The University of Leicester’s Vice-Chancellor is working in partnership with the CEO of Leicester City Football Club and the Bishop of Leicester, on a celebration of community spirit in Leicester and Leicestershire this weekend, supported by a raft of other public figures.

Headed by Professor Nishan Canagarajah, Susan Whelan and Bishop Martyn Snow,Together In Hope will highlight 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
Professor Turi King, Professor of Public Engagement, Leicester University
Revd Dr Tom Wilson, Director, St Philip’s Centre