Building a Better Future
Community Development
Scottish Refugee Council’s community development work supports all residents in communities wherever they come from. Promoting dialogue between all those who have a stake in the future of Scotland's diverse communities is a fundamental principle of our work.
We do this by:
- Helping refugees form independent Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs) for example the Cameroonion Association or the African Women's association Karibu.
- Helping refugee women to identify the specific issues that affect their lives and develop solutions.
- Encouraging new refugee and asylum seeking residents to become directly involved in their local communities.
- Helping local Scottish communities respond to refugee needs by involvement in refugee support and integration networks which provide drop-ins, translate information and improve access to services.
- Assisting communities to promote positive images of refugees and combat racism and xenophobia.
- Helping new and existing residents collectively influence the political policies and practice which affect the lives of refugees and asylum seekers.
Read a strategic review of the Community Development team produced in October 2005 by clicking here (pdf). The strategic review for 2005 to 2008 can be accessed by clicking here (pdf).
Media Work
Scottish Refugee Council works with all aspects of the media to promote positive images of refugees; to improve public understanding of and influence policy makers about asylum and refugee issues and the work of Scottish Refugee Council; and to improve the quality and accuracy of reporting on these issues.
We also work with refugees and asylum seekers to enable them to speak for themselves and ensure that their voices are heard in the media debate.
Click HERE to see recent news from Scottish Refugee Council.
All media enquiries should be directed to Aideen McLaughlin, media and communications officer Tel: 0141 223 7927 or 07734 030 763
Email: aideen.mclaughlin@scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk
Informing the Debate
Scottish Refugee Council aims to positively influence the debate on asylum seekers and refugees through providing up-to-date, well researched information to the general public, politicians, journalists, partner organisations and anyone working on the asylum issue. We also produce up-to-date, good quality, translated information for asylum seekers and refugees and regular publications to raise awareness of the issues and promote the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.
A large part of our work involves informing parliamentary debate by making sure politicians are fully briefed on asylum issues and have access to up-to-date research, facts and statistics. We work with government ministers in order to influence legislation and policy and are often requested to put together responses to government consultations which could have consequences for our clients.
Training
We have developed a programme of high quality training to raise awareness of refugee issues amongst organisations and individuals. Click here if you would like more information.
The Arts
We suport several projects throughout the year which aim to involve asylum seekers and refugees in the creative arts. Last autumn we co-funded a project between RSPB and Glasgow Media Access Centre that paralleled the migratory journey of the sand martin with the flight of refugees to Scotland today. The short film that this project produced was shown in the Kevlvingrove Museum in the natural history section during the month of November. We are also responsible for co-ordinating the yearly refugee week celebrations in Scotland.
Working Together
Networks and partnerships are the key to fully meeting the needs of asylum seekers and refugees. As the lead refugee charity in Scotland, Scottish Refugee Council continues to co-ordinate networks of many different organisations sharing our expertise, shaping policy and promoting good practice.An example of this is the West of Scotland Refugee Forum which is made up of statutory and voluntary organisations and sub-groups convened by Scottish Refugee Council staff.