Current Activities
- Providing one-to-one assessment, guidance, referrals and support on study/ career progression for unemployed and underemployed refugees wishing to enter further and higher education.
- Working towards formal partnerships with reputable academic/ training institutions to enable the qualification of unemployed and underemployed refugees in teaching and journalism.
- Seeking funding to organise the return of the skills of teachers with refugee background to South Sudan and Ethiopia as part of a pilot project.
- Promoting awareness of key refugees and global displacement issues.
Achievements
To
reconnect unemployed and underemployed refugees to their professions and to
enable them to realise their potential through appropriate training and work experience. Key initiatives have included:
- Provided one-to-one assessment, guidance and support to over 500 refugees seeking training and employment.
- Pathways into Teaching for Refugees Project (2007 – 2011) - delivered by the Institute of Education, University of London in partnership with Reconnect, has enabled 40 refugees to gain a Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in Post-Compulsory Education (Further Education, Adult and Community Colleges). The project was funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families through the London Hub for Refugee Teachers/ Employability Forum. The programme has now been adopted by the Institute of Education as part of its mainstream programme.
- Opening Doors for Refugee Teachers Project (2010) and Post Taster job brokerage project (2008) - as part of the London Hub for Refugee Teachers/ Employability Forum, Reconnect supported 21 job-ready refugee teachers into employment in the further education sector. The project was funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
- Passport to Teaching Plus Project (2005 – 2007) - delivered by Birkbeck, University of London in partnership with Reconnect, has enabled 14 refugees to gain a postgraduate certificate course in further education. The project was funded by the Home Office Refugee Integration Challenge Fund.
- A Short Course in Video Production (2006) – delivered by Reconnect in partnership with Thames Valley University has enabled10 refugees journalists to gain skills in video production. The project was funded by Lloyds TSB Foundation.
- A Pilot Training Programme (2004) – delivered by Reconnect in partnership with the Commonwealth Journalists Association, for refugee journalists, drawing on the expertise of academics and practitioners including the BBC World Service and the Financial Times.
Promotion of awareness on key global displacement and development issues. Key initiatives have included:
- Global Community Links Project (2011) - Reconnect delivered the project, which aimed at ‘Building Understanding for Development’ through partnership with Good Samaritan Association (GSA), a local NGO in Ethiopia. The project was funded by DFID as part of a Global Community Links Action Grant from the British Council.
- The ‘Development Awareness’ project (2010) - Reconnect delivered the project to train a group of refugee journalists in core skills of lecturing and preparing teaching materials, to enable them to deliver lectures in journalism departments of selected British further and higher academic institutions. The project helped to elevate development and displacement issues in the national news agenda by engaging with and seeking to influence future journalists and the UK journalism education curriculum. The project was funded by DFID.
- The European Union Capacity Building Project (2007 – 2010) – Reconnect delivered the project by supporting the building of refugees’ capacity in London and the South East to broaden their engagement in global issues. Those included organising a number of major events in collaboration with refugees and refugee organisations, academic institutions and development and media organisations. These events included Refugee Week events, conferences on media and conflict, displacement and development, education and development and a round table discussion to explore the role of refugee teachers in developing countries. The project was funded by the European Union.
- “Run for your Life” (September 2006), Reconnect successfully organised a 10K race in Hyde Park to raise awareness and funding. Over 300 people took part in the event.