"Real bridge-building means giving young people space to question, challenge, and disagree, with compassion and courage."
By Mohammed Ali Amla
In a time when divisions feel sharper than ever, it’s not enough to simply say we value dialogue. We must create intentional spaces for it, spaces that are structured, inclusive, and brave. Not just performative events, but places where people can bring their full selves: their faith, doubt, pain, identity, and conviction. That’s what the Bridge Builders Programme 2025 set out to offer and delivered.
Held from 27th July to 1st August, the programme brought together a diverse group of young people from across the UK - Muslims, Jews, Christians, and people of all faiths and none, against a backdrop of heightened tension and pain over the ongoing situation in Israel-Palestine. Trust across communities has eroded. Dialogue feels too futile and raw, many of the spaces where real conversations once happened have closed down.
But at Bridge Builders, we stayed in the room.
We didn’t offer easy answers or ideological scripts. Instead, we gave young people space. Not just to speak, but to think critically. To disagree, with compassion and courage. We told them clearly: this isn’t about telling you what to think. It’s about engaging deeply, wrestling with views that challenge you, and listening without feeling pressured to agree.
What unfolded wasn’t easy, but it was deeply powerful.
Participants were joined by Palestinian & Israeli peace builders, listening to first-hand accounts of some of the tangible work happening on the ground, whilst grappling with peace building at some of the darkest times and the need for justice, security, safety and systemic change.
Participants explored not only the history of the Israel-Palestine, but also the emotional and spiritual dimensions of the land itself. They learned why this region matters so profoundly to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. They asked difficult questions about Islamophobia, antisemitism, belonging, identity, and power.
Sessions went far beyond theoretical discussion. Workshops like Faith and Identity and Scriptural Reasoning asked participants to reflect on how their beliefs are shaped. Others delved into how to foster good relations and manage campus polarisation, how to become more effective negotiators and communicators, and how to tackle racism in all its forms, structural, implicit, and everyday. They were given time and space to build practical campus action plans, and to envision how they could lead change back in their communities.
Bridge Builders doesn’t just teach dialogue. It reframes it as a tool, not an end in itself, but a beginning. Dialogue alone doesn’t fix anything. It can’t heal trauma, reverse policy, or bring justice, safety and security. But it can be the seed from which trust grows, if we have the courage to stay the course.
Too often, I say we need to go beyond tea & samosa interfaith or bagels and bhajis, calendar-based events, Interfaith PR, curated photo ops, and cautious conversations that go silent when the words “Israel” or “Palestine” are mentioned. We show up for the food and the festivals, but disappear when the real work begins.
Bridge Builders is the opposite of that. It is not about surface-level consensus. It is about fostering integrity in disagreement, a commitment to keep showing up even when things get hard. We may not always agree, but our shared values, compassion, justice, and dignity bind us together, fostering the spirit we need.
The programme is also an investment in future leaders who can move from safe spaces to brave spaces to uncomfortable spaces. Spaces where nuance isn’t punished. Where listening isn’t surrender. And where disagreement isn’t feared, but engaged with honesty and hope.
At the end of the programme, participants didn’t just walk away with new insights. They walked away with vision and responsibility. Many committed to action on campus, in their communities, and in their own journeys of leadership. And they were invited into a wider ecosystem of support, with volunteering, internship, and mentoring pathways through Solutions Not Sides and partners who contributed like The Feast, Faith & Belief Forum, Show Racism the Red Card, Woolf Institute, Hope not Hate, CST, CCJ and many others.
This is where real peacebuilding starts, not with statements or press releases, but people. Young people who are ready to lead with integrity, who humanise without an agenda to normalise or win a debate , and who know that allyship means staying present even when it’s uncomfortable.
So, as we reflect on what Bridge Builders achieved this summer, I wanted to give the final word to the people who matter the most, the participants:
“I had the greatest time surrounded by curious minds and amazing leadership. The laughter and knowledge I gained from this was immense” - Raissa
"As a 17-year-old from London, my biggest dilemma was once choosing between lashes or mascara. Then the Bridge Builders Programme opened my eyes to a broader reality. There is so much change and chaos in the world, and now I understand that I have a part to play in it. We all start unaware, but what we do after is what counts. Ignorance is a privilege, but bridge building? Bridge building is a reward." - Abigail
“BBP at Solutions Not Sides taught me to raise my words, not my voice, creating safe spaces for dialogue, not debate.” - Aaliyah
"As someone from a less diverse area, the Bridge Builders Programme was immensely enriching, in that it gave me the opportunity to interact with and learn from individuals with beliefs and background dissimilar to my own. SNS provided us with a range of talks that gave me a good basis to expand on through discussions with my peers on topics such as the issue of colourism, the range of denominations of Judaism, American political events, Islamic theology, and much more. I genuinely don’t think I have ever felt so compelled to learn about and involve myself in contemporary issues; and the welcoming, patient atmosphere provided enabled me to do this." - Sophie
"BBP means the world to me. Coming from my background, I never imagined having access to people and spaces like this. It gave me the chance to channel my passion for the Middle East — something that resonates deeply with who I am. Staff reminded me that we are the generation that can influence change. Even micro-level change can ripple outward. That is something which will stick with me forever." - Mariam
“Young people need spaces where listening is radical and disagreement isn't dangerous. BBP proves that dialogue isn't weakness, it’s strength” - Mishkat