Blog Layout
Safe Passage Young Leaders: Education for Social Change in the Virtual World
Safe Passage International helps refugees access safe and legal routes to sanctuary. Through a combination of campaigning,
advocacy and legal casework, they influence policy and work directly with young people and families to help them reunite with
loved ones and reach sanctuary. Youth Advocacy and Campaigns Organiser Ruth Holtom works with an inspirational group of young people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds – Safe Passage Young Leaders - who speak out about issues that affect them and others like them and campaign for a more welcoming, just and equal world. She shares her experience of virtual engagement with the group.
Every Tuesday morning, I open my laptop and send round a Zoom link to the young people I have the privilege of working with, reminding them that we will be meeting that evening. Then, just before our evening session, I log on to Zoom and get ready to welcome them into our virtual space. Their names pop up in the waiting room, and we all gather on the screen, our faces lit up by the glow of our phones or computer screens.
Compared to preparing for face-to-face workshops, running these weekly Zoom sessions might seem simple and stress-free. Instead of filling my bags with flipchart paper, risk assessments and petty cash, I simply log on to Zoom, share my screen and create some breakout rooms. But as anyone currently facilitating online learning knows, youth engagement in this new virtual world brings a whole host of new challenges.
After hours of algebra and English on computer screens, often struggling to connect to unreliable WiFi, it can be tiring and draining for the young people we work with to participate in additional sessions in the evenings. It is a challenge to ensure that everyone can join our sessions, when there is such disparity in digital access, homelife and English language levels. However, I have been constantly astounded by the Young Leaders’ energy and commitment to bringing about the change they want to see in the world, even when they are unable to meet face to face.
Safe Passage Young Leaders
These inspiring young people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds meet weekly online to make friends, learn new skills, and work together to make change and challenge injustice. The young people I get to work with are experts by experience on refugee policy and they care passionately about creating safe and legal routes to safety for people like them. Since the pandemic began, the Safe Passage Young Leaders have achieved an incredible amount from the confines of their own homes. In the past nine months, they have:
Produced a video calling on politicians to protect family reunion for refugees.
- Written and delivered a letter to members of the House of Lords urging them to vote to protect family reunion in the Immigration Bill.
- Met influential MPs and peers online and shared their views and opinions on issues relating to asylum and immigration.
- Got involved with Safe Passage as an organisation, shared their ideas and expertise, and helped us to recruit new members of staff.
- Collaborated with other groups of young refugee campaigners, such as Hummingbird Young Leaders and Kent Refugee Action Network Youth Forum, creating connections across geographical divides and building strong networks of solidarity and support.
In this new year of 2021, the Young Leaders have a lot to speak out about. Now that the UK has left the EU, and with it the Dublin
Regulation family reunion scheme, refugees must apply for family reunification through domestic immigration rules, which are much more restrictive. Furthermore, various other resettlement schemes for refugees are still on pause due to the pandemic, and the government has recently announced that it will not be continuing resettlement for child refugees from Europe.
Campaigning with Safe Passage, the Young Leaders are hoping to influence policy on these issues in an upcoming government review on safe and legal routes. Over the past year they have proven to be brave and unflinching in their words and actions, and I have no doubt that these young people will stop at nothing to hold the Government to account.
If you have any questions about Safe Passage’s campaigns or the Young Leaders group, contact Ruth at ruth@safepassage. org.uk. If you know a young person who would be interested in joining the Young Leaders, you can find out more on our website.
Article from Engage issue 22.
BY RUTH HOLTOM • June 18, 2021
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.
The outlook for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on global education is far from rosy. But a gloomy future isn’t inevitable. Disappointing statistics are the result of political choices that can be shifted and there are thousands of youth, grassroots activists and civil society organisations across the UK advocating for global education to make these changes. We need more people involved to build the momentum, we need to make a difference in challenging circumstances. You can help! Here’s how; Making global education a UK priority The UK is an important donor and champion for global education. However, education has been gradually deprioritised on the development agenda. Global education spending has plummeted from 13.5% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2013 to just 3.5% in 2023, and education was one of the sectors hit hardest by the abandonment of the 0.7% gross national income (GNI) target for ODA. With Labour’s annual budget confirming another reduction in the aid budget, funding for global education is under threat of being cut even further unless we stand together to say this can’t happen. While education is a domestic priority for the new Government, it has yet to emerge as a strong theme in their development agenda. As the Labour Party continues to develop their approach there is a unique opportunity for advocates to connect these dots and make the case for why education must be a key part of the Government’s international plans. For the Government to take action it needs to hear demand for change. There are many issues MPs recognise are important, but if they do not hear about these issues from constituents it can be hard for MPs to be vocal about them in Parliament. Following an election where many parliamentary seats were won with tight margins, MPs need to hear from the people they represent that global education must be on their agenda. With over half of MPs elected for the first time this year, many are actively looking for a steer on what issues to work on. We can give them one! How to Get Involved Write to your MP about why global education needs to be a bigger priority for the UK Government and encourage members of groups you are a part of, such as your union branch or a local community group, to do the same. This can have a real impact on your MP’s interest and ability to act for global education. You can also connect with other grassroots activists and get resources for taking action from international development advocacy organisations like Results UK. You can learn more about Results UK’s grassroots network on our website. If you are a teacher, get your school involved in the Send My Friend to School Campaign (SMF). Send My Friend is a UK civil society coalition advocating for SDG4 which supports a mass UK schools campaign to amplify student voices calling for universal quality education in solidarity with their peers around the world. Free campaign packs are available on the SMF website for primary and secondary levels with everything teachers need to run the campaign in their school. Parliamentarians can learn more about education issues and how to act by joining the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education, a cross-party group that brings together Parliamentarians interested in the right to education and provides them with knowledge and resources to be champions of the issue. By joining our voices through collective action, we can make a real difference in moving the needle on this issue. Together we have a chance to rechart the course for the realisation of quality education for all. BIOGRAPHY Hannah Frisch is the Senior Policy and Parliamentary Advocacy Officer for Education at Results UK and a Co-Chair of the Send My Friend to School Policy and Parliamentary Working Group. She is a policy advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education in the UK Parliament.
Last year the Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the work of The Federation of Drama Schools by providing financial aid to new graduates, enabling them to take part in an industry showcase at The Abbey Theatre in Dublin. The showcase is an annual event for Irish graduates who have completed a professional training at one of the Federation’s partner conservatoires in the UK, introducing young actors to the industry they hope to work in. The Federation of Drama Schools partners are institutions that provide conservatoire vocational training for those who want to be professional performers, theatre makers and technical theatre practitioners. The courses they offer are for students of eighteen years and over, who have completed their school level education. In November (2024) fourteen young Irish graduates took part in the showcase and the SSF provided financial support to two graduates who may not otherwise have been able to take part in this showcase, which is a bridge between training and their professional career. Melanie Lavery from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama is one of those who benefitted from this support. Melanie writes of her experience. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Steve Sinnott Foundation for the support I received, making it possible for me to take part in the Dublin Showcase 2024. The opportunity allowed me to work with graduates from across FDS schools and widen my contacts in the industry. Coming from a socio-economically deprived area, I’ve often missed out on opportunities available to my peers. I have had to spend a lot of energy during my three years in drama school working to support myself and this has meant I often don’t have time to follow up network opportunities. In receiving this sponsorship and taking part in the showcase I have been able to connect with other Irish creatives - the people I am acting opposite, directors, casting directors and agents in the industry. These industry showcases are so important for graduates. It gives us the possibility of networking with industry professionals and hopefully the opportunity of taking that first crucial step into the profession we have trained for. As I studied in Wales, it gave me the chance to return to Ireland and to reach out to creatives there. The Foundation gave me this amazing opportunity to kick start my career in my home country. On the day of the showcase, I had such pride watching my fellow Irish peers performing on stage at Ireland’s National Theatre. Working together throughout the rehearsal period, I got to know them individually and we all helped each other to grow as performers. This showcase has helped me to create my own community of actors around me. When it came to talking with other creatives after the show case, I became so much more aware of how large and welcoming the industry is in Ireland and how much work is being produced here. I think this show case is so important as it highlights how vibrant and growing the industry is in Ireland. I feel so lucky that I was able to take part thanks to the help of the Steve Sinnott Foundation. For more information on the Federation of Drama Schools, professional industry showcases, and it’s partner schools please visit www.federationofdramaschools.co.uk
Lord Lieutenants Charity HubWarner Brothers StudiosSuite 23, Building 6, Hercules Way,LeavesdenWD25 7GS
Learn More
0208 013 9616
Sign Up To Our Newsletter
Charity Commission England 1130814
Charity Commission Scotland SCO46031