Here in Swindon, we know that it’s a welcoming place to sanctuary seekers. Now there’s an opportunity to tell others about that warm welcome through a new competition, Stories of Welcome.

Winning entries will be heard at Sanctuary in Parliament in November, and form part of a book, to be published later this year. The competition is being run by the national City of Sanctuary, who are keen to encourage maximum refugee participation – including entries written by refugees or including refugee testimonies in stories.

Sounds great… what do I need to do?

Get writing… deadline is 10th October. Even better, tell all your sanctuary seeker friends and help them tell their story.

Stories should be written in a Word document of no more than 750 words. Think about what makes a powerful story: what happened? Why was it important to your local community? How did it impact on the people involved? How did they feel?

Include direct quotes and comments from the people involved talking about what they did, why it mattered, and what the experience was like.

You are encouraged to include photos and/or video to illustrate your story. Think about what images are most powerful – images of the people involved, images which give a sense of the local area. Make sure your photos are clear, well lit, and show something which adds to your story and that you have consent for the use of stories and photos.

For further details, see here.