Leith Conversation Cafes. Join In! Speak Out! Be Inspired!

Leith Conversation Cafés are running at the Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel this Monday, 26 October, from 5:30 to 7:00 pm. It's a drop-in session, so there's no need to book or sign up in advance — you can just pop in and take part.

The cafés are run by Feniks, a grassroots charity set up in 2007 to support the Central Eastern European community in Edinburgh and across Scotland. They describe the project as a safe and inclusive space for people from different ethnic backgrounds to make new friends and talk through things like mental health, migrants' experiences, and social and cultural life. Each session focuses on a different topic, so the conversation changes from week to week.

There's a clear aim behind it: to get ahead of the loneliness and social isolation that can set in among migrant populations, while helping people find their way around local services and pick up new knowledge and skills along the way. The sessions are volunteer-run and held in English, and they're open to anyone, regardless of where you're from or what your background is.

If Monday doesn't work, they run a second session on Wednesdays, 5:30 to 7:00 pm, over at McDonald Road Library (2-8 McDonald Road, EH7 4LU). The Monday one is in the cafe at Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel, 9 Haddington Place, EH7 4AL. Both are free to attend.