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June Edition

Welcome to the CoS June newsletter. This month we bring you a new Libraries of Sanctuary website and resource pack and an urgent action on the Immigration Bill. We are still interested to hear about your creative strategies for continuing to build welcome despite the current challenges.

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See all the latest stories on our website.

News from around the Network

New Libraries of Sanctuary Website

Our new Libraries of Sanctuary website is live. There are examples of good practice and case studies and links to other resources, as well as further information on getting involved and on gaining the Library of Sanctuary Award. Thanks to all the libraries who contributed, Libraries Connected and the Arts Council for their support.

Keeping ESOL classes going thro' lockdown

We are impressed by the ESOL classes with a difference, in Lancaster and Morecambe City of Sanctuary, where the challenges of lockdown and digital access have been overcome and more people are engaged than ever. See how they did it here and be inspired.

FAB - Family Activity Boxes

Just another "fab" idea from the network on how to continue welcoming activities in lockdown. Check out what Swindon City of Sanctuary are doing to support families without access to WiFi through daily family activity boxes.

Sewing Group Moves Online

Southampton City of Sanctuary has been running a Women’s Sewing Group for a number of years. The group was set up to bring together women in the city, whether they had been there their whole lives or had just arrived, and ran both during the day and in the evening to give access to as many women as possible. Read how they are keeping going through the Covid crisis.

Congratulations University of Sussex

We welcome the University of Sussex to the network . See the full story here.

Webinar with Universities of Sanctuary and STAR

We were pleased to work with Student Action for Refugees to host two webinars over Zoom, one for Scottish universities and one for those in England and Wales. The webinars were attended by universities who have already gained their award and are looking towards reappraisal, some that are in the process of applying and others who were new to the concept completely. Whilst we can't wait to get back to meeting in person, it was a great way to share best practice and strengthen the network at this time.

Congratulations to Forth Valley Welcome

Volunteers in the Stirling City of Sanctuary group won the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service for making a difference. More info and link to an interview on their Facebook page. This is the second Queen's Award won by a City of Sanctuary network group. BIG thanks this Volunteers Week and every week to the the hundreds of volunteers across the UK who work tirelessly to build welcome and sanctuary for all.

City of Sanctuary Membership & AGM

The CoS UK 2020 Annual General Meeting will be held on June 24th at 2pm. All groups and streams of sanctuary are expected to sign up as Network Members to ensure ongoing benefits from CoS UK as well as becoming voting members as a group or individuals representing groups. Organisational and Individual membership is open to any organisation/ individual that supports the vision of City of Sanctuary. There's more here.

For more news from around the network, please visit our website

Campaigns and Actions

Urgent Action – Immigration Bill

Please support the Detention Forum action, to contact your Members of Parliament as soon as possible to ask them to support David Davis MP’s amendments to the Immigration Bill. This is our best opportunity yet so please mobilise your networks asap by sending out this article with all the information and briefings.

These Walls Must Fall Open Letter on Covid-19

We support the open letter to the Home Secretary from These Walls Must Fall Yorkshire Spokespeople Group who are experts by experience. More info available here. To sign the letter, please sign here.

Asylum Support

We continue to support the ongoing campaign to increase the asylum support rate, which is 74% below the UK poverty line and still only £5.39 a day. Help with letter writing to your MP here and quick Twitter action here. For information and support to involve your group in this work, please contact Emma Birks from Asylum Matters emma@asylummatters.org .

Other Campaigns to Support

Please visit the "Advocacy: what you can do from Home" pages on our Covid-19 website for small actions you can take that may make a BIG difference to the lives of people seeking sanctuary. Please also check out and share the video here from North East sanctuary ambassadors who voice their concerns and links to current actions.

The Asylum Matters website has more campaigns to follow and support. These include asylum support and accommodation, access to healthcare, and the right to work. Their news page provides weekly updates on the refugee sector current advocacy initiatives which are very informative.

Events, Resources and Opportunities

Don't miss "Let us be Together"

Please share the Tweets and Facebook links as widely as possible to build a large audience for Margaret Fingerhut's finale concert on Facebook. You don't need an account to see it. This Friday at 8pm she will joined virtually by Syrian viola player Raghad Haddad from the National Syrian Orchestra and Arian Hu, a Kurdish composer and oud player now exiled in China. It is hosted by City of Sanctuary’s very own singer-songwriter Sam Slatcher – who runs the Stories of Sanctuary refugee music project. Check out and share the one minute video.

Migration Matters Online Festival

The UK’s largest Refugee Week festival goes online for a global arts celebration of sanctuary! Find more details here .

Refugee Week
Refugee Week 15-21st June on the theme of Imagine has a host of events, activities, simple acts you can do and lots of information to help you and others get involved. Check it out here and don't miss out.

New resources for Schools

New resources for Schools of Sanctuary developed by My Bright Kite - set of 12 films to raise awareness in schools and other settings of children and young people in migration. Look out too, for the revamped Schools of Sanctuary website and new resource pack coming soon.

Job Opportunities

NACCOM is recruiting for the post of National Director. The application deadline is 9am Monday 22nd June 2020.
Nottingham Arimathea Trust is recruiting trustees. Deadline for expressing interest: Friday 12th June 2020.
The new partnership - Asylum Reform Initiative is recruiting for the post of Director. The application deadline is 21 Jun 2020. Fantastic opportunity for the right person to work with the refugee sector.

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