Mosques are not only communal prayer spaces, but often serve as community spaces, youth centres, counselling service providers, marriage service providers, sporting venues, study centres and more. #OurMosquesOurFuture is an annual conference organised by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), sharing the best practice and good work of UK mosques, but also not shying away from asking the difficult questions on what is holding us back.
Ticketed conferences on themes including #MoreThanAPrayerSpace, #PeopleNotBuildings and
#OurYouthOurFuture in 2018-19 were attended by over 1,200 mosque leaders and volunteers nationwide. In 2020, the conference was held online on the theme #BeyondCOVID.
More information on the project can be found on the official website.
Our Aim
The #OurMosquesOurFuture conferences bring together the UK Muslim community to discuss their mosques and prayer spaces. We aim to create an open, safe space for the community to discuss challenges and issues, as well as celebrate achievements and innovations in service provision.
In our constantly changing world, we continue to encourage the community to share new ideas and best practice, highlighting the amazing good works of UK mosques, but also not shying away from challenging ourselves to continual improvement. We hope the conference will allow attendees to think in new ways, forge connections and gain new skills and ideas.
This is why in 2020, the conference focused heavily on the challenges faced by mosques in light of the COVID-19 pandemic with the aim of sharing skills and experiences that would help all attendees to provide better services to their local communities and allow mosques to adapt to the changing environment they faced.
The Journey So Far
#BeyondCOVID – November 2020
Looking ahead #BeyondCOVID, hundreds of attendees joined 10 panel discussions & workshops 27-29 Nov 2020 exploring how to ensure the role of British mosques is not limited to the walls of the mosque building only.
Click here to Download Slides or Watch Full Recordings .
#OurYouthOurFuture, Midlands – October 2019
The #OurYouthOurFuture conference took place on 12th October 2019 at Leicester City Football Club.
Over 500 mosque leaders and young people from across Britain gathered at the King Power Stadium in Leicester to explore how mosques can better engage with Muslim youth. View photos below!
More photos, videos and workshop presentation slides from the day can be downloaded here.
#PeopleNotBuildings, Manchester – October 2018
Over 400 delegates descended upon the British Muslim Heritage Centre (BMHC) in Manchester to explore how as well as taking care of the buildings that form our mosques, we also focus on the people inside the buildings, as the event theme was #PeopleNotBuildings.
View photos from the Manchester conference in October 2018 here and click here to read the full speech by Harun Khan, MCB Secretary General.
After the event, the MCB launched a beta Mosque Resource Portal, sign-posting to over 65 checklists, guidelines and templates designed to help mosque leaders and volunteers run their mosques better.
Click here to view a photo gallery from this conference.
#MoreThanAPrayerSpace, London – January 2018
Friends House in Euston, London, saw the inaugural Our Mosque Our Future conference where 400 delegates nationwide attended. Alongside 8 speakers, 9 workshops and over 10 exhibitors on the theme #morethanaprayerspace.
Two follow-up initiatives were launched after the conference:
- A 4-month consultation which resulted in the publication of a report with 10 recommendations entitled: Developing Better Mosques: A summary of the consultation results of Better Mosques: A Community Consultation 2018
- The pilot Women in Mosques Development Programme in March 2018
Click here for more information about the January 2018 conference or view photos below.
What’s Next
We are aiming to host another successful #OurMosquesOurFuture conference in 2021. We will be keeping an eye on COVID regulations throughout the year to inform whether a live conference will be possible or whether the 2021 conference will have to be virtual like that in 2020.
How Can You Help
1. Donate
Both live and virtual conferences require a lot of work in bringing them together – whether that be venue costs, staffing or technical support. The MCB is a volunteer led organization, so all your support helps us to make these events happen.
- £25 could provide support towards conferences to bring together the UK Muslim community to discuss their mosques and prayer spaces to drive continuous improvement in service provision
- £50 could provide support towards upskilling Mosques with new skills, ideas and training to continue to showcase the great work of Mosques across the UK and allow mosques to adapt to the changing environment they face
- £100 could provide support towards thinking and implementing BeyondCOVID and exploring how to ensure the role of British mosques is not limited to the walls of the mosque building only
2. Volunteer
If you are interested in getting involved in the project, please sign up and join the team. The MCB is a volunteer led organization, we need you to make change.
3. Follow and Share
Follow us and our partners on Social Media, and share our posts. Together, we can do more!
Resources
Our Partners
Thank you to all our presenters and supporting partners in 2020, and previous years.
Make a difference with the MCB this Ramadan by bringing together the UK Muslim community to discuss their mosques, prayer space and innovations in service provision across the UK.
£25 could provide support towards conferences to bring together the UK Muslim community to discuss their mosques and prayer spaces to drive continuous improvement in service provision
£50 could provide support towards upskilling Mosques with new skills, ideas and training to continue to showcase the great work of Mosques across the UK and allow mosques to adapt to the changing environment they face
£100 could provide support towards thinking and implementing BeyondCOVID and exploring how to ensure the role of British mosques is not limited to the walls of the mosque building only