Are You Ready To Join the Kindness Revolution?

Our Journey So Far

“Exploring Common Ground” – is a short video of an event that took place in December 2018 in Harehills, which was the first in a series aimed at building involvement in a city-wide festival of compassion and wellbeing.

Several workshops later the project had morphed into what is now being called the ‘Leeds Kindness Revolution’.

And at a recent celebration in September 2019 , people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds came together at Leeds Jamyang Buddhist Centre to launch a twelve-month countdown to the ‘Leeds Kindness Revolution’ which will be both a city-wide festival and campaign for kindness, compassion and wellbeing that will involve communities, projects, businesses and schools across the city next year.

At the launch event, project lead Gloria Kimberley shared plans for the festival and the different ways in which people can be involved. A musical cabaret was performed by singers Tenzin and ‘Captain of The Lost Waves’. Leeds writer and artist Paul Heaney provided poetry and Andy Bradley, one of the originators who inspired the project, spoke about his experience of asking wherever he goes, whether this is a kind place and of the replies he got.

Representatives from diverse groups including Leeds Inter-Faith Forum, Leeds City Museum Service, MoMM’s mindfulness network and a variety of local community groups and businesses heard about plans for creating the festival which will be a multi-venue festival showcasing the work of some of the many individuals, voluntary groups, communities and businesses committed to creating kinder communities and public wellbeing across the city next year.

A web of kindness – through a distributed network of self organised events

The Leeds Festival of Kindness, Compassion and Wellbeing could be seen as an experiment in culture change – through the celebration of our collective commitment to living our values and showcasing the different practices and practical work that is being done by thousands of individuals, voluntary groups, communities, businesses and the Council to promote community wellbeing.

The festival is intended as a structure for participation intended to encourage participation and give people permission to self-organise and make a practical commitment to a shared purpose that ‘grows’ people, places and planet.

‘Leeds Kindness Revolution’ aims to give people an experience of what a city of kindness and wellbeing could be like and a glimpse into how things could be different for everyone including those who are often excluded.

Not so much a festival, more a way of life

By working with partners, projects and communities across the city ‘Leeds Kindness Revolution’ aims to create a culture of public, community and personal wellbeing where no one is left behind. The festival will take place between 5th-13th September 2020 but the project team have launched a twelve-month countdown to the festival that will involve a series of monthly smaller events to raise awareness and build participation.