Swansea University based group Discovery Student Volunteering Swansea has been successful in securing a Big Lottery Fund People and Places grant of £249,713.
The three year grant will fund two new full-time, three year posts: a People and Places Project Manager and a People and Places Administrator who will help promote and develop Swansea as a City of Sanctuary through existing Discovery initiatives.
The Project Manager and Administrator will be employed and managed by Discovery on behalf of the Swansea City of Sanctuary Steering Group and will work together in developing and implementing a communication strategy to promote the City of Sanctuary vision.
The City of Sanctuary vision is for Swansea to be a place that welcomes, involves, celebrates and supports people who have arrived here for sanctuary.
Christine Watson, Manager of Discovery said: “The grant was awarded in December 2010. It is such an exciting and important piece of work that we can now take forward, working in partnership with the Swansea City of Sanctuary Steering Group.
“The successful candidates will work in conjunction with Discovery’s existing projects which each have specific aims: EXCITE aims to invest in children and young people in Swansea who are deemed to be disadvantaged; LINX aims to embrace diversity and promote equality by providing opportunities to meet people who are generally excluded or discriminated against; EXPRESSIONS aims to deliver a wide range of practical activities that help people achieve a goal including gardening and decorating and MATRIX raises awareness and funding as well as promoting Discovery within the local and global community.
“Discovery is proud to be leading this initiative which will enable us to further enrich the lives of disadvantaged people in Swansea, challenge discrimination and build on volunteering projects already being delivered by our students.”
“The People and Places funding will raise the profile of Discovery and help strengthen its links in the City but more importantly it will make a difference to the Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Swansea. We are so pleased to have been granted this funding – thank you to the Big Lottery Fund!”
The Project Manager and Administrator will take a lead role in raising awareness of Discovery’s projects through workshops and events, building links across the community and establishing a volunteer scheme that both includes and supports Asylum Seekers and Refugees.
The successful candidates will promote Swansea as a City of Sanctuary to a wide range of organisations and groups including businesses, public sector and voluntary organisations and community groups. Promotional activities will include a newsletter; maintaining and updating display and exhibition materials, organising a presence at city events, providing content for the website, researching awards schemes, using email lists and social networking sites, and liaising with the local and national media.
Organisations will also be encouraged to sign pledges of support and to turn this support into practical action.
Discovery applied for a People and Places grant in July 2010. The proposal outlined the need for funding for the two positions needed to build on the success of Swansea being designated as a City of Sanctuary in 2010. 100 organisations across the City have already pledged their support. The new posts will help turn those pledges into action as well as working to increase the number of pledges to at least 250.
Highlighting the importance of the People and Places programme, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member and Chair of the People and Places Committee, Gareth Newton, said:
“Programmes like People and Places are making a difference to the lives of so many people in communities across Wales. It delivers on our promise to use Lottery funding to regenerate and revitalise communities, tackle disadvantage head on and leave a lasting legacy. I’m sure this project will have a positive impact on the lives of many people in the community and will continue to do so for years to come.”
Professor Alan Speight, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Student Experience at Swansea University, said: “Voluntary work is a highly rewarding part of the student experience and Discovery is a particularly proactive example of how the University’s students are assisting the wider Swansea community. I am delighted that Discovery has been awarded People and Places funding for these roles, which I am sure will increase awareness of the efforts of Discovery and the University in developing Swansea’s City of Sanctuary status.”
The South West Wales Reaching Wider Partnership, led by Swansea University has published A Guide to Further and Higher Education for Asylum Seekers and Refugees Living in Wales (2010-2011). For more information and to download the guide, visit:
http://www.swan.ac.uk/news_centre/WhatsHappening/Headline,55898,en.php
