With facilitation support from Refugee Action, the forum has created a collective vision and three key priorities, paving the way for future collaborative work.
Over the past year, organisations in Newcastle have come together to create the Newcastle Strategic Forum. With facilitation support from Refugee Action, the forum has created a collective vision and three key priorities, paving the way for future collaborative work.
Envisioning Newcastle five years down the line, we aspire to “a welcoming city where we work in unity to overcome barriers so that people seeing sanctuary receive the support they need to rebuild their lives and feel they belong here.”
1) Mapping and Coordination: Building a network of services tailored to community needs.
2) A united voice: calling for change across the city and growing accountability across the city.
3) Sharing Insights: Facilitating the exchange of best practices, data, and knowledge
Gathering every two months, we are engaging in open discussions to discuss the plans and developments of our own respective work and that of the forum.
In January we developed a structure of how the strategic group will work and fit in with other key meetings so as not to duplicate, but rather enhance, our work. We struggled a little initially after developing the vision and priorities to know how to take these forward, so we developed a proposal on how we could work which was discussed by the group and agreed upon.
Beyond internal conversations, the forum stands united against local and national hostile policies. A joint statement on the Illegal Migration Bill received positive feedback, demonstrating the power of collective action and a shared voice.
Our present efforts focus on securing funding for essential priority projects, including our mapping endeavours. We hope to collaborate with Newcastle University researchers towards this end, while the potential Engagement Costs covered through the EAR programme will prove invaluable to ensuring the participation of people with lived experience.
Fueled by the shared vision and priorities, we’re excited to see what the future of the Newcastle Strategic Forum brings. A few key organisations are pushing us forward through working groups, which is great to keep the momentum. Having a clear vision and priorities really helps us focus on what we need to be doing.