Extending the Welcome: The Role of University–Community Partnerships in Supporting Refugees in England

Abstract

As issues around refugee rights have come to public attention following the surge in asylum application in Europe in 2015, several responses have been developed by universities in England to extend the welcome to refugees in both local communities and on their campuses. While some institutions act on their own, others have created social relationships and collaborations with local and national third-sector organizations, on which they can rely for their experience of working with and access to refugees and other forced migrants, in return offering their expertise and resources. The purpose of this chapter is to describe one such collaboration setup to support refugees residing in the City of York, in the North of England, UK. While not perfect, the York university–community partnership for refugees is a successful one, delivering tangible benefits for all the interested parties – most importantly, for the forced migrants themselves. Within this chapter, the partnership’s origins, its evolving aims and objectives, and the current outcomes of the collaboration are discussed. The chapter concludes by offering perspectives on the reasons why the partnership became successful, as well as acknowledging its challenges and limitations, drawing valuable lessons for both higher education institutions and community organizations in other parts of the world.

Citation

Lambrechts, A.A. (2020), "Extending the Welcome: The Role of University–Community Partnerships in Supporting Refugees in England", Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P. and Mahoney, C. (Ed.) University–Community Partnerships for Promoting Social Responsibility in Higher Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 23), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 15-29. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000023002