We are now inviting applications for a second round of expert advisors from civil society organisations to join the City Hall’s social integration team.
For the last 8 months, experts from Migrants Organise, Citizens UK, Coram Children’s Legal Centre and Just for Kids Law have been seconded to City Hall to help shape the Mayor’s plans for social integration, bringing their knowledge of how to tackle some of the main barriers preventing Londoners from getting fully involved in their communities. Their work has focused on helping people to access their citizenship and residency rights, encouraging participation in democracy and celebrating diversity and shared identities across the capital.
The team of secondees, working alongside colleagues in the City Hall’s social integration team, have developed a range of policy and practical projects. These have included:
- establishing the Young Londoners Forum which has brought young people together to explore the challenges of growing up in London without secure status and a range of initiatives to improve support for young Londoners in this situation.
- developing ideas to improve citizenship ceremonies, looking at how new citizens can be encouraged to play a more active role in society – for example through volunteering. This work is likely to inform the Mayor’s own citizenship ceremony, to be held in late Spring 2018.
- commissioning research that will start a conversation about what it means to be a Londoner, as part of making social integration an important issue for everybody.
This approach has been made possible by a pooled fund, the Citizenship and Integration Initiative, set up by Trust for London and involving a number of independent Trusts and Foundations. This model is inspired by similar initiatives in other countries, but it is the first time this has been applied at scale to a project in the UK. City Hall has matched the independent fund with investment into the new social integration team and additional budgets for practical activities.
We are now inviting applications for three more secondees who will each be focusing on advancing one of these social integration goals:
- Civic Engagement: encouraging the take up of citizenship and involvement in democracy
- Young Londoners: supporting young people to secure their legal rights to residence
- Diversity, social contact and identity: celebrating diversity and building shared identity
For more information please see the application pack and application form below.
The deadline for applications is 5pm, 13th December 2017.