Why Hold A Festival in SW!?

South Westminster is characterised by extremes.

Popular images of Big Ben and Belgravia mask many pockets of severe deprivation, with over half of the areas' 40,000 residents living in social housing. Effectively an island cut off from many affordable facilities by the Thames and Royal Parks, SW1 is an ethnically diverse community where educational standards at GCSE and A Level are well below national level. It harbours shelters for London's homeless and is a major entry point for refugees and asylum seekers.

Extreme wealth and poverty sit side by side, with some communities falling within the 20% most deprived parts of the country, but much of the poverty is hidden to the eye, behind the façades of mansion blocks and street properties.

Many residents face significant barriers to employment, including a lack of basic skills and confidence, access to childcare, language barriers and low or no qualifications- for example in Churchill ward over a quarter of the adult population hold no formal qualifications.

But things are changing, and the local community is at the forefront of these changes. A Renewal Plan is being delivered to improve the lives of residents; the South Westminster Community Network, a group of local agencies, meet regularly to help improve resources; initiatives like Sure Start and SW1Radio have been launched; a new South Westminster Community Website highlights everything going on in SW1 at www.southwestminster.org.uk; and there is the SouthWestFest.

How does the SouthWestFest help the community?

SouthWestFest is a celebration of diversity and community cohesion. It fosters a closer sense of unity between local people and organisations working for their benefit, and in 2006 74% of the public strongly agreed and 30% agreed the Festival had strengthened community spirit. Residents got to find out about the growing range of services and opportunities available in their area, and unanimous support for SouthWestFest remaining an annual celebration at the heart of the community calendar.