Completion of first IELTS course
Monday, 08/02/2016
The first IELTS course delivered in our office has been successfully completed. The Syrian students surprised their teacher on the final day with a Syrian feast!
The first IELTS course delivered in our office has been successfully completed. The Syrian students surprised their teacher on the final day with a Syrian feast!
Dr Shahd Salha 's show Learning is Gaining on Radio Iman FM Sheffield interviewed Dr Haytham Alhamwi on Sunday 7th February 2015.
Dr Alhamwi spoke about the current situation in Syria and the reasons behind the failure of Geneva's peace negotiations and at the end of the interview he explained the aspects of RR work and the importance of that work.
Our movie for the month of February was 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley', which was based on the Irish resistance to Britain. The movie was followed by a very interesting discussion given that its relevance to the situation in Syria.
In official response to the 3 February London civil society conference, a group of UK-based Syrian organisations have released a statement pertaining to the process by which this conference has been organised and the role that Syrian CSOs were provided.
We were interviewed on BBC Radio Cumbria on 4 February to talk about the London donors conference and our experience with the previous day's 3 February civil society organisations conference. We mentioned our gratitude for the efforts of donor countries, but stressed that this is not enough as long as the root cause of the conflict is not being addressed.
We attended the 3 February London Civil Society Organisations (CSO) Conference in the lead-up to the 4 February London Donors conference. Over 200 CSOs were represented, some of which were Syrian. As an organisation, we stressed the issues of civilian protection as well as Syrian leadership in identifying funding priorities and in implementing projects on the ground.
Rethink Rebuild Society was interviewed by Anadolu Turkish press on 3 February with respect to the upcoming CSO conference in London. We stressed our hope that humanitarian efforts be seen side by side with the political efforts in Geneva. Only by achieving a solution for the Syrian conflict can we begin to address the humanitarian issues that emanate from it.
The Hebden Bridge Picture House screened ‘A Syrian Love Story’ on the evening of Sunday 31st January and followed that by a fund-raising for St Augustines in Halifax, which was and is organising relief for refugees.
Together with Syrian groups across the country, we released a statement on 30 January 2016 regarding the Geneva peace talks. Offering our support for the High Negotiations Committee (main Syrian opposition bloc), we stressed that existing international agreements and resolutions must be implemented before the start of negotiations in order for them to be successful.
We issued a joint letter with Syrian organisations across the country on 29 January on the need for dignified treatment of asylum seekers refugees. This comes amidst reports that asylum seekers have been forced to wear coloured wristbands as a means of identification (in Cardiff), or that their houses were identifiable through distinctive red doors (in Middlesborough).