Sanctuary in the Senedd 2023

Sanctuary in the Senedd is an annual event which aims to bring attention to the voices of people who have found sanctuary in Wales about their experiences of education, employment, and mental health.

This year, Sanctuary in the Senedd took place on Tuesday 12^th December, and was sponsored by Jane Hutt MS. Several people with lived experience of seeking sanctuary in Swansea spoke at this event, including those on our current Sanctuary in Politics course!

Sanctuary in Politics is a series of modules about how the political system works, campaigning and working with the media effectively. Those on the course will go on to become Sanctuary Ambassadors.

Here are some quotes from some of the attendees and mentors:

“The Sanctuary in Politics participants were outstanding at delivering their powerful speeches to the audience at the Senedd. A huge thanks to the support that Swansea City of Sanctuary has provided to enable the course to be such a success.”

“What an excellent event at the Senedd! I watched online and our SiP participants spoke so eloquently and with such clarity and passion.”

“I was watching through every presentation. All participants amazingly well prepared and conveyed their message straightly and strongly. They were impressive. Not many people can experience as a mentor to take part in this great project as such privilege.”

“Our Sanctuary in Politics participants were definitely the stars of today’s Sanctuary in the Senedd event. Everyone spoke really well and also kept to time. We have some fab upcoming Sanctuary Ambassadors!!! I feel so proud and privileged to be a mentor for this project.”

One of our Sanctuary in Politics participants, Ngang Fru Delvis, expressed the following:

“Participating in the Sanctuary in the Senedd was a rare privilege of learning, exchange and networking for me. It was a unique platform to anchor and amplify the voices of people with lived experience (PWLE), particularly those from the most neglected displacement crises in the world, in the current migration discourse in the UK. It also gave me an opportunity to build connections with other PWLE, charity staff and executives and public officials for collective actions towards making Wales a true Nation of Sanctuary.”