The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is running a series of training workshops during March, April and May for voluntary sector organisations working on race/refugee or migrant issues.
The free half-day practical workshops on fundraising, the media, immigration and racial violence will allow for the exchange of information and provide practical suggestions for effective campaigning. The workshops will be held at the IRR’s offices at 2 Leeke Street, Kings Cross Road, London WC1X 9HS. Details of the workshops are listed below and you can now register for places for the first two workshops.
Basics of fundraising in the race/refugee sector – Friday 12 March, 1.30-4.30pm
A half-day workshop for voluntary sector groups in the process of getting established or having difficulty raising funds for new initiatives. The workshop will discuss the funding climate, teach the basic preparation needed for effective fundraising, possible sources of funding, how to write an application and what to do once you obtain funding. Speaker: Jenny Bourne – IRR Company Secretary and fundraiser. To apply for a place please email Harmit Athwal (events@irr.org.uk) with a phone number so that we can see if you are suitable for this workshop. Places are limited.
Dealing with the media – Friday 26 March, 1.30-4.30pm
A half-day workshop to enable those who are part of or are working with BME groups or newly arrived asylum seeking, refugee or migrant communities:
- To learn how media organisations work and how to challenge them.
- To exchange views with other groups with similar experiences.
- To be informed of the advantages and disadvantages, the risks and dangers involved in working with different media organisations.
- To learn how to make the most effective use of the media.
- To work together on media strategies and to learn from each other.
- Speaker: Arun Kundnani (IRR).
To apply for a place on this workshop please email: Harmit Athwal: events@irr.org.uk
Supporting asylum seekers – Friday 16 April, 1.30-4.30pm
Asylum seekers, particularly those who remain in the UK following refusal of their claim, and community groups seeking to support them, face multiple challenges – including denial of subsistence support, legal and practical obstacles in accessing medical treatment, and lack of legal help in making a claim and/ or presenting an appeal. This workshop is designed to provide relevant information and strategies to enable community groups to provide effective support.
- Speakers include: Fizza Qureshi (Project London at Doctors of the World) on diseases of poverty and obtaining access to health care and Frances Webber (Garden Court chambers/IRR) on effective help in asylum claims or appeals without lawyers.
Combating racial violence – Friday 30 April, 1.30-4.30pm
A half-day workshop to enable those who are part of or are working with newly arrived asylum/refugee/migrant communities:
- To be informed about the extent and parameters of the problem of racial violence.
- To hear from a community-based monitoring group about the variety of strategies that can be used to tackle the problem.
- To find out from a lawyer in the field about legal strategies against racial violence.
- To learn about ‘best practice’ being developed by other groups.
- Speakers: Cilius Victor (Newham Monitoring Project), Rebecca Wood (IRR) and Harmit Athwal (IRR).
Combating immigration detention and deportation – Friday 14 May, 1.30-4.30pm
As deportation and administrative removal affect more and more people – refused asylum seekers, minor offenders and undocumented migrants – the use of immigration detention continues to increase, and building programmes indicate the policy of large-scale detention is not going to stop. Children, victims of rape and torture, and other vulnerable people should not be detained but frequently are. This workshop is designed to provide the information and strategies to enable community groups to deal with immigration detention and to fight a deportation decision.
- Speakers include: Medical Justice on who is in detention and why they shouldn’t be; Frances Webber (Garden Court Chambers/IRR) on bringing the community into the courtroom in bail and deportation hearings.