The forum was established in 2018 with funding from City Bridge Foundation.

It has brought together 45 London-based refugee community organisations (RCOs) and supports them to develop their skills and use their reach, insight and evidence to engage with and influence decision makers and achieve positive change for refugee communities.

The forum is the outcome of a pioneering and ever evolving collaboration between the Refugee Council and RCOs, which aims to put the voices of refugee communities at the heart of any decision-making process that would impact them.

 

Amplifying the voices of refugee communities

Thanks to this renewed funding, the forum and Refugee Council will continue working closely and collaboratively to bring the lived experience of refugees into policymaking and support RCOs to work together successfully.

We will:

• Build the advocacy and influencing capacity of the forum. We will deliver annual advocacy campaigns, making sure that refugee communities are better heard and represented on selected issues. These will be based on the forum’s priority areas: immigration, housing, physical and mental health and social and economic integration.

• Provide RCOs (members and non-members) with relevant tools, information, training and one-to-one support to build their capacity to develop and deliver the most effective services to their clients.

• Support RCOs to share the lived experiences of their members to foster a more accurate understanding of issues affecting them and inform policy and decision-making.

 

Looking to the future

We are excited by what the London Refugee Advocacy Forum and Refugee Council have achieved together so far. This has included growing the forum’s membership, delivering a range of training and researching and publishing the forum’s first report on the needs of refugees and people seeking asylum in London. And there is much more we can achieve together.

However, it’s crucial that over time, the London Refugee Advocacy Forum is enabled to operate independently and the voices of its members are heard without the mediation of larger organisations. The Refugee Council is committed to using this funding to help the forum transition to independence as soon as practically possible.

 

Get in touch

Forum members and other RCOs: if you have any questions about the renewed funding, or would like support on anything, please get in touch with us at RCOsupportenquiries@refugeecouncil.org.uk.

 

Interested in becoming a member? Please complete the registration form