We are excited to invite you to our upcoming event, which is taking place during Refugee Week. As the UK’s first ‘City of Sanctuary,’ Sheffield has been leading the way in creating a safe and welcoming city for people seeking sanctuary. Now, we invite you to join us for an Open Day event on the 20th of June 2023, as part of the Migration Matters Festival, to discover more about our work and how you can make a difference.

The event will take place at The Sanctuary, our welcoming community space based in the centre of Sheffield. ‘A place of calm in the middle of a storm’. Over 90 people per day visit the Sanctuary during its opening hours to attend English classes, take part in creative and social activities, use the computers, or simply relax with a cup of tea.

For those of you who have never visited The Sanctuary, we hope the Open Day will provide you with the chance to see The Sanctuary in action, connect with our community, and ask questions to learn more about our work. We are also eager to reunite with our longstanding supporters, and we encourage you to visit us again and catch up on our progress. The event will run during The Sanctuary’s regular opening hours, from 10 am to 4 pm.

As we go about our work we speak of justice and joy. Justice for all people seeking sanctuary and maintaining joy in the face of injustice, itself a radical act. Therefore, Refugee Week is an important opportunity to both raise awareness of issues facing people seeking sanctuary and to share joy and celebrate with our community. We hope the open day will provide a platform to showcase the varied, complex, and inspiring work that City of Sanctuary Sheffield does.

The theme of Refugee Week 2023 is compassion. We invite you to join us on the 20th of June 2023 and turn your compassion for people seeking sanctuary into action. Your involvement and support are invaluable in creating a more inclusive society where everyone feels welcomed and safe.

For more information about the Migration Matters Open Day event, please visit: www.migrationmattersfestival.co.uk/programme/coss-open-day.

Additionally, Migration Matters Festival features a multitude of incredible events, so we encourage you to explore their programme and join in their celebrations. If you aren’t based in Sheffield, there are events taking place across the country as part of Refugee Week: https://refugeeweek.org.uk/events/list/

Warm Regards,

Annie

Communications and Fundraising Officer- City of Sanctuary Sheffield