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THE EUROTOOLBOX MULTILINGUAL COLLECTION OF BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

EUROLIS -a group of librarians working for the cultural centres of France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Poland and Spain in London - in partnership with CILIP, is promoting the study of European languages and culture across the UK. EUROTOOLBOX is a multilingual collection of the very best books for children recently published in the respective countries.

Librarians and teachers can borrow the EUROTOOLBOX collection free of charge, only having to cover the postage to send the collection onto the next school/library wishing to borrowing it.

Eurotoolbox consists of about 90 books, for children from primary age to teenagers.

Should you be interested in booking the collection or wish to have more detailed information about it, please email Maria Riccobono at library.icilondon@esteri.it

tel: 0207-3964425

Full Details: https://www.sla.org.uk/blg-the-eurotoolbox-multilingual-collection-of-books-for-children.php

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The UK School Library Association is committed to supporting everyone involved with school libraries, promoting high quality reading and learning opportunities for all.

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A range of free resources, advice and information and useful links for your Refugee Week event.

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"Picturing food", for example, has some lovely photos

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Oxfam Education offers a huge range of ideas, resources and support for developing global learning in the classroom and the whole school.

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The stories of generations of migrants who have shaped the British Isles

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Our Migration Story: The Making of Britain presents the often untold stories of the generations of migrants who came to and shaped the UK.

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"In the Nanaimo Campus Library, the Easy Reader collection is located on the third (main) floor, near the newspapers.  The books are organized by reading level."

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Library Guides @ VIU: English as a Second Language (ESL): Easy Readers

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Library Guides @ VIU: English as a Second Language (ESL): Easy Readers

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Beanstalk recruits, trains and supports volunteers to provide one-to-one literacy support in early years settings and primary schools to children who have fallen behind with their reading.

Beanstalk trained reading helpers transform the lives of the children they support, turning them into confident, passionate and able readers.

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beanstalk – volunteer as a trained reading helper in a primary school to provide one-to-one literacy support

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Beanstalk - volunteer as a trained reading helper in a primary school to provide one-to-one literacy support

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For various reasons, children from the poorest families are less likely to have books, less likely to read with their parents and less likely to read for pleasure. Not only are they more likely to fall behind in their studies as a result, they fall behind in their lives. For various reasons, children from the poorest families are less likely to have books, less likely to read with their parents and less likely to read for pleasure. Not only are they more likely to fall behind in their studies as a result, they fall behind in their lives.

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10 year old Aria has had a visit from Jocelyn every Thursday afternoon for the past three years. You can bring the magic of Doorstep Library visits to another child like Aria by making a monthly donation to us.

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Famous or not, refugees bring much more than their belongings with them to their new countries.
Here’s a list of public figures you might not know were refugees (or children of refugees).

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Advertising

Lord Maurice Saatchi and Charles Saatchi - Founders of Saatchi and Saatchi advertising agency. Their father was an Iraqi Jewish refugee.

Architecture

Eva Jircicna - Designed the Faith Zone in the Millennium Dome. Refugee from Czechoslovakia.

Daniel Marot - Architect, furniture designer and engraver who designed Hampton Court Palace. Huguenot refugee.

Peter Moro - Born in Germany and moved to London, becoming one of the UK's most prominent post-war architects. Designed the Royal Festival Hall and the Nottingham Playhouse.

Richard Rogers - Designer of the Centre Pompidou and the Millennium Dome. His mother was a refugee from Trieste.

Art

Frank Auerbach - German-born British painter, considered one of the world's greatest living artists.

Marc Chagall - Russian-French artist of Belarusian Jewish origin.

Jacob Epstein - British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. Son of Polish-Jewish refugees.

Peter Carl Fabergé - Russian jeweller, fled Russia via Finland, Germany to Switzerland.

Lucien Freud - Well-known British painter, German-Jewish refugee.

Mona Hatoum - Well-known British painter, Palestinian-Lebanese refugee.

Anish Kapoor - Won the 1991 Turner Prize. His parents were refugees who fled Iraq.

Camille Pissarro - Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter, Danish-French-Jewish refugee.

Sir John Tenniel - Cartoonist and book illustrator, descended from Huguenot refugees.

Alfred Wolmark - Painter, Polish-Jewish refugee.

Business

Sir Montague Burton - Founded Burton retail, refugee from Lithuania.

Sir John Houblon - First Governor of the Bank of England, grandson of refugees.

Manubhai Madhvani - Expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin.

Michael Marks - One of the founders of Marks and Spencer, Russian refugee.

Sieng van Trang - Founder of the educational website www.iLearn.to, Vietnamese refugee.

George Weidenfeld - Publisher, Jewish refugee who fled the Nazis.

Fashion and Design

Sir Alec Issigonis - Designer of the Mini car, refugee.

Tanya Sarne - Fashion designer and creator of the Ghost label, father was a Russian refugee.

Lewis de Teissier - Founder of Tessier's jewellers, and the grandson of refugee Jaqcues de Teissier.

Alek Wek - Supermodel, fled Sudan with her family.

Manufacturing

Lakshmibhai Pathak - Founder of Patak's, was a Kenyan refugee.

Rashmi Thakrar - Founder of Tilda Rice, Ugandan refugee.

Music and Dance

Bob Marley - Famous musician, fled Jamaica to Miami after being shot during political violence.

Carlos Acosta - Ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet, London, Cuban refugee.

Fritzi Massary - Austrian-Jewish operetta singer, refugee.

Norbert Brainin - Austrian-Jewish violinist, refugee.

Gloria Estefan - Cuban-American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman, father was a Cuban refugee.

Justine Frischmann - Lead singer of Elastica, father was a Hungarian refugee.

Wyclef Jean - Musician, former member of Fugees, Haitian refugee

K'Naan - Hip-hop artist, refugee from Somalia now living in Toronto, Canada.

M.I.A. - English-born singer/ hip-hop artist, part of a Tamil Sri Lankan refugee family.

Mika -Famous singer, fled from Lebanon.

Freddie Mercury - Lead singer of the band Queen, fled to England from Zanzibar in 1964.

Olivia Newton-John - Singer and actress, granddaughter of refugee Max Born.

Rita Ora - Singer, came to the UK as a refugee from Kosovo as baby.

Regina Spektor - Singer, songwriter and pianist. Originally fled Soviet Russia at the age of nine, now based in New York.

Shingai Shoniwa - Lead singer of the Noisettes. British-born daughter of Zimbabwean refugees.

Claude-Michel Schonberg - Composer whose works include Les Misérables and Miss Saigon, son of refugees.

Arnold Schoenberg - Austrian Composer, one of the most important composers in history, fled Europe due to increasing Nazi terror.

Gene Simmons - Member of Kiss, mother was a Holocaust survivor.

Sir Georg Solti - Conductor, refugee.

Robert Stolz - Austrian composer/conductor, refugee.

Oscar Straus - Austrian-Jewish composer, refugee.

Richard Tauber - Austrian-Jewish singer, composer and refugee.

Georg Ritter von Trapp - Father of the Trapp family, whose story inspired The Sound of Music after fleeing Nazi occupied Austria.

Politics

Madeleine Albright - Former U. S. Secretary of State, refugee From Prague.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Dutch politician, fled from Somalia.

Sitting Bull - Sioux chief, left America for Canada.

Lord Alf Dubs - Politician, refugee from Prague.

Margaret Hodge - Former British MP and Minister for Children, parents were refugees from Germany.

Michaëlle Jean - A refugee from Haiti- Governor-General of Canada from 2005 to 2010.

Henry Kissinger - American diplomat and political scientist, former US Secretary of State and National Security Advisor, fled from Germany to USA in 1938.

Vladimir Lenin - Soviet leader, refugee who fled to Switzerland.

Friedrick Lessner - Founder member of the Independent Labour Party.

Karl Marx - Political theorist, German refugee.

David Miliband - British MP, son of a Belgian Jewish refugee.

Ed Miliband - Former leader of the Labour Party, son of a Belgian Jewish refugee.

Leon Trotsky - Marxist theorist.

Psychology and Philosophy

Michael Balint - Hungarian Jew, psychoanalyst, fled from Nazis.

Sigmund Freud - Austrian Jew, founded psychoanalysis, fled from Nazis in Austria.

Anna Freud - Psychoanalyst, daughter of Sigmund, fled with him.

Ernest Gellner - Czech-Jewish philosopher, fled from the Nazis.

Stephan Korner - Czech-Jewish philosopher, fled from the Nazis.

Claude Lévi-Strauss - French-Jewish philosopher and anthropologist, French refugee.

Karl Popper - Austrian-Jewish philosopher, fled from Nazis to New Zealand.

Religion

Isaac Abravanel - Rabbi and politician, fled from Portugal to Spain.

Rabbi Leo Baeck - Reform Rabbi, holocaust survivor.

Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits - Chief rabbi of Great Britain, fled from the Nazis to Britain.

Jesus - His family fled from the holy land because of King Herod.

Current Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso - refugee, he fled Tibet when China invaded.

Rabbi Hugo Gryn - Reform rabbi and holocaust survivor.

Paul Kahle - Christian Hebraist, fled from the Nazis to Britain.

Mullah Krekar - Iraqi Kurdish mullah, lives in Norway.

Muhammad (PBUH) - Fled from Mecca to Medina in 577.

Science

Gustav Victor Rudolf Born - pharmacologist, German-Jewish refugee.

Max Born - Winner of Nobel prize for physics, German-Jewish refugee.

Edith Bulbring - Pharmacologist, German-Jewish refugee.

Carl Djerassi - The inventor of the first contraceptive pill, Austrian refugee.

John Dollond - Inventor of the achromatic lens, founder of Dollond and Aitchison, descended from Huguenot refugees.

Albert Einstein - One of the world's most famous scientists, German-Jewish refugee.

Alexander Grothendieck - Mathematician, German-Jewish refugee.

Robert Fano - Physicist, Italian-Jewish refugee.

Ugo Fano - Physicist, Italian-Jewish refugee.

Bernard Katz - Nobel Prize-winning biophysicist, German-Jewish refugee.

Sir Hans Krebs - Nobel Prize-winning scientist, German-Jewish refugee.

Sir John Krebs - Zoologist, son of Sir Hans Krebs.

Sir Harold Kroto - Nobel-winning chemist, son of German-Jewish refugees.

Liviu Librescu - Physicist, fled from Romania to Israel.

Lord (Claus) Moser - British professor of statistics and head of the Government Statistical Service, Austrian-Jewish refugee.

Sport

Alexander Alekhine - Chess World Champion, moved from Communist Russia to France.

Ossip Bernstein - Chess grandmaster, escaped from Communist Ukraine to France.

Efim Bogoljubow - Chess grandmaster, moved from the Soviet Union to Germany.

Fedor Bohatirchuk - Chess grandmaster, moved from Ukraine to Canada.

Jelena Dokic - Tennis player, Serbian refugee.

Mebrahtom Keflezighi - Olympic marathon silver medallist, Eritrean refugee to US

Lomana LuaLua - Football player who has played for Colchester United, Newcastle United and Portsmouth, was a refugee.

Mario Stanic - Former footballer with Chelsea. He used to play for Sarajevo F.C. who were targeted during the Bosnian War.

Christopher Wreh - Former Arsenal footballer, Liberian refugee.

TV and Film

Jackie Chan - Fled to the US from Hong Kong after being threatened with death by the Triads.

Zohra Daoud - Former Afghani actress and model, now settled in Malibu, California.

Marlene Dietrich - Actress and refugee from Nazi Germany.

Omid Djalili - Comedian and actor, he and his family are Iranian refugees.

Ben Elton - Comedian, grandson of a Czechoslovakian refugee.

Baron Lew Grade - Television mogul and uncle of Michael Grade, was a Russian refugee.

Fritz Lang - Film director, and a half-Jewish refugee.

Jerry Springer - Talk show host, parents were German refugees.

Rachel Weisz - Actress, both parents are Jewish refugees.

Billy Wilder - Film director and writer, Jewish refugee.

Writing and Publishing

Reinaldo Arenas - Cuban novelist, became a refugee in the USA after years of persecution for his sexuality and political ideas. His autobiography, Before Night Falls, was on the New York Times list of the ten best books of the year 1993 and was made into a film in 2000.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown - Journalist and author, Ugandan refugee.

Isabel Allende - Author of The House of Spirits, Chilean refugee who fled after receiving death threats following the overthrow of her father's cousin, Salvador Allende.

Hannah Arendt - one of the most influential political philosophers of the twentieth century. Born into a German-Jewish family, she was forced to leave Germany in 1933.

Elias Canetti - Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1981, Bulgarian refugee.

Joseph Conrad - Author of Heart of Darkness, refugee.

Anne Frank - German-born diarist, as a child she fled from Nazi Germany to the Netherlands.

Karen Gershon - A writer and poet, as a child she fled from Nazi Germany to Great Britain.

Michael Hamburger - A noted British Translator and Poet, as a child he fled from Nazi Germany to London.

Lord Paul Hamlyn CBE - The founder of Octopus Publishing Group, Jewish refugee from Germany.

Victor Hugo - Author of Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, due to his political beliefs, he was forced to flee France several times.

Ismail Kadare - A winner of the Booker prize who fled Albania in 1990 for political reasons.

Marina Lewycka - Author whose first book, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, sold over a million copies worldwide.

Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Novelist and film screenwriter, German-Jewish refugee.

Judith Kerr - Children's writer, German-Jewish refugee.

Thomas Mann - Winner of the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature, moved from Germany to Switzerland and from there to the US.

Rigoberta Menchú - An author and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, Guatemalan refugee.

Vladimir Nabokov - Russian author and lepidopterist, escaped to Europe from the Russian Civil War and then to the US from the advance of Nazi Germany.

Ursula Owen - Editor of Index on Censorship, was a German refugee as a baby.

John O'Donnell-Rosales - Cuban author, poet and journalist, escaped from Cuba with the remnants of his family after years of persecution for their political and religious views.

Felix Salten - Author of Bambi, Hungarian-born Jewish refugee from Nazis.

Loung Ung - A survivor of the Killing Fields of Cambodia, activist and author of the books First They Killed My Father and Lucky Child.
See our Literature section for a comprehensive list of refugee authors
Miscellaneous

Ossip Bernstein - Chess player, fled from Russia to France.

Alina Fernandez - Daughter of Fidel Castro, fled Cuba to Spain , now lives in the United States. Former model, now hosts a talkshow.

Otto Kahn-Freund - Lawyer, German Jew who fled Nazi Germany to the UK.

Christoph Meili - Whistleblower, fled from Switzerland to the US because an arrest warrant was issued against him.

Merhan Karimi Nasseri - An Iranian refugee who lived in the departure lounge of Terminal One in Charles de Gaulle Airport from 1988 to 2006. Subject of the Steven Spielburg film 'The Terminal'.

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Famous or not, refugees bring much more than their belongings with them to their new countries. Here's a list of public figures you might not know were refugees (or children of refugees). If you know of someone who should be included in this list, get in touch.

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Recommended fiction teacher notes for primary and secondary schools:

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If you have a suggestion for further resources for this page, please let us know

Useful Links

Recommended fiction teacher notes for primary and secondary schools by Amnesty International has notes for fiction books on human rights themes, including several relating to refugees

Books about refugees and asylum seekers for young people as recommended by BookTrust

List of Fiction Books

KS = Key Stage

KS1= 5-7 yrs old

KS2 = 7-11yrs old

KS 3 = 11-14yrs old

KS4= 14-16yrs old

New releases
Boy 87 - Ele Fountain
BOY 87 transports us into the world of one child refugee, fourteen-year-old Shif - bringing to life and giving humanity to the thousands of children forced to flee their homes every day. Seen through his eyes, BOY 87 is Shif's moving and challenging adventure in search of a better life. For readers aged 10+

A Picture Book of Anne Frank - David D. Adler

Amina's Blanket - Helen Dunmore

A series of colourful illustrated books, each telling a popular folk tale from a different country, matching the English translation against the tale told in its original language. Suitable for early years and primary schools.Each book carries details of the country where the folk tale originated

Boy Overboard (Football and Afghan refugees moving to Australia) - Morris Gleitzma

Dia's Story Cloth (Picture Book - China to Thailand) - Dia Cha

Kosovan Journeys (Big Book) - Howard Davies & Jill Rutter

My Name was Hussein - Hristo Kyuchukov

Illustrated story sharing the life of a young Roma boy in Bulgaria, who is forced to give up his identity and his name as a result of government oppression. Suitable for ages 7 - 11.

Petar's Song (Picture Book) - Pratima Mitchell

Beautifully illustrated story of family separation caused by war. Suitable for ages 7 - 11.

Playing War - Kathy Beckwith

Illustrated story about understanding what war can be like for families, and that war is not a game. It's also a sensitive story about the power of friendship and how children can learn from one another. Suitable for ages 7 - 11.

Ten Thousand Bowls of Soup - Ross Frowen

A poetic picture book encouraging children to engage with adults on the vitally important migrant issue that is beginning to define the times in which we live.

The Colour of Home - Mary Hoffman

The story of Hassan's first day at an English school, after his family flee the war in Somalia. It describes his sadness, and how the school helps him to feel welcome and settled. A beautiful picture book, suitable for ages 5 - 11.

The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan

The Librarian of Basra - Jeanette Winter

The true story about a librarian's struggle to save her community's priceless collection of books during the war in Iraq. Beautifully illustrated and inspiring. suitable for ages 5 - 11

The Silver Path - Christine Harris, Helen Ong

The Whispering Cloth (Picture Book -Thailand) - Pegi Deitz Shea

Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic

Real diary of a young girl trapped in Sarajevo when war broke out in 1992. For nearly 2 years she recorded how war touched her daily life and robbed her of her childhood. Very useful for Years 5 - 9, particularly in comparison with Anne Franks' Diary.

And The Stars Were Gold - Gaye Hiςyilmaz

The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank

Hitler's Daughter - Jackie French

Home Is A Place Called Nowhere - Leon Rosselson

'Amina has run away from the only home she has ever known. Alone and frightened, she is determined to find her real mother.' The story of a young refugee'sattempt to find her real story.

Lost For Words (A newcomer from Bangladesh) - Elizabeth Lu

No Guns for Asmir - Christobel Mattingley

Number the Stars - Lois Lowry

On the Run (civil war) - Elizabeth Laird

One Day We Had to Run - Sybella Wilkes

Out of the Flames (Africa & Ireland) - Vincent McDonnell

Parvana's Journey (sequel to The Breadwinner) - Deborah Ellis

Pictures from the Fire (Roma) - Gaye Hiςyilmaz
Refugee Boy - Benjamin Zephaniah
The story of Alem, a 14 year old refugee who has come to live in England. His mother is Eritrean and his father Ethiopian, and with both countries at war, he is welcome in neither place. A thought provoking book, useful for discussion in year 6, and for teacher background information.

Samik and Yonatan (Israel/Palestine) - Daniella Cakmi

Smiling for Strangers (escaping from the former Yugoslavia) - Gaye Hiçyilmaz

The Breadwinner (A girl's life under Taliban rule) - Deborah Ellis

The Cinnamon Tree (Landmine victim) - Aubrey Flegg

The Frozen Waterfall (From Turkey to Switzerland) - Gaye Hiςyilma

The Kites Are Flying - Michael Morpurgo

The Other Side of Truth - Beverly Naidoo

A fast and vivid account of a family's flight from threat and murder seen through the eyes of 12 year old Sade and her 10 year old brother Femi. It traces their frightening experiences in both Nigeria and England.

The Silver Sword - Ian Serraillier

The Unforgotten Coat - Frank Cottrell Boyce

Too Black Too Strong - Benjamin Zephaniah

Waiting for Anya - Michael Morpurgo

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit - Judith Kerr
Year Of No Rain (Sudan) - Alice Mead
Adem's Cross - Alice Mead

AK - Peter Dickinson
Deeply sympathetic story of a boy soldier in a fictional African country. Raises many questions about war and rebellion. Suitable for ages 11 and above.

Alpha - Bessora, Illustrated by Barroux

Dark Parties - Sara Grant

Dreamland - Lily Hyde

Girl in Red (Roma) - Gaye Hiςyilmaz A booklet of memories collected from asylum seeker and refugee families in the local area. It has some ideas for classroom use and has teacher perspectives with in it.

Hana' s Suitcase - Karen A biography of a Czech girl who died in the Holocaust, told in alternating chapters with an account of how the curator of a Japanese holocaust Centre learned about her life, after Hana's suitcase was sent to her. Moving and beautifully told.

Levine Little Soldier - Bernard Ashley

My Forbidden Face (Growing Up Under the Taliban) - Latifa

Only a Matter of Time (Albanian & Serb teenagers become friends) - Stewart Ross

Playing With Fire (Mozambique) - Henning Mankell

Run (On the run from immigration & the past) - Farrukh Dhondy

Secrets in the Fire (Mozambique) - Henning Mankell

Shadow - Micheal Murpurgo

The Bone Sparrow - Zana Fraillon
The Road From Rome (Turkey/Armenia early 20th century) - David Kherdian Voices Of Silence - Bel Mooney Zoya's Story - Zoya with John Follain & Rita Cristofari

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If you have a suggestion for further resources for this page, please let us know Useful Links Recommended fiction teacher notes for primary and secondary schools by Amnesty International has notes for fiction books on human rights themes, including several relating to refugees Books about refugees and asylum seekers for young people as recommended by BookTrust 9 Books ...

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To get started, take a look at this Storify post of what schools did for Refugee Week.

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©2015 Refugee Week & Counterpoints Arts Company No 8062988

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Separate the facts from the fibs:

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Facts & figures

Separate fact from fiction with these useful guides about asylum seekers and refugees in the UK:
Refugee Facts and Figures (British Red Cross) The Facts: Asylum in the UK (UNHCR) Glossary of Refugee-Related Terms (Migrant Help)
History and contributions of refugees in the UK

Did you know that The Voice star Rita Ora was a refugee? Or that the family of artist Lucien Freud moved to London in the 1930s to avoid persecution by the Nazis? The Traces Project timeline tells the untold stories of musicians, writers, film-makers, architects and other artists who have found sanctuary in the UK:
www.tracesproject.org
Refugees have made a massive cultural, social and economic contribution to life in the UK in the last 450 years. Many famous household names are evidence of the presence of refugees: Camille Pisarro, Sigmund Freud, Frank Auerback and Arthur Koestler to name but a few. This pack contains a timeline of refugees in the UK and their contributions:
History and Contribution of Refugees to the UK (Refugee Week information pack)

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Separate the facts from the fibs Facts & figures Separate fact from fiction with these useful guides about asylum seekers and refugees in the UK: Refugee Facts and Figures (British Red Cross) The Facts: Asylum in the UK (UNHCR) Glossary of Refugee-Related Terms (Migrant Help) History and contributions of refugees in the UK Did you ...

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Welcoming Refugees to the UK (and to Libraries)

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Welcoming Refugees to the UK (and to Libraries)

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Libraries have a major role to play in welcoming new arrivals to the UK.

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This post is part of a series of blogs we are publishing about the role of libraries in times of crisis. Other blogs in the series include The role of libraries in times of crisis and Anti-Bullying Week - what can libraries do?
As part of its response to the international refugee situation, the UK Government has recently announced that 20,000 refugees will be arriving in the country over the next five years.

Libraries have a major role to play in welcoming new arrivals to the UK

Most obviously, public libraries are an important source of information and are key to signposting refugees to other local services. Many are open outside 'office hours' and are therefore somewhere that can be welcoming to people searching for help - often basic information is needed, such as how to find somewhere to stay, how to access health provision, and so on. School libraries also play a major role in supporting refugee children as they find their way around their new country.

However, in addition, all kinds of libraries have a role to play in providing access to information about refugees and why they have fled their home countries, helping to inform their users about the realities and the myths.

The Society of Chief Librarians (SCL) and the Association of Senior Children's and Education Librarians (ASCEL) have just issued a welcome Statement, outlining in broad terms what all public libraries can offer, and it's worth reiterating this offer here:

Free access to computers and wifi

Free access to materials to learn English, and access to physical and online resources in other languages (Including Welsh in Wales)

Free activities and reading resources for children and families

Trained workforce who can help with access to information and resources

Community space to use for learning and networking

Signposting to local education, health and wellbeing services

Signposting to other Council services

Signposting to community organisations and resources

Tours of the library and all services offered

The Statement also includes some brief library case-studies. The Statement echoes those being issued elsewhere, for example by EBLIDA (the European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations).

The Network has also started to outline some practical examples of what libraries can offer - these include:

Re-thinking how we work, eg: Re-create our spaces as welcoming, inclusive places, Develop consultation and outreach, Review procedures to ensure that they are welcoming and do not place barriers in the way of refugees engaging with our services (eg joining procedures, bookings, access), Build sustainable work (as opposed to short-term projects)

Providing information

Events and activities

Promoting resources

Creating social impact

Marketing and promotion.

Collecting practical examples of the work that libraries are undertaking

We are collecting more practical examples of the work that libraries (and museums, archives and cultural & heritage organisations) are undertaking - please let me have them ( john@nadder.org.uk), and, with your permission, I'll add them to the resources on The Network website.

This builds on the approaches developed by the Welcome To Your Library project (WTYL) which ran from 2003-2007. WTYL won the CILIP Libraries Change Lives Award in 2007.

WTYL was a national project connecting public libraries with refugees and asylum-seekers, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, and co-ordinated through the then London Libraries Development Agency. It aimed to "connect public libraries and refugee communities in order to nurturelearning, well-being, and a sense of belongingfor all. WTYL builds on library services'engagement with social justice matters andaddresses key issues such as citizenshipand cohesion."

WTYL developed a range of activities, including:

Understanding and mapping local needs - identifying the size, location and changing make-up of local communities to map specific and emerging needs and planning accordingly

Simplifying procedures - waiving charges and making it easier to join the library

Working with community organisations

Developing a multi-agency approach to service planning and delivery

Outreach work

Awareness training and tailored support

User involvement in both service design and delivery

Providing ESOL, community language, reading and citizenship support.

Developing resources to share lessons and good practice and highlighting relevant policy and opportunities - in particular using websites, e-digests,evaluation reports and events.

Some key resources from the WTYL project, which are still relevant today, include:

The final evaluation of the PHF Reading and Libraries Challenge Fund, Leading questions, is also still available, and draws out themes from a range of different kinds of work.

We also produced a "Good Practice Guide" which, now dated, is no longer available. However, it highlighted four critical areas of work - which are still vital today. These are:

Understand the policy context in which public libraries are operating

Go beyond statistics in understanding local areas and their make-up

Use this intelligence to develop strong partnerships to plan and deliver services

Actively involvelocal communities in planning and shaping the delivery of services.

Finally, it also stressed the need to make an impact!

"Three rules for winning support:

1. Never assume that others understand what the library does or what it takes to do it. Take every opportunity to educate them.

2. Ask! Research shows that even people who don't use the library appreciate its role and wish to support it.

3. Don't do this alone. Your message is most powerful when others speak up for you."

About refugees

Finally, a note about refugees and other new arrivals to the UK:

The Government emphasis is primarily on providing a welcome to refugees from the civil war in Syria. However, as the SCL Statement says, the welcome needs to be extended to the existing 150,000 refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless people who are currently in the country.

According to the Refugee Council:

"A refugee is a person who 'owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country...' (Definition quoted from the 1951 Refugee Convention)

An asylum-seeker is:

"A person who has left their country of origin and formally applied for asylum in another country but whose application has not yet been concluded."

A refused asylum seeker is:

"A person whose asylum application has been unsuccessful and who has no other claim for protection awaiting a decision. Some refused asylum seekers voluntarily return home, others are forcibly returned and for some it is not safe or practical for them to return until conditions in their country change."

An economic migrant is:

"Someone who has moved to another country to work. Refugees are not economic migrants."

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees:

"'The international legal definition of a stateless person is set out in Article 1 of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, which defines a stateless person as 'a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law'. This means that a stateless person is someone who does not have a nationality of any country. Some people are born stateless, while others become stateless over the course of their lives.")

It's also important to remember that we have a strong role in supporting other new arrivals to the UK. These include:

European Union migrants (citizens of the majority of countries in EU, EEA and Switzerland permitted to live and work in UK)

Other skilled workers (eg from India)

Family members coming to the UK to be reunited with their family

Overseas students

Returning British nationals.

Do you have examples of work being done to support refugees and other new arrivals to the UK?

Let us know in the comments below, or email john@nadder.org.uk.
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Welcoming Refugees to the UK (and to Libraries)

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This post is part of a series of blogs we are publishing about the role of libraries in times of crisis. Other blogs in the series include The role of libraries in times of crisis and Anti-Bullying Week - what can libraries do?

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RESPONDING! PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND REFUGEES 

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RESPONDING! PUBLIC LIBRARIES AND REFUGEES 

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Libraries throughout the world have a strong history of responding to natural disasters and humanitarian crises providing a welcoming environment, a place of refuge for body and soul, and a source of information.

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In the last few years, libraries all over the world have made a concerted effort to serve refugee and asylum seekers. In this paper, we hope to make a case for greater international collaboration within the library community when it comes to serving refugees.

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Welcoming the Refugee – Best Practices to Help the Displaced

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Welcoming the Refugee – Best Practices to Help the Displaced

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The Department of Homeland Security defines a refugee as “a person outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return… because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

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Refugees seek a safe and welcoming space to call home. Public libraries can offer support to help with transition to a new country. Libraries Serve Refugees and Project Welcome are two online spaces where librarians to share information and best practices to serve refugees, immigrants and displaced persons.

The Department of Homeland Security defines a refugee as "a person outside his or her country of nationality who is unable or unwilling to return... because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." The person is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, violence or natural disaster. Refugees differ from immigrants. Immigrants are defined as people who choose to live permanently in a foreign country. ¹

World refugee numbers are at the highest levels ever seen, exceeding even the time of World War II. According to Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 24,559 refugees resettled into the United States last year. Since 1975, the U.S. has welcomed more than three million refugees from all over the world, who have settled in all 50 states. ²

Serving the needs of this population requires fine-tuning of public library services. Refugees are often learning a new language as well as new customs. According to UNHCR, over half of school-age refugees did not go to school in 2016. Public libraries can serve as a welcoming entry point and are positioned to provide specialized educational opportunities.

Libraries Serve Refugees brings together resources, stories and best practices from libraries across the country. You can find toolkits on a various subjects including culturally responsive approaches. It also includes links to government resources on refugee resettlement statistics and information on processes. Topics include advocacy, employment, government agencies, health, legal aid, learning English and youth and family. The site is sponsored by Urban Libraries Unite, a professional group that aims to build community-centered libraries. Librarians who wish to contribute to this new resource can submit their ideas via .

Another resource for librarians serving refugees is Project Welcome, an IMLS-funded project of the Mortenson Center for International Library Program and the American Library Association. The site includes both national and international library best practices. The site includes an action guide to help librarians learn, collaborate, connect and support this audience.

While serving refugees in public libraries is not new, the demand for this assistance continues to grow. By learning from successes around the country, local librarians can build responses based on the unique needs of the people in their communities.
Resources
1 "Refugees and Asylees." Department of Homeland Security. April 30, 2018. Accessed August 12, 2018. https://www.dhs.gov/immigration-statistics/refugees-asylees.

2 "How to Help Refugees - Aid, Relief and Donations | USA for UNHCR." Refugee Crisis in Yemen: Aid, Statistics and News | USA for UNHCR. Accessed August 12, 2018. https://www.unrefugees.org/.

Tags: helping refugees at the library, libraries serve refugees

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Welcoming the Refugee - Best Practices to Help the Displaced

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Refugees seek a safe and welcoming space to call home. Public libraries can offer support to help with transition to a new country. Libraries Serve Refugees and Project Welcome are two online spaces where librarians to share information and best practices to serve refugees, immigrants and displaced persons.

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"We bring acclaimed children’s authors into schools, LEA’s and other educational organisations. We also arrange for storytellers, television and sports personalities as well as practising artists, who run creative workshops, to visit schools with a view to providing positive role models for children."

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Jubilee Books - School Book Suppliers | Suppliers of Educational Books

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Jubilee Books are school book suppliers and suppliers of educational books for children of all ages. Contact us on 0208 293 6060

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A list of books focusing on identity, belonging, conflict, migrant and refugee experiences.

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A list of books focusing on identity, belonging, conflict, migrant and refugee experiences.

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Refugees and migration

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Refugees & migration teaching resources | British Red Cross

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Free refugee and migration teaching resources to help students learn about the challenges faced by refugees and migrants.

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This was an exhibtion set up by Oxfam which has now finished but on Youtube, it's possible to find short video clips about items that have been given to refugees and how they have affected the giver or receiver. One example below,