Craven District of Sanctuary – update March 2023

The City of Sanctuary organisation is all about welcome and inclusivity. Each local group is different and reflects their area.

To quote from the City of Sanctuary website

“Despite hostility and division pushed by politicians and the press, thousands of ordinary people around the country are stepping up to support people seeking sanctuary in our communities.

City of Sanctuary UK coordinates and grows these networks of welcome. From community groups to schools and universities, local councils to libraries and theatres, we work with individuals, groups, and organisations in every area and in every sector to encourage inclusivity, solidarity, and compassion for people from a forced displacement background.”

It feels like a lot has happened since we last had a general online session for existing supporters of Craven District of Sanctuary. That was at the beginning of January so not really very long ago. There were two, very successful and enthusiastic, sessions held online to discuss this project and the planning group has been working diligently since then.

We are now officially registered with City of Sanctuary nationally as Craven District of Sanctuary. It is the start of a road to full recognition when we complete the work required by the organisation. There is a web page at https://craven.cityofsanctuary.org/ which we are now beginning to work on.

We have agreed some key values which I am sure you will agree with. Some of these are

• Connect people seeking sanctuary with other people living in the local community.
• Act as a rallying cry to other organisations and individuals to offer welcome.
• Be inclusive in generating a culture of welcome, involving different sectors such as education,  local government, health, sports and arts, as well as refugee organisations.
• Work as an alliance between local people and people seeking sanctuary to run the group wherever possible and appropriate.
• Be prepared to share successes, ideas and learning with other groups and the network.

As time marches on the demise of Craven District Council comes closer and it will disappear as a Council organisation on 31^st March. The new Council will be called North Yorkshire Council & will include the whole of the county apart from York City. This does not affect us as a group because Craven is a geographical area and has been for a very long time. Within the new North Yorkshire Council there is also Harrogate District of Sanctuary, Ripon City of Sanctuary & potentially Richmondshire.

We are fortunate to have a brilliant Chair in Chris Rose, who has been a local Councillor for more than seven years. She will finish doing Council work at the end of March. We still have the support of key local Councillors who helped us to get this project off the ground and to whom we are very grateful. Craven will have just nine Councillors in the new North Yorkshire Council.

Kate Senior from the Localities team of Craven Council is a key member of the planning group. We have enthusiastic input from the Library Service, who are formulating their own application for registration with City of Sanctuary. Other members of the planning group include people from local refugee support groups from across the area.

We thank the whole team from City of Sanctuary who have been incredibly supportive. Sara Trewhitt, who was our regional organiser for several years, has helped and encouraged us, especially with online sessions.  Maggie Filipova-Rivers has shared her knowledge of the way Local Authorities organise themselves and explained ways for us to progress with the project.

Craven District of Sanctuary aims to bring in many individuals who we know are doing their own work in other parts of the area. We hope to form partnerships with myriad community organisations, statutory bodies, and businesses. We have an Action Plan which will shortly be summarised & posted on the web page.

Schools are seen as a very important element of Sanctuary work and there is a big job to do in our area, so anyone out there interested in offering support will be welcomed. Please get in touch. Tell us what you can offer and how much time you have available.

Our first organised event as a District of Sanctuary was the vigil held in Skipton on 27^th January for Holocaust Memorial Day. This was organised with the help and support of Skipton Quakers and Grassington Peace group. An event for Holocaust Memorial Day had not been attempted before and those who were there were keen to see it become an annual event. We will need a banner for that and if anyone is good at making banners, one for the Craven District of Sanctuary would be nice too.

Hopefully there will be more community activities. Refugee Week is 19^th – 25^th June and there will be activities around the district for that. Let us know if you want to organise something and we will try to help.

Thank you for your continuing support.