What you can do

This page includes ideas of things you can do to support a culture of safety, solidarity, and empowerment for people seeking sanctuary within, and beyond, the University.

What we can all do

One of the most valuable things we can do all do is educate ourselves.

Do you know the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee? Are you familiar with the UK asylum process? Do you know why people migrate?

Our introductory training module is designed to assist staff and students at Warwick to develop insights into the life of asylum seeker and refugee students in the UK. This presentation will take you on an interactive learning journey allowing you to select and explore information a section at a time.

Complete the Introductory Training Module

What staff can do

Get involved with the Borders, Race, Ethnicity, and Migration (BREM) Network.
Familiarise yourself with the Sanctuary Scholarships at Warwick for students seeking sanctuary.
Find out whether your department has received any applications for scholarships or fellowships under schemes designed for asylum seekers and refugees. Are there systems in place to ensure that staff know what these schemes are and that students are adequately supported in making an application? Could you co-ordinate some training on this?
Find out if you have any CARA (Council for At-Risk Academics) scholars in your department - ask your head of department. CARA matches displaced scholars with academic positions in UK institutions. We have a number of these scholars at Warwick. Speak to them about how welcoming they have found your department and what could be done to make it more welcoming.
Sign up to be a ‘CARA Champion’ which involves mentoring at-risk academics, advocating for CARA within your institution, and/or running workshops for CARA.
Invite a speaker relevant to your department who specialises in sanctuary issues, perhaps in relation to health, healthcare, education, law, history, or politics.
Consider running a taster tutorial in your field of expertise for people seeking sanctuary in the local community
Consider whether there is anything in your undergraduate or postgraduate programmes which covers issues of sanctuary in the past or present. This will not be relevant to all disciplines but will necessarily be relevant to at least those working in areas such as the humanities, social sciences, and medicine.
Suggest or organise a training session for staff in your department on sanctuary.
Suggest that your department choose a refugee charity for their annual charity donation or organise a sponsored event or bake sale to raise money.

What students can do

Join Warwick Student Action for Refugees (STAR) Link opens in a new window. STAR is a national network of young people and university based student groups aiming to raise awareness of sanctuary issues, campaign for the rights of people seeking sanctuary, and practically support sanctuary seekers through volunteering in the local community.
Start volunteering with a local organisation such as Coventry City of Sanctuary, Coventry Refugee Centre, or Coventry Peace House.
If appropriate to your discipline, ask your department whether there are any opportunities to learn about sanctuary issues on your degree programme. Suggest they offer these topics and see how they respond.
Organise a talk through a student society from either an outside speaker or staff at Warwick who are experts on sanctuary issues – perhaps in law, politics, sociology, medicine, or history.
Find out whether you have any Sanctuary Scholars in your department (perhaps you yourself are one). What provisions are in place to make sure Sanctuary Scholars feel welcome and supported? Could you propose a buddy system where students in their third year mentor Sanctuary Scholars in their first year, for example?

Staff and student ideas board

Carriers of Hope - Garden Tower

A member of staff in Warwick Medical School became involved with Carriers of Hope, a Coventry-based charity who work closely with refugees and asylum seekers in the city.

Pursuing this voluntary work, she has attained some funding for a 'garden tower' which can grow food hydroponically indoors, with the idea being to grow fresh food for a new 'culturally relevant' food bank aimed particularly at vulnerable Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic families in the city, in large part as they are lacking in not just fresh food, but fresh food that reminds them of home.

If you would like to be involved in this project or make a donation - please contact Anne-Marie Chilton at .

Stand with Ukraine Staff Network

This staff network has been set up to:

Create a network of people across campus with a common goal.
Co-ordinate efforts to volunteer time, items and ideas.
Match needs with offers of support.
Tap into existing experience in the staff body of working with refugee charities and similar organisations.
Signpost to external resources and professional support.

Join the Stand with Ukraine Staff Network

Take the Ration Challenge

Join with thousands of others across the UK and eat the same rations as a Syrian refugee for one week, raise money and change lives.

Take the Ration Challenge

Unwanted Laptops and Computers

A member of staff has initiated a project seeking to assist local refugee children as, particularly during lockdown, many have been struggling to keep up with schooling because they don't have laptops or computers that are increasingly becoming a requirement of education.

If you have an old computer, laptop or phone that you no longer want/need, please contact Anne-Marie Chilton at , who will, with the charity Carriers of Hope's expert input, ensure that they are fully wiped before being distributed where they are needed.

Volunteer

There are a number of organisations locally that staff and students can volunteer with to support people seeking sanctuary in Coventry:

"Being at Warwick has been truly amazing. I particularly enjoy the friendly atmosphere both in my department and in the university in general. Warwick has a lot to offer, not only in academia, but also through the various entertainment and sport facilities. While practising any activity on campus, I have always felt included and surrounded by supportive people who are doing their best to make my experience positive."

Sanctuary Student, Life Sciences