By working in partnership, Syrian Futures is able to offer a diverse range of opportuniuties to Syrians looking to enter higher or further education, start or resume a career or develop skills for life.
We feel that working in partnership is the best way to maximise our reach, enabling us to co-deliver projects which build on the expertise of organisations who specialise in engagement with refugee communities locally, nationally and internationally.
Below you will find further information about all our partner organisations (listed aplphabetically) with links to partner webstes where approapriate.
If you feel your organisation could benefit from working with Syrian Futures, please do not hesitate to contact us: syrian.futures@ed.ac.uk.
For up-to-date information on the many projects we deliver with our partenrs, please consider following us on either Facebook or Instagram.
Our Partners
Balfour Beatty: www.balfourbeatty.com
Balfour Beatty is the University of Edinburgh's construction partner for the Edinburgh Futures Institute project on Lauriston Place, Edinburgh. Balfour Beatty have a major programme of community outreach projects, and Syrian Futures were delighted to partner with Balfour Beatty during Ramadan 2020 for a highly successful project providing supermarket vouchers to nearly 40 Syrian families across Edinburgh and the Lothians. The vouchers helped families pay for the cost of ingredients for their Eid celebrations.
Bilingualism Matters: www.bilingualism-matters.ppls.ed.ac.uk
Bilingualism Matters is a research and information centre at the University of Edinburgh, founded by Prof. Antonella Sorace in 2008. The centre studies bilingualism and language learning, and communicates research to the general public to enable people to make informed decisions about language based on scientific evidence. Syrian Futures and Bilingualism Matters have partnered on a number of occasions to deliver language workshops for Syrians exploring their relationships with both Arab and English.
City of Edinburgh Council: www.edinburgh.gov.uk
Project Coordinator, Nadin Akta, works closely with the City of Edinburgh Council to help welcome new Syrian families to Edinburgh and help tehm integrate into their new lives.
Department for Work and Pensions
Syrian Futures have delivered a number of training workshops for staff at the Department for Work and Pensions offering insights into Syrian culture and the challenges facing Scottish Syrians as they try to find jobs which suit their skills and experience.
Edinburgh Global: www.ed.ac.uk/global
Edinburgh Global represents the Universtiy of Eidnburgh on the global stage, offering advice and services to international students and staff, as well as building partenrship and networks across the globe. Syrian Futures is currently working with Edinburgh global to produce an accessible resource offering a comprehensive overview of the University of Edinburgh's services for current and prospective studetns and staff from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds.
Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies: www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/islamic-middle-eastern
Syrian Futures is based within the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World - a research and Outreach Centre affiliated to the University of Edinburgh's Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (IMES). Syrian Futures has developed a number of projects drawing on the skills of staff and students in IMES, including a unique befriending scheme which matches students of Arabic in IMES with local Syrians offering oportunities for language exchange and mutual learning.
Just Festival: www.just-festival.org
In August 2020, Syrian Futures worked closely with Edinburgh's Just Festival to arrange volunteering opportunities for Syrians in and around Edinburgh. Volunteers helped with front of house duties and stage management. This opportunitiy helped volunteers build their CVs, learn new skills, practice their English and meet new people.
New Scots Edinburgh Steering Group
Syrian Futures Coordinator Nadin Akta sits on the New Scots Edinburgh Steering Group which was founded in 2017. The New Scots Edinburgh Steering Group is a community-based group seeking to encourage partnership and coordination between organisations and networks in supporting New Scots in their social integration in Edinburgh.
Re-Start Foundation: www.restartfoundation.org.uk
Syrian Futures works with the Re-Start Foundation to organise suported work placements for Syrian refugees in Scotland. Placements are available in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen and last up to six months, with a maximum of 20 hours per week.
Scottish Refugee Council: www.scottishrefugeecouncil.org.uk
Syrian Futures makes regular contributions to the work of the Scottish Refugee Council, helping to promote new initiatives and plan and deliver local and national projects.
Student Action for Refugees (STAR): www.star-network.org.uk
STAR is a national charity of 34,000 students welcoming refugees to the UK. STAR members volunteer at local refugee projects, campaign to improve the lives of refugees and educate people about refugees and asylum. STAR is made up of 50 groups at universities and colleges across the UK and a national team which co-ordinates and supports the groups. STAR groups are students’ union societies which are affiliated to the charity. Syrian Futures works very closely with the University of Edinburgh's STAR society co-orgniasing fundraising events and cultural activities, bringing University of Edinburgh students together with the local Syrian community.
Syrian Association for Education Development: www.association-sy.org
The International Syrian Association for Education Development is an international support network of over 120 researchers, academics, professionals, scholarship holders, and education activists working together to support education in Syria and Syrian students at a global level, with a focus on marginalised groups. In 2020, Syrian Futures formally joined the Association in order to facilitate IELTS tutoring and examinations for Syrian students across the world who have ambitions to study at UK universities.
University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy: www.ed.ac.uk/chaplaincy
The University of Edinburgh's multipfaith chaplaincy has a long history of working with, and for, Scotland's refugee communities. For example, the Chaplaincy's STTEPS project (Syrian Teenage Tutoring and Educational ProgramS) is a tutoring initiative that is a first of its kind in Scotland and the UK. The initiative (composed of weekly two hour tutoring sessions) is aimed at supporting the teenage Syrian refugees in their school subjects. Syrian Futures has worked with the Chaplaincy on a number of events since the project was launched, including a memorable Syrian Culture Night.
Universities of Sanctuary: www.universities.cityofsanctuary.org
The University of Edinburgh is part of a network of UK universities who have achieved 'University of Sanctuary' status. Higher Education Institutions in the UK have a proud and radical tradition of providing sanctuary for academics and young people and many are actively looking for ways to build on this tradition in today’s political and social context. City of Sanctuary partnered with Article 26, Student Action for Refugees and others to develop a network to inspire and support universities to develop a culture and a practice of welcome within their own institutions, in their wider communities, and across the Higher Education sector in the UK. A growing number of these universities are now being recognised as Universities of Sanctuary. Syrian Futures makes a major contribution to the Universities of Sanctuary initiative by helping to support universities who are applying for 'University of Sanctuary' staus. Syrian Futures also orgniases regular events and projects aimed at building relationship between the University of Edinburgh and other universities of sanctuary in Scotland and beyond.