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Newsletters

NOVEMBER 2023

Dear Supporter

Thank you once again for supporting us.

Our core group consists of volunteers from the Craven area plus representatives from North Yorkshire Council and the Library Service. We have been busy and have just updated our Action Plan. If you would like to see a copy you are welcome.

We have been very pleased with the response to requests for pledges of support and currently have 31 online, with an interesting mix of arts and culture organisations, charities and businesses https://craven.cityofsanctuary.org/pledges/

Here are some quotes from the responses we’ve had:

“(We)would like to pledge our support to this and agree with the organisation’s values of Inclusivity, Openness, Participation, Inspiration and integrity, especially as they align with our own core values”

“It is wonderful to know that since February of this year, Craven has formally been known as a District of Sanctuary. (our organisation) certainly shares the same/similar values and I am happy to pledge my support”

“This is great. We are really interested in being a School of Sanctuary so we would be happy to do this” 

Work with Schools is ongoing with some new, enthusiastic volunteers who have been trained to support schools who wish to work towards recognition as a School of Sanctuary. There are currently two in Craven with some more in the pipeline. Please make contact if you are interested in discussing this: [email protected] or contact our Chair Chris Rose [email protected]

Holocaust Memorial Day is on January 27th and we would like to mark this. If you are interested in helping to plan an activity do, please, get in touch. We would like to work collaboratively if we can. Last year we held the first vigil in Skipton to mark the day. There are activities for schools available if you want to look at the website https://www.hmd.org.uk/ Libraries will be arranging displays. Genocides remembered are those in Darfur, Bosnia, Cambodia , Rwanda and the holocaust of World War 2 which included Jewish people, gay people, Roma, trade unionists and anyone disagreeing with the Nazi regime in Germany at the time https://www.hmd.org.uk/learn-about-the-holocaust-and-genocides/nazi-persecution/

We are very happy that the North Yorkshire Library Service achieved Library Service of Sanctuary status this year. The award was presented recently in Ripon library by Sara Trewhitt from City of Sanctuary, to Councillor Simon Myers, Executive member for Culture, Arts and Housing for North Yorkshire Council. Congratulations to everyone in North Yorkshire libraries on this magnificent achievement.

City of Sanctuary events -there are always relevant events online that are available if you wish to register for them https://cityofsanctuary.org/events/  If you sign up for the regular newsletters, forthcoming training and events are listed there. Some are informal discussions where ideas are shared, others are more formal presentations on a variety of subjects. If you are interested in a particular stream of work, such as Arts or Schools, you will find specific sessions on those. There are currently some sessions to help people to put across arguments in favour of sanctuary and support for refugees.

Finally, there was a new pop-up children’s book, ‘Lift the Flap Questions and Answers about Refugees’ published this year. It was written by local author Katie Daynes and Ashe de Sousa, assisted by Fiona Protheroe and illustrated by Oksana Drachkovska. It is considered helpful no matter what age you are.

Katie was at Ripon library for the presentation event

with very best wishes and thank you for your support

Craven District of Sanctuary Core Team

MARCH 2023

Craven District of Sanctuary – update

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 31st 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 27th 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 19th – 25th 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.