July 2001, issue 6

Latest Forum Developments
At last the Forum has moved to Acton Town Hall. On 26th June the Forum began to occupy desk space at the old computer room which will eventually be shared between several voluntary and community groups. Along with the move came a new telephone number of 0208-992-4612. By coincidence this is very similar to the previous one. At the present time we are sorting out access and other arrangements and it is hoped that we will soon be as fully functioning as previously. Our thanks go to the Centre for Armenian Information and Advice which hosted us for so long and to London Borough of Ealing for making the new space available.

Ealing Refugee Forum has long sought charitable status but has never been able to apply for it due to time constraints. Now however we are in the process of applying for incorporation as a company. Through a consultancy funded by the Alan and Babette Sainsbury Trust and delivered by the Evelyn Oldfield Unit Mr. Roger Bronkhurst of Interchange Legal Services has drawn up a Memorandum and Articles which is currently being ratified by the membership. Incorporation will be a useful way of attracting funds from statutory agencies and will enable the Forum to develop as a conduit for its members to attract funds in partnership as has recently been suggested.

On 4th July we had the pleasure of welcoming two new full members into the organisation. One is the well-established Iraqi Community Association which is based in Hammersmith but also very active in Ealing where it runs a youth club. The Iraqi Community is well known to our members through its involvement with many refugee bodies at national and regional level including Refugee Arrivals Project and Refugee Working Party. We are also delighted to welcome into membership the Hillingdon Chinese Community Organisation which is a much smaller organisation struggling to establish itself. At present it survives without significant funding on the goodwill of individuals as do most community organisations in their early stages. It has nevertheless sought to involve itself in refugee fora as a means of developing its services which include a community supplementary school. Those interested in these organisations should contact the Co-ordinator of the Iraqi Community Association Mr. Emad Salman on 8741-5491 and the Co-ordinator of the Hillingdon Chinese Community Organisation Ms. Cindy Tsang on 01895-638618.

Recent Events
This year as in previous years a Refugee Week event was held in the name of Ealing Refugee Forum. This year the event took place in Ealing Town Hall on 28th June from 3 to 6 p.m. Among the participating groups were representatives from the Society of Afghan Residents in the U.K., Centre for Armenian Information and Advice, Action Group for Ethiopians in Ealing, Horn of Africa Advice Centre, Kurdish Association, Lady’s Creative Centre, Red Sea Health and Community Care Association, Refugee Aid and Development and Tamil Refugee Action Group. Hounslow Refugee Forum also took a stall at the event as did various outside agencies dealing with refugees including the Somali Youth Development Project which an Associate Member of our Forum and Ealing Race Equality Council. Several groups provided food as well as a stall and also contributed to the cultural programme of music, singing, dancing and martial arts which filled the last hour of proceedings. We are grateful to the Worshipful Mayor of Ealing Cllr. Ranjit Dheer for opening the event with a thoughtful speech about the problems faced by refugee communities in Ealing and would also like to thank RENEWAL and the Refugee Council for funding the event and the London Borough of Ealing for providing the hall.

Refugee Week 2002 will be from 17th to 23rd June. This gives Ealing Refugee Forum much more time to plan and deliver an event than we had this year.

On the evening of Wednesday 20th June the Evelyn Oldfield Unit hosted another event at Ealing Town Hall for refugee community organisations in West London. The event was designed to introduce the Sainsbury West London Project under which a number of consultancies are taking place. The aim of the project is to empower refugee community groups to become strategic players in their environment able to influence the world around them. Over thirty community groups from across West London attended the event and heard a presentation from Mr. Tzeggai Yohannes on the work of the Unit in addition to a speech from Mr. Stephen James about the work of RENEWAL and one from Mr. Misak Ohanian about the work of West London Refugee Standing Committee. We would like to thank the Evelyn Oldfield Unit for organising this event which informed many groups of a number of joint working possibilities open to them and enabled many to air their aspirations before an audience of their peers.

Other Refugee Forum
Hounslow Refugee Forum is presently constructing a funding bid to the RENEWAL SRB6 programme which has contributed significantly to refugee communities in West London. As the Hounslow forum is still working towards its first AGM it is seeking consultancy support to help organise this event and establish itself as a cohesive body which can engage with other organisations from a position of strength. It is also working towards holding a one day training event on fundraising for small refugee community organisations delivered by Ms. Angela Richardson who continues to offer consultancy support to the Forum under the aforementioned Sainsbury Project funding. Very little funding comes the way of Hounslow based refugee groups at present but precisely because of this there are great possibilities for expansion if organisations know how to obtain the funds. Anyone wishing to take part in Hounslow Refugee Forum should contact Mr. Hassan Issa on 8577-3226 or 07951-618309 (mobile).

Harrow Refugee Forum held its Annual General Meeting on 29th June. The meeting was chaired by Cllr. Cyril Harrison who is a former Mayor of Harrow on behalf of the present Mayor. A new Management Committee has been elected comprising representatives from a number of community organisations active in Harrow including the Angolan Civic Community Association, the Kenyan Society of London, East African Welfare and Development Concern, the Somali Disabled Association, Harrow and Brent African Senior Citizens and the Afghan Association of London. Harrow Refugee Forum has had trouble establishing itself but now has the basis to consolidate and develop. All those interested in Harrow Refugee Forum should contact the Chair Mr. Alex da Costa on 8427-5701.

Hillingdon Refugee Forum is also beginning to establish itself through a recently constituted steering group. Very few refugee community organisations are actually based in Hillingdon due to a lack of local authority support in the past and consequently refugees in Hillingdon are members of organisations based elsewhere which inevitably form the basis of the new Forum. There is however an obvious need for a Hillingdon based forum to correct this by establishing an organised and borough-specific refugee presence. Those wishing to take part should contact its Acting Chair Mr. Ahmed Hashi Abdi on 8574-1687.

West London Refugee Standing Committee (‘Wrestlers’) continues to meet regularly and to co-ordinate the development of the West London refugee fora which comprise it. WLRSC has now drawn up a budget to enable it to apply for funds to help run the organisation and continues to drive the agenda of the RENEWAL SRB6 partnership to ensure that its outcomes match the needs and aspirations of the refugees intended to benefit. In particular it is seeking to develop a more appropriate grant structure than the Beacon Project concept which is inimical to most refugee groups and their methods of working. All those interested in the work of WLRSC should contact Mr. Rumwold Leigh on 8992-4612.

New Initiatives
The London Borough of Ealing is in the early stages of establishing a Local Strategic Partnership for the borough in response to the latest central Government initiative. This will include all the significant stakeholders in the borough including the business community and statutory agencies as well as the voluntary and community sector. At the present time a shadow partnership is establishing the exact structure and terms of reference of the full body which will probably comprise a wide partnership body and a smaller executive drawn from it. As a result of initial meetings draft structures are being developed which will be distributed for further consultation. The principle behind the initiative is that the decisions and actions affecting people’s lives should be taken by a wider body of people than at present and Ealing Refugee Forum is pressing for a structure which empowers community groups to play a full part. Part of the statutory requirement A Community Fund will also be made available to help groups participate as part of the statutory requirement. For further details of this development which will affect the lives of all in Ealing contact Mr. Ian Nichol at London Borough of Ealing on 8280-1397.

Another London Borough of Ealing initiative is the Special Needs Housing and Inclusive Forum which will hold its first meeting on 14th August 2001. This is a response to the Supporting People document which is another central Government initiative aimed at providing resources for housing providers to support people with special needs. The existing Special Needs Housing Forum which has previously examined these questions is now being merged with this new body which as with the Local Strategic Partnership is a statutory requirement. Refugees are a group with special needs and it is very important that refugee groups play a full part in this Forum to ensure that the appropriate services are developed and that refugees can access them. Those interested in attending this first meeting should inform the Ealing Refugee Forum Co-ordinator on 8992-4612 so that numbers can be ascertained.

Training Opportunities
At the present time there is an increasing need for community organisations to conduct research into the needs of their communities. This information is much sought after by mapping and baseline studies and by funders who always ask how communities know there is a need for the service they are requesting funds for. An organisation which may be able to help groups undertake this research is the Association for Research in the Voluntary and Community Sector (ARVAC) which is grant aided to provide free research support for smaller organisations. It employs a London community outreach worker who is able to meet groups and train and support them to undertake this important work and equip them to do so unaided in future. Those interested should obtain an application pack by telephoning Ms. Urmi Merchant on 7704-2315.

As well as accessing training for themselves refugee groups have a vested interest in training the staff of outside agencies on the issues relevant to their communities. The Metropolitan Police is currently seeking volunteers to help train police officers in working with refugee and ethnic minority communities as a response to the recommendations of the Stephen Lawrence report. A number of dates have been set aside in August and September for two hour interface sessions at which police officers can learn about refugee communities and vice versa. These represent a fine opportunity to educate an important public body in the realities of life for our communities and framing its response to their difficulties. It is fair to say that the Metropolitan Police is committed to listening to what refugees have to say. Volunteers for this work would be paid ?15 per session with lunch provided and would also have further opportunities to take this process forward through a working group established by Ealing Community and Police Consultative Group. Those interested should contact Sergeant John Watson at Hanwell Police Station on 8246-9606.

Job Opportunities
Hammersmith & Fulham Refugee Forum is currently advertising for a Co-ordinator. This post is funded by RENEWAL and by the European Commission and its duties include working directly with refugee community organisations as well as facilitating the Forum. It is hoped that each refugee forum will develop to the point where it can employ its own staff and this is an encouraging development. Those interested in applying for this challenging post should send an A4 envelope and a 41 pence stamp to Hammersmith & Fulham Refugee Forum, Law Centre, 142-144 King Street, London W6 0QU by the closing date of 16th August.

The Partnership College in Hammersmith is currently recruiting a number of new staff. Among the posts on offer are full-time Administrator, ICT and Networking Officer, Training Administrator and sessional tutors of ESOL and IT. The Partnership College was established to cater for the education and training needs of refugee and ethnic minority groups and as such welcomes applications from these communities. Competitive salaries are offered for these posts which will be based at the Partnership College’s three learning centres at Shepherd’s Bush Green, King Street and Wood Lane. For application details contact the main Partnership College office on 8740-4751.

From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on 9th August Refugees Into Jobs in Wembley is holding a Refugee Job Fair which gives refugee job seekers the chance to meet representatives from Everest the well-known window and door installation company. Refugees Into Jobs has a strong track record in helping refugees find employment and by attending this job fair employers commit themselves to offering genuine opportunities rather than the sort of jobs refugees are often expected to take and seek. The job fair is open to all refugees and those interested in pursuing this opportunity should contact Refugees into Jobs on 8908-4433.

This newsletter is funded by the Camelot Foundation.
Ealing Refugee Forum is funded by RENEWAL, the London Borough of Ealing,
Comic Relief and the Trust for London.