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City of Sanctuary
City of Sanctuary is a movement to build a culture of hospitality for refugees and asylum-seekers. In 2007, with the support of Sheffield City Council, Sheffield has become the UK’s first ‘City of Sanctuary’ for asylum-seekers and refugees - a city that takes pride in the welcome it offers to people in need of safety.
Many people are now familiar with the idea of a 'Fairtrade City', in which a wide range of community groups and organisations make a commitment to using and selling fairtrade goods. In a similar way a 'City of Sanctuary' is a place where a broad range of local organisations, community groups and faith communities, as well as local government, are publicly committed to welcoming and including asylum-seekers in their activities.
We recognise that asylum policy and decision-making must be decided at a national level, and that the power of local communities to defend individuals will often be limited. But within this legal framework there is the opportunity for local communities both to make the existing asylum system more humane for the asylum-seekers who live amongst us, and to counter some of the hostile public attitudes that drive government policy.
City of Sanctuary is supported by over 70 local organisations, including Community Forums, student groups, charities and all of Sheffield’s major faiths. Together we are working to bring together asylum-seekers and local people and to celebrate the contribution of asylum-seekers and refugees to the life of our city.
We want to encourage more local organisations to make a public commitment to welcoming and including asylum-seekers and refugees in their activities. Please contact us if you would like to get involved.
