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Commitment to Support Refugees

Dynamic Meeting Confirms Commitment to Support Refugees and Migrants at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê

On Monday 31stÌýOctober 2022, 45 students and staff attended a lively Open Meeting toÌýcoordinate activities in support of refugees and migrants at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²ÊÌýand to consider the work that lies ahead to enhance access to higher education.

A coordinating group fromÌýRefuge in a Moving WorldÌýpresented key proposals currently under consideration by Professor Anthony Smith (Vice Provost of Education & Student Affairs). These proposals were developed based on extensive consultation and the efforts of a committed group of Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê staff and students, following a successful Open Meeting in February 2016. The initiatives were fully discussedÌýand there was clear support for the proposed agenda, with productive additional suggestions emerging in the discussion.

Proposed initiatives include:

  1. Establishment of aÌý‘Migration Support Unit’ andÌý‘Forced Migrant Champions’Ìýto coordinate, oversee and embed activities across Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê;
  2. Recruitment and funding for students who are forced migrants to accessÌýÏã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Undergraduate Preparatory CertificateÌýpre-undergraduate foundation courses
  3. Review andÌýenhancement of current scholarship provisionÌýwith a specific focus on aÌýfair and sustainable scholarship programme for refugees and migrants at all levels, from foundation courses to academic fellowships
  4. Familiarisation with HEÌývolunteer taught programme: a non-selective pre-foundation information and orientation programme open to all displaced people in London regardless of immigration status - in coordination with STAR and staff and student volunteers.

Meeting participants agreed that the proposal would draw together and maximise capacity and expertise at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê, given the considerable activity happening already across Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê departments and student groups. The proposal was seen to offer a solid framework for taking a formal public position consistent with Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê's mission and an unmet need in the capital.

The main part of the meeting focussed on how to move forward on the proposed initiatives and others. The group generated wide-ranging, creative and practical ideas including:

  • Continuing to foster collaborations with Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê programmes (e.g. Global Citizenship), departments, and student groups (e.g. the new Refugee Support Group), as well as community /national organisations working with displaced peoples
  • Ensuring maximum inclusivity, for example by linking with LGBT+ groups
  • Learning from cross-national experiences, for example in Germany or Sweden
  • Developing MOOCs for people in refugee campsÌýand host cities in the Global SouthWorking with Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Academy to support access for refugee/asylum-seeking students

As one meeting participant observed: "Universities are places dedicated to thinking, but now is the time to act!"

For more information andÌýto get involved, contact Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, Coordinator of theÌýRefuge in a Moving WorldÌýresearch network, by email atÌýe.fiddian-qasmiyeh@ucl.ac.uk.