Winchester City of Sanctuary has some exciting news to share with you all!
On Wednesday 12th January 2022, Councillor John Tippett-Cooper proposed the following motion to the council: “Winchester City Council is committed to welcoming asylum seekers and refugees to our District and including them in our activities. The people in our district have shown kindness and openness in recent months with huge support when donations for evacuees from Afghanistan were needed. We are also a district with a rich network of organisations providing support to the most vulnerable in our society. As a Council, we recognise the importance of reflecting this spirit of our community and core values of openness, kindness and respect for others.
Winchester City Council also recognises asylum seekers’ and refugees’ potential contribution to our district, and also recognises that a co-ordinated and forward-looking approach is needed if the welfare of people moving into the town, and community cohesion between new and existing communities, are to be supported effectively.
To this end, we resolve to: ·
- Support organisations such as the University of Winchester (which is a University of Sanctuary), the community group Winchester City of Sanctuary, the Southampton & Winchester Visitors Group, Hampshire Cultural Trust and other key charities and community groups in their work to make Winchester a place of sanctuary; ·
- Welcome to Winchester district those fleeing violence and persecution in their own countries;
- Value the contribution those seeking sanctuary can make to our District;
- Support taking practical steps, in dialogue with the organisations above, to welcome and integrate all people into our communities, activities and culture;
- Challenge anti-refugee and anti-migrant attitudes wherever they are found and support the Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group and Winchester City of Sanctuary in the promotion of the Together With Refugees campaign calling for a fairer, kinder and more effective approach to supporting refugees in the UK; Nominate a current Councillor(s) to act as a “Sanctuary Champion(s)”, who will endeavour to communicate with the organisations listed above to explore how we can develop further ideas to support asylum seekers and refugees who are resettled in our district;
- We are willing for our organisation’s name to be added to a list of supporters of City of Sanctuary.
We are delighted to say that the motion received unanimous cross-party support, so Winchester City Council are committed to being both a City of Sanctuary and Council of Sanctuary. The council have also got behind the Together with Refugees campaign as reflected by the orange hearts they hold up in the image above taken when the motion was passed 
The motion is a huge step in effecting lasting change to make sure that Winchester is a welcoming place of safety for all and proud to offer sanctuary to people fleeing violence and persecution.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported what we do, who supports standing Together with Refugees. We hope you will join us in working together to make sure this city and wider region is an ever more welcoming place for all.
We should remember that those seeking sanctuary are not only those new to Winchester but many living among us already and nearby. We can all lead by example in treating one another with kindness to welcome and respect people from all backgrounds to act in the interest of people seeking sanctuary. Please do get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more. We will be looking for schools to become schools of sanctuary and welcome any pledges of support for City of Sanctuary initiatives. We look forward to working collaboratively with you all.