Learn more about Warwick’s support for the Universities of Sanctuary initiative, creating a culture of welcome and hospitality for people seeking sanctuary.

International conference

The University was privileged to host this year’s annual Article 26 conference over three days in September 2017, which supported and welcomed sanctuary scholars and administrators from all over the country to look at the practical aspects of studying and working in the UK, and delivering university scholarships to students from a forced migrant background.

For the first time this year, 24 academics from all over the world joined an academic symposium to discuss their research on asylum seekers and refugees in higher education in the UK, Australia, Turkey and Germany.

Find out more about the conference

University of Sanctuary accreditation

Craig Muir and Dr. Seyedeh F. Naseriniaki from Coventry City of Sanctuary presented Stuart Croft with University of Sanctuary accreditation in recognition of the ongoing commitment from Warwick to support refugees and forced migrants.

The idea of ‘Universities of Sanctuary’ has developed out of the ‘City of Sanctuary’ movement. The purpose is to create a culture of welcome and hospitality at the local level, through promoting understanding, recognition and celebration of the ways in which people seeking sanctuary enrich society, as well as providing opportunities for building closer relationships between local communities and new arrivals.

Look out for a campus wide Refugee Week in spring 2018, and the arrival of ‘The Refuge’, a gold medal winning Royal Horticultural Society garden designed by Sue Jollans, to which the University of Warwick will give a permanent home.

What can you do?

Warwick staff and students have real opportunities to make a difference both in the local community as well as within the institution, by embedding a culture of hospitality within all of our activities. This includes working to expand and improve the scholarships schemes at Warwick, along with awareness raising amongst staff and students, opening up our facilities to asylum seekers and refugees living locally, and reaching out to schools and colleges in the region.

City of Sanctuary have granted us a 3 year accreditation and it is now up to all of us to realise the potential of the project, to reach out in to asylum seeking communities locally and internationally, and to truly create a culture of welcome on campus. Find out what you can do.

Visit the Universities of Sanctuary website

What is Article 26?

Article 26 is a project of the Helena Kennedy Foundation which promotes access to Higher Education for people who have fled persecution and sought asylum in the UK. Every year a UK higher education institution hosts the Article 26 conference and brings together sanctuary scholars and those who support them.