Scotland’s new strategy to support refugees and people seeking asylum with settling into their community will be celebrated at the University of Glasgow today.
The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy: Delivery Plan 2024-2026 seeks to ensure people understand their rights, responsibilities and entitlements, and to help New Scots and communities to integrate.
Developed by the Scottish Government, Scottish Refugee Council and COSLA, the plan includes commitments to work with employers to help them recruit refugees, to identify ways to improve English language provision and to ensure services are co-ordinated effectively.
To mark the celebrations today, there will be musical and creative performances to reflect on the culture that asylum seekers and refugees bring to Scottish society. There will also be speakers and panel discussions, with Scotland’s Minister for Equalities attending alongside senior politicians, policy makers and those with lived experience of forced migration.
Equalities Minister Kaukab Stewart said: “Scotland has a proud history of welcoming those fleeing war and persecution, and we are dedicated to helping them integrate into communities from the day they arrive.
“It is vital that we support refugees and people seeking asylum to understand their rights and access employment and services to help them to rebuild their lives in Scotland.
“This plan, which was informed by engagement with those with experience of seeking refuge and settling in Scotland, as well as those with expertise in supporting them, lays out the steps we will take to support refugees and people seeking asylum to integrate across different parts of society. It also recognises the role communities and employers can actively play in supporting people.”
The celebration takes place as the University of Glasgow announces plans to support more refugees and asylum seekers study in Scotland, by increasing the number of its Sanctuary Scholarships from 20 to 30 places, from the beginning of the 2025/26 academic year.
The scheme is available to applicants seeking sanctuary in the UK for humanitarian reasons. In addition, this year the University will also introduce a scholarship in memory of former student, Dima Alhaj, who was killed in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
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Rachel Sandison, the University of Glasgow’s Sanctuary Champion and Deputy Vice Chancellor for External Engagement, said: “At the University of Glasgow, we are committed to ensuring that we are an inclusive and welcoming campus where every member of our community feels supported to fulfil their potential.
“As a University of Sanctuary, we recognise the need to work alongside other institutions, cross-sector organisations and national governments to maximise our efforts, coordinate collective activity and advocate for those who have been forcibly displaced from their homes.
“The New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy perfectly supports our ambitions of promoting fairness and equity of opportunity for all, and we are truly honoured to be able to launch this ground-breaking strategy on our Gilmorehill Campus.”
UNESCO Chair for Refugee Integration through Education, Languages, Arts at the University of Glasgow and the New Scots Core Group Chair, Professor Alison Phipps, added: “Now more than ever in this divisive and troubling time, it is incredibly important that we come together to show a warm welcome to the people who are seeking asylum in Scotland.
“Refugee rights are human rights, and those seeking safety are trying to escape unimaginable horrors that have destroyed their way of life.
“I’m proud to have been a part of delivering this refugee integration strategy, which represents deeply researched; evidence-based work with people seeking asylum, and offers an exciting commitment to action across Scotland and to embedding the rights of all who seek refuge.”
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