City of Sanctuary (UK)

City of Sanctuary
Founded2005
FoundersCraig Barnett and Inderjit Bhogal
TypeNon-profit
Key people
Sian Summers-Rees (CEO), Sabir Zazai (Hon. President)[1]
Websitehttps://cityofsanctuary.org/

City of Sanctuary is a British charitable organisation whose purpose is to build a movement of welcome across the UK, predominantly for asylum seekers and refugees, by coordinating and supporting networks of community groups across the UK and Ireland.[2][3] It claims to be a grassroots movement.[3]

City of Sanctuary began in 2005 in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, founded by Craig Barnett and Inderjit Bhogal. In 2007, Sheffield became the UK’s first ‘City of Sanctuary’ – "a city that takes pride in the welcome it offers to people in need of safety."[4][3] Subsequently, cities such as Leeds, Hull,[5] York,[6] and Swansea started their own community groups to work towards the same purpose, and City of Sanctuary became a registered charity with the purpose of supporting and connecting these groups.

  1. ^ "Trustees". cityofsanctuary.org. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
  2. ^ "From lost and lonely to safe and busy: the refugees helped by City of Sanctuary". The Guardian. 2015-12-26. Retrieved 2021-12-02.
  3. ^ a b c "About City of Sanctuary | City of Sanctuary". www.cityofsanctuary.org. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Little Amal: Sheffield crowds welcome 'refugee' puppet". BBC News. 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  5. ^ Campbell, James (2021-11-16). "Hull City of Sanctuary: Refugee's fears for family back in Afghanistan". HullLive. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  6. ^ "York City of Sanctuary: its achievements and the seismic shift necessary". 7 September 2021.