Glasgow Women\u2019s Library has become the first in Scotland to be officially recognised as a Library of Sanctuary.<\/p>\n
The Library of Sanctuary status recognises a long-standing commitment to being a safe, inclusive and empowering space for women from all walks of life, and especially those have lived experience of seeking sanctuary.<\/p>\n
The announcement is being made during Refugee Festival Scotland, which celebrates the diversity and cultural richness in Scotland\u2019s communities by providing people from refugee backgrounds with a platform to showcase their creativity.<\/p>\n
As well as inclusive programming, language support and creative workshops, Glasgow Women\u2019s Library has also supported people through a literacy project which includes the Conversation Caf\u00e9 to provide support for women who are new to speaking English.<\/p>\n
The title was awarded by the City of Sanctuary UK and is the first in Scotland to be recognised despite there being 30 others across the UK.<\/p>\n
Read More<\/strong><\/p>\n Wendy Kirk, GWL Librarian, said: \u201cWe are beyond thrilled to become part of the Library of Sanctuary network, and the wider City of Sanctuary network, which is building a movement of welcome all across the UK. This is needed now more than ever.<\/p>\n \u201cLibraries are much-loved community anchors, and are perfectly placed to be spaces of welcome, hope and connection for people who have been forcibly displaced. We hope that our commitment to being a welcoming space for people seeking sanctuary will be even more visible now that we have received our award. I look forward to more libraries in Scotland joining this vital network of solidarity, inclusivity and compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n Zahra Adams, GWL volunteer with lived experience of seeking sanctuary said: “When I first joined Glasgow Women\u2019s Library in 2022, I didn\u2019t feel confident because all the people were new to me. But realised everyone was so kind and welcoming, I quickly felt at ease.<\/p>\n \u201cGWL helped me improve my English, make new friends, and learn about other cultures. Volunteering in the garden and craft sessions gave me confidence, teamwork skills, and a voice as well as communication skills. GWL is a safe and supportive space where I feel valued and able to grow.”<\/p>\n Adele Patrick, GWL Co-Director, said: \u201cGaining Library of Sanctuary status is an absolute honour for the team at Glasgow Women’s Library. We know that libraries are amongst the special few places that people trust.<\/p>\n \u201cAt this time, when so many are experiencing the world as threatening, hostile and violent, ensuring our libraries are indeed safe harbours is all the more crucial. Glasgow Women’s Library strives to be a place where people seeking sanctuary \u2014 in whatever form \u2014 find a place that actively welcomes them over the threshold, that reaches out to them in their neighbourhood or online. Our library offers a non-judgemental, kind space, connections and resources that can bring joy, laughter and friendships; a sanctuary filled with information, learning opportunities and support that help equip people to live their lives, express and be themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Syma Ahmed, Development Worker at GWL said: It\u2019s an absolute honour to receive the Library of Sanctuary award. We deeply value our role in providing a safe, inclusive space where women from every walk of life truly feel seen, heard, and respected.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough our projects, we continue to build bridges of understanding, celebrate diverse cultures, and ensure that every woman who walks through our doors feels a sense of belonging.\u00a0 Being designated a Library of Sanctuary affirms our role not just as a library, but as a sanctuary – supporting women in their pursuit of learning, connection, and empowerment.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Glasgow Women\u2019s Library has become the first in Scotland to be officially recognised as a Library of Sanctuary.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179645,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7826],"tags":[748,918,73909,4884,73912,73910,712,73908,73911,16,15],"class_list":["post-179644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-glasgow","tag-britain","tag-glasgow","tag-glasgow-women","tag-great-britain","tag-lived-experience","tag-sanctuary-status","tag-scotland","tag-seeking-sanctuary","tag-the-library","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}