submit proposals on the future form, membership and constitution of the forum.

At their fourth and final meeting on October 26th 2005 the Steering Group agreed Terms of Reference for the Northwest Forum of Faiths. This document is available by clicking on the "Terms of Reference " link on the left of the page.

The new Northwest Forum of Faiths was inaugurated by Home Office minister Paul Goggins MP on 20th January 2006 at the St Augustine's New Avenham Centre, Preston.

See Inaugural Event for the full programme, texts of speeches and photos.