The Birmingham event has been organised by the Mayor to help him shape priorities and ways for working with different groups . Mr Street described the various faiths and related organisations in the region as “a force for good” that he could learn much from.

“I am convinced our faith communities and faith-based charities form one of the greatest – and sometimes most under-appreciated – sources of strength, vitality and resilience in our area,” he said.

“The region’s faith communities are part of the West Midlands we call home, but are also one of the many ways that this area is connected to the world. I want to get to work straight away to listen, support and discuss how we can work together.”

Mr Street said the conference would examine ways of working in several areas of concern to the region:

Unlocking the potential of young people by building new leadership networks
Reducing homelessness and social need
Keeping communities safer by tackling hate crime and discrimination
Finding concrete ways to work together to make the economy work better for the whole community

The faith conference is one of the Mayor’s ten pledges that he promised to immediately undertake following his election in May this year.

A 17-strong faith steering group was established shortly after Mr Street took office. Its co-chairs, appointed by Mr Street, are Francis Davis, Professor of Communities and Public Policy at the University of Birmingham, and Amrick Singh Ubhi, chair of the Council of Sikh Gurdwaras in Birmingham.