
The University of Sanctuary public lecture series is designed to bring together people from across UEA and the local area to engage in debates on a diverse range of subjects relating to sanctuary seekers from maternity care to education.
27th April 2020
WEBINAR.Language sanctuaries: why language is integral to the arts of integration
Alison Phipps, UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts
The webinar was a joint event with the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts at Glasgow University.
In this webinar, Alison Phipps with Gameli Tordzro, Naa Densua Tordzro, Tawona Sitholé, Giovanna Fassetta and Sahar Alshobaki presented the work of the UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts.
The webinar included an examination of different policies that focus on integration through language acquisition; a critical assessment of the pitfalls in focusing on language acquisition as a technological or technocratic ‘fix’ to the tasks accompanying integration; a discussion of the ways in which a monolingual perspective dominates and shapes understandings of the language acquisition; and a consideration of shifting policy landscapes. In the presentation, Alison with colleagues drew on insights from their work in Gaza, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Aoteaora, Scotland and in refugee communities which take a sanctuary view of language.
To watch the full webinar, click here.

21st October 2019
Intercultural understanding on sexual health and relationships among recently resettled refugees and asylum seekers
1pm-2pm, Queens 1.03, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ
Presenters: Burcu Evren, Catherine Jere, Chris Millora, Esther Priyadharshini, Anna Robinson-Pant (UEA), Dee Robinson & Roshan Dykes (New Routes Integration) and Chris Simmons (Terrence Higgins Trust)
During this lecture, the presenters discussed the origins of and key findings from a participatory action research project that seeks to enhance intercultural understanding on sexual and gender relations among recently-resettled communities.
The project ran in collaboration with New Routes – a local charity mentoring and supporting refugees and asylum seekers; Terrence Higgins Trust, an organisation renowned for their work in sexual health and HIV prevention and educational researchers committed to participatory research based at the University of East Anglia. Members of the project team shared their reflections on the implications of the findings of the projects; and the process and the impact of working together collaboratively.
The project led to the production of a workshop guidance pack on this topic, which can be found here.
All University of Sanctuary lectures are free and open to all. For further information please email university.of.sanctuary@uea.ac.uk