The Basis Project blog

Basis Project national conference

The Basis Project team were thrilled with the energy and enthusiasm, particularly from RCO speakers, workshop leads and participants at our national conference on Tuesday 24th January.

Around 250 delegates from RCOs, funders and second tier organisations come together to look at practical ways forward for Refugee Community Organisations.

Donna Covey, Chief Executive of Refugee Council opened the day and talked about the challenges facing refugees and those supporting them whilst recognising the valuable work RCOs do to raise awareness and support vulnerable refugees.

Elizabeth Balgobin, Chair of Voice for change gave her analysis of the current climate including the Big Society and the impact on BME organisations, and Micheline Safi Ngogo of Light Project International and Refugee Council trustee Sirak Berhe of Investing in People and culture shared their inspirational stories of responding to challenges on the ground.

Delegates chose from a wide range of workshops from commissioning to social media. The incredible Women Asylum Seekers Together (Manchester) choir moved the crowd with songs about their experiences, and the day finished with closing remarks from Yvonne Cass , Refugee Council Vice Chair and co-founder of Migrant and Refugee Community Organisation.

You can see an account of the day from a variety of web and social media; more videos from the day and a full report will be available in a few weeks.

Conference agenda

Download the final agenda for the Basis Project Conference taking place in Birmingham on 24th January 2012

RCO Connect - 17th January 2012

RCO Connect is a  regular email that provides an opportunity for you to share learning from your Refugee Community Organisation (RCO), and get inspired by learning from others. Download the most recent issue: RCO Connect 17th January 2012 (pdf).

To subscribe to RCO Connect please email development@refugeecouncil.org.uk

Free training in London from Charities Evaluation Service

Making your services more effective - FREE course for RCO's

1 Feb 2012 - 2 Feb 2012 This 2-day course is for anyone from a Refugee Community Organisation in London.

Overall aim

Participants will have a clear understanding of how to use monitoring and evaluation to demonstrate, and improve, the effectiveness of their services.

Specific aims

By the end of the two-day course, participants will:

• understand key evaluation concepts and terminology
• be able to identify and clarify aims and objectives, outputs and outcomes
• be able to set indicators to help assess achievements of outputs and outcomes
• be able to identify the requirements for basic monitoring systems
• have developed their own self-evaluation frameworks
• be able to identify some simple ways to collect information

For more information and to book, go to: http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/index.cfm?pg=648&archive=false&offset=1

Refugee Week Conference 2012

The Refugee Week team are holding a free one-day conference  on Friday 20 January at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London from 10am - 4.30pm.

The aim of the day is to provide a forum where those planning to be involved in Refugee Week events this year can develop and share ideas, get inspired and share their experiences with others.

The programme will feature a number of speakers sharing good practice and ideas – but the day will be more about you and your experiences. The event will be participatory and features different workshops covering a range of issues.

Full details of the programme and how to register are on the Refugee Week website.

RCO Connect - 22nd December 2011

RCO Connect is a  regular email that provides an opportunity for you to share learning from your Refugee Community Organisation (RCO), and get inspired by learning from others. Download the most recent issue: RCO Connect 22nd December 2011(pdf).

To subscribe to RCO Connect please email development@refugeecouncil.org.uk

RCO Connect - 9th December 2011

RCO Connect is a  regular email that provides an opportunity for you to share learning from your Refugee Community Organisation (RCO), and get inspired by learning from others. Download the most recent issue: RCO Connect 9th December 2011(pdf).

To subscribe to RCO Connect please email development@refugeecouncil.org.uk

RCO Connect - 22nd November 2011

RCO Connect is a  regular email that provides an opportunity for you to share learning from your Refugee Community Organisation (RCO), and get inspired by learning from others. Download the most recent issue: RCO Connect 22nd Nov(pdf).

To subscribe to RCO Connect please email development@refugeecouncil.org.uk

TARA Black History event a great success

Tameside African Refugee Association (TARA) celebrated the end of Black History Month with an event attended by about 119 people, including several local organisations, youth groups and two schools. Audenshaw School had five of their nominated students receive TARA's Youths Achievement Awards' Certificates, and St James Primary School had their pupils perform a dance to entertain their audience respectively. The event was held at Ashton Town Hall on Saturday 29 October.

 There were many highlights on the day but one of the most remarkable was a thrilling and captivating drama performance by the TARA Youths. The drama centred on the importance of TARA's Homework Club & the Supplementary School to young people and their parents as it educates both young people and their parents in a fun and safe learning atmosphere created by TARA's staff and Volunteers. There was also an amazing re-enactment of the great Martin Luther King Jr's speech "I Have A Dream" which was the theme of the event.

Young people have been working hard throughout the month learning about the slave trade and other aspects of Black history, including visiting the slavery museum in Liverpool, as part of TARA’s supplementary school activities, and this event was a much appreciated way to celebrate all the hard work. 

There was African and Asian food served free of charge and the meat used were Halal for the benefit of our Muslim audience.

 The Basis Project would like to congratulate TARA on this event, and the fantastic work they are doing to help young people in Tameside develop their confidence and skills!

RCO Connect - 8th November 2011

RCO Connect is a  regular email that provides an opportunity for you to share learning from your Refugee Community Organisation (RCO), and get inspired by learning from others. Download the most recent issue: RCO Connect 8th November 2011(pdf).

To subscribe to RCO Connect please email development@refugeecouncil.org.uk

 

Trustee week- celebrating RCO trustees!

This week (31 October- 6 November) is Trustee’s Week and the Basis Project would like to congratulate the amazing work of Refugee Community Organisation trustees across the country. We are constantly inspired by the work of RCO trustees- we know you play an invaluable role in helping some of the most vulnerable people in the UK to overcome trauma, build new lives and integrate into British society.

One great example is the Afghan Association of Harrow. Their ‘Recipe for Integration’ project is helping Afghan women build their confidence and integrate to the local community. You can see more, and hear their Chair, Karim Shirin, talk about his experience on these short films .

Being a great trustee is an ongoing journey and there are lots of great resources out there to help you develop. The Basis Project governance toolkit is a great starting point; this Good Governance Code for small charities (launched this week!) will be helpful for many smaller RCOs and know-how non-profit has a large and growing range of resources.

RCO Connect - 25th October 2011

RCO Connect is a  regular email that provides an opportunity for you to share learning from your Refugee Community Organisation (RCO), and get inspired by learning from others. Download the most recent issue: RCO Connect 25th October 2011(pdf).

To subscribe to RCO Connect please email development@refugeecouncil.org.uk

Congratulations to the South Sudan Women in Skills Development

Congratulations to the South Sudan Women in Skills Development (SSWSD, formerly Sudanese Women’s Association) whose amazing contribution to social value was highlighted at an event at Portcullis House in Westminster today. SSWD, along with other women’s organisations, worked with Women’s Resource Centre and New Economics Foundation to conduct ‘Social Return on Investment’ studies of their organisation’s impact. The study of SSWSD’s impact found that each £1 of investment generates a fantastic £11 of wider social value to service users, their families and the wider community. You can find out more about Social Return on Investment here: http://www.neweconomics.org/projects/social-return-investment.

Women’s Resource Centre’s report, ‘Hidden Value: Demonstrating the extraordinary impact of women’s voluntary and community organisations’ featuring SSWSD and other women’s organisations who took part in the study will be available soon- see http://www.wrc.org.uk/.

The project was funded by Trust for London. SSWSD also recently featured in the excellent World in London blog, which showcases the contribution of people from different countries in London in the run up to the 2012 Olympic games.

The Basis Project has worked with SSWSD for several years (see this case study film for more information ) and is delighted to follow their ongoing success!

The Basis Project Suffolk Seminar

The Basis Project Suffolk Seminar 2011: "The trends of funding opportunities and the importance of thepartnerships for the success of the community organisations"

The East of England Basis Project presents The 2011 Suffolk Seminar

Friday 21st October 10:00 – 15:00Council Chamber in Ipswich Town Hall Cornhill

Seminar’s keynote speakers:

• Mr Robert Beard – Improving Local Partnerships Policy Adviser at NAVCA
• Mr Paul Banjo – Chairman at SAVO Board of Trustees
• Mr Fazil Kawani – Head of Development at Refugee Council
• Mr Sandy Martin – Councillor in Ipswich Borough Council
• Ms Sue Wright – The Suffolk Community Foundation
• The Big Lottery Fund – Name TBC

Workshop and case study presenters:

• Ms Mollin Madziwa from ZWRC
• Mrs Mimoza Matoshi from ISS
• Mr Ayodele Daodu from BACC

This seminar will have a close look at the most resent trends onfunding sources and policies. We will try to make sense on the role ofpartnerships for the success of the community organisations in thecurrent funding climate. It will also provide some examples and casestudies of good practise on partnership working from some of the wellknown community organisation across the Eastern Region.

For more details about the event, or to book a place, please contact Shpetim Alimeta on: M: 07908 952 405 or E: odo.east@gmail.com

The Basis Project, East of England.The Refugee CouncilC.c. ICVS, 1 Cornhill, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 1DD

RCO Connect - 10th October 2011

RCO Connect is a  regular email that provides an opportunity for you to share learning from your Refugee Community Organisation (RCO), and get inspired by learning from others. Download the most recent issue: RCO Connect 10th October 2011(pdf).

To subscribe to RCO Connect please email development@refugeecouncil.org.uk