Friday, July 03, 2009
Committee Training 2009: A Great Success!
This year’s committee training has come and gone, but all those who took part agree it was informative and fun!
Kaveh Azarhoosh, from STAR Hull said, “I thought the whole day was really good because it was very interactive.”
Almost 40 students came to London to learn the ropes of running a STAR group. These students will be leadingSTAR groups across the country in 2009/10.
Committee Training 2009 began informally on Friday night (June 19) when students arrived and checked into their hostel. The group then gathered for a dinner out with other STARs and members of the national team.
Trustee Jemma Samuels started things off Saturday morning by introducing herself and the aims of STAR. Then the STAR national team introduced themselves and their roles at the national office. Students can readContact the national team to find out how the national team can help.
Students were then treated to a presentation by Maurice Wren, the Director of Asylum Aid. Maurice explained the work of Asylum Aid and highlighted some of the problems within the UK Asylum system.
Morning workshops included a discussion on How to plan and manage a project, using a workplan and how to get more members involved (James Fisher, Student Officer and Trustee Onny Igwe); How to make sure meetings run smoothly and effectively (Chief Executive Emma Williams and Trustee Jemma Samuels); and Financial Planning, Fundraising and how to ensure events raise more money that they cost to put on (Kevin Dunbar, Administrator and Christina Gray, Communications Intern).
According to Frances Edwards, President of Edinburgh STAR, “the workshops were interesting, useful and addressed a lot of good issues.”
After taking a break for lunch, the group reconvened to hear about thePlan for STAR 2009-11 and to learn about STAR’s latest project:Access to Higher Education.
Jonatane Bidiaka Budiaki, the Higher Education Intern, told the group about the difficulties refugees and asylum seekers face when trying to obtain higher education and how they are often charged international student fees. She explained that STAR hopes to support young refugees to gain access to university education through a combination of local mentoring and national campaigning.
Jo is busy working on this project at the moment, so check back for more information and don’t forget your ideas are always welcome so contact the national office if you have any suggestions on this or any STAR project!
The afternoon session included more workshops: Mike Kaye, Still Human Still Here Advocacy Manager, used his experience of campaigning to explain how to campaign effectively; Arnaud Vervoitte, Refugee Council SMILE project coordinator, discussed the details of running a volunteer project; and James Fisher (Student Officer) talked to students about how to build confidence in discussing refugee issues with peers.
The day ended with the entire group reconvening to say good-bye and give feedback.
Claire Henly, of STAR Leeds, said thanks to this event, she feels ready to take on the role of president. “Without this training, we would have been standing in the dark, hoping for the best.”
STAR national wants to say thanks to all the students who were able to make it to Committee Training 2009 and encourage those who couldn’t come to download the information on this page or contact the national office if you want to know more about what you missed.
Posted by James Fisher on 03/07/2009 at 11:02 AM
in
You must be logged in to post comments.
