Campaigns & Celebration
Campaigns & Celebrations
We campaign to protect and grow the community sponsorship scheme and celebrate our champions along the way
We campaign to protect and grow the community sponsorship scheme and celebrate our champions along the way
Campaigns for Community Sponsorship: Protecting and Improving the Movement
Citizens UK led the Refugees Welcome campaign to increase refugee resettlement and introduce Community Sponsorship to the UK. Since then, we have continued to fight for its protection and improvement. You can read the history of the movement here.
We continue to work with leaders to develop cross-party political support for the scheme - for example, through our Refugees Still Welcome Assembly and our Parliamentary Events - run and led entirely by refugees.
We also work in partnership with the Home Office and sector partners to improve Community Sponsorship policy and processes; and with international partners to support the implementation of community sponsorship schemes across the world. See who we work with here.
Campaigns for Refugees and Migrant Issues in the UK
We have a proud history of working with refugee and migrant leaders to win transformational victories and change lives. See some examples of our current and historical campaigns here:
Campaigns
Refugees Welcome - Resettle 20,000 by 2020
In September 2015, the tragic photograph of Alan Kurdi washed up on the shores of Turkey transformed public opinion. We brought 400 leaders to Westminster to demand an expansion of resettlement and a few days later the Prime Minister announced the UK would take 20,000 refugees by 2020.
Safety for Child Refugees
Peoplehad gathered in Calais in order to reach family members living in Britain. Refugees in the camp at our invitation began to organise – developing a census detailing the names, ages, and family members belonging to unaccompanied minors all across the camp.
Settle our Status
There are an estimated 1.2 million people living in the UK without immigration documents, meaning that many of our neighbours can’t work, access benefits, report crimes to the police, marry their loved ones, or access basic services including most of the NHS.
The Community Sponsorship Awards
We believe that community sponsorship of refugees should be celebrated, and that inspirational groups, individuals and local authorities should be recognised for the work they put in to make community sponsorship a success. That is why we organise the annual Community Sponsorship Awards.
End Child Detention
In 2009 our listening campaign revealed stories of families – including children – who had been locked up in detention centres. At that time, over a thousand children a year were being detained in prison-like conditions.
Together We Can
We continue to train and develop leadership of migrant and diaspora community leaders through our sister project, Together We Can.