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What do STAR groups do?

STAR members sleepout as part of the Age Matters campaign

Students sleepout to raise awareness of the plight of refugees

In a word, lots! The STAR network is made up of approximately 30 student groups across the UK and 1 student group in Cairo!
Click here to find your nearest STAR group.
Or, if STAR has yet to reach your university, why not start your own?

The 3 main activities of STAR groups are:

  • Raising awareness about refugee issues
  • Campaigning for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers everywhere
  • Supporting refugees and asylum seekers locally through volunteering in their communities

STAR groups meet regularly during term time to discuss refugee issues and to plan campaigning, awareness raising and fundraising events and activities on campus. Members also take part in national events such as STAR Annual Conference (autumn term), Action day (spring term) and summer training. You can find out more about STAR national events in the events section
Some groups raise awareness about refugee issues in local schools and colleges as part of STARs outreach programme.

What’s so special about STAR?

  • Started in 1994 by a student at Nottingham University, STAR has always been student led. The STAR Management Committee reserves 4 places for student and youth members to enable members to continue to lead the organisation from the front
  • Individual STAR groups may feel that their contribution is small, but when added up across the country, the efforts of the STAR network has resulted in real and noticeable improvements for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK
    • STAR groups were involved in stopping the use of vouchers for asylum seekers
    • Last academic year, groups offered practical support to refugees and asylum seekers at over 70 volunteering projects nationwide
    • STAR groups let an estimated 14000 of their peers know the reality for refugees and asylum seekers in the UK last year

Raising awareness

STAR members raise awareness of refugee and asylum issues with their peers and in the local community. STARs are brilliant at inventive and extraordinary publicity stunts! Groups have:

  • Slept out in mock refugee shelters
  • Held sponsored head shaves in the middle of town
  • Swam in the sea for a refugee in February
  • Lived like a destitute asylum seeker for a week
    And
  • Grooved the night away at fundraising club nights and world music events
  • Spread love at fundraising speed dating nights
  • Discussed the issues at debate nights and speakers events
    As well as
  • Running ‘Journey to Safety’, a refugee simulation activity, with young people in school, colleges and youth clubs and at national conferences.

Supporting refugees & asylum seekers through volunteering

STAR groups provide practical support to refugees and asylum seekers in their communities through group led volunteering projects, as well as with local voluntary and refugee organisations or with the support of their union volunteering bureau. Providing practical support to refugees and asylum seekers provides much needed opportunities for both groups to meet as well as providing local organisations with committed groups of young people who can offer a friendly face and practical help. The opportunity to meet refugees and asylum seekers is proven to be the best way to bust the myths about this vulnerable group of people.

During the academic year 2005-2006 STAR university groups were involved with over 70 different volunteer projects. Activities include:

  • Homework clubs
  • Conversation classes and English lessons
  • Helping out at drop in centres, serving tea and playing table tennis!
  • Kids clubs
  • Five a side football teams
  • Organising food parcels or collecting clothes and shoes for destitute asylum seekers
  • Running day trips for refugee children

Campaigning on refugee and asylum issues

As one of the few organisations that actively campaign on these issues STAR groups are very successful at making positive change by standing up against unacceptable treatment of refugees and asylum seekers both locally, as part of nationwide campaigns, and in collaboration with other organisations.

Here are a few examples of campaigning by STAR groups locally:

  • Newcastle STAR successfully campaigned against the deportation of a medical student and STAR member through rallies, demos, getting the support of their university and getting the support of their university teaching union.
  • Glasgow, Edinburgh and Manchester universities have lobbied their universities to offer bursary places for asylum seekers to study there. The issue was subsequently raised by Universities Scotland and is heading for the Scottish Executive as legislative change.
  • Warwick STAR have campaigned against the forced removal of Zimbabwean asylum seekers to Zimbabwe by holding a number of demos and speaker events.
  • Liverpool STAR teamed up with other union societies to unite in raising awareness of the need for protection of Darfuri asylum seekers in the UK. The group organised and took part in a number of fundraising club nights and demos about this issue.
  • Oxford STAR work to help inmates in the nearby Campsfield House detention centre

Find out more about STAR campaigning

Starting your own STAR group

STAR is continually growing! If you are considering starting a STAR group then it will become part of a network of groups that comprises approximately 3000 student members, 350 young people plus hundreds of supporters.

And the STAR national office is there to support the work of the STAR network. It’s the job of support staff to help you start a STAR group and keep it going! So getting STARted couldn’t be easier!

Among other things, the national office can:

  • Provide resources for events and freshers fairs – including attending freshers fairs and meetings on request
  • Come along and help you with events and activities
  • Give advice on holding meetings and suggestions for speakers
  • Offer training on running a successful group as well as on refugee issues
  • Provide information on what’s going on in the refugee sector and we represent STAR members among the refugee sector
  • Help to keep you in touch with the rest of the STAR network via regular updates and STAR events such as STAR annual national conference

So now that you are convinced you want to STARt a STAR group, you are but 1 click away from making it a reality! Contact us here.

Affiliating to STAR

Each STAR group chooses to be a part of the STAR network. As such, groups benefits from a large degree of autonomy and their own creativity, as well as receiving the support and backup of a national network and the national office.

Each STAR group affiliates to the national network and pays a £50 affiliation fee at the beginning of the academic year.

Affiliation to STAR provides your group with:

  • The STAR name! (and the knowledge of being a part of a national organisation that comes with it)
  • Priority access to STAR annual national conference at a reduced rate
  • Information and updates on refugee issues and important developments in refugee policy
  • Regular E mail updates and piles of the STAR quarterly newsletter
  • Special members only access to the STAR website, including access to STAR resources online
  • Free training on refugee issues, delivering outreach and running a successful STAR group. Simply contact the national office to arrange a visit.
  • Visits to your group by national office staff when requested, as well as help with meetings, freshers fairs and other events
  • Regular telephone and E mail support from the national office