The Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship

Students surrounded by greenery at Lake Carter

The Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship provides a safe place at Lancaster for scholars who face persecution and barriers to research freely in their own countries. Academic freedom was a founding principle of the University and we believe that Lancaster can build on this ethic by providing a safe environment for academics unable to work due to persecution or conflict in their own countries.

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What is the Sanctuary Fellowship?

The Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship provides a safe place at Lancaster for scholars who face persecution and barriers to research freely in their own countries because of conflict, violence or political oppression. Lancaster University provides a full fee waiver and offers in-kind and direct financial assistance to each Fellow and their accompanying family dependents.

The Fellowship was created in response to the rapid increase in numbers of academics needing support. There is a corresponding urgency to raise awareness of their plight and to gather funding to help them secure a safe haven in which to live and work. We want to be able to offer facilities for this purpose at Lancaster. Working alongside the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara), the Sanctuary Fellowship will enable an academic or student at risk to spend time in safety in the UK to further their work. If sufficient funding can be raised, this would include the families of the academics we are supporting.

Why should I support the Sanctuary Fellowship

It costs up to £40,000 to support an academic for one year - depending on whether they arrive alone or with their family. This money pays for their basic living expenses.

The Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship has already been able to support three academics seeking sanctuary and this year, we hope to fund our fourth Fellow. To be able to do this, we need your help.

Any donation that you make will help Lancaster to become a place of Sanctuary for those fleeing persecution.

Alli's story

Alli is our third Fellow in the Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship. Click the video to listen to his story and experience with the programme.

Hear from our Fellows

Our First Fellow's story

"It can happen in so many countries: an individual who has never received even a traffic ticket can start being discriminated against overnight without doing anything wrong. Their world can be turned upside down. We do not expect such things, even in our wildest nightmares, to happen to us, but this is what happened to me. And although eventually, we know that society will recover and human rights will one day be respected again, for an individual in the academy, this period could be a very long time.

For me, the support of Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship came at a very critical time in my life. I was effectively blocked from social life in my country and in a very unpleasant situation, not knowing what might happen tomorrow. At that critical time, Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship gave me a port and an opportunity to continue with research and contribute to wider society with my experience and my work in science. My labs and the entire university were confiscated, and I was denied access to university research facilities, even to the libraries. Currently, however, with the support of Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship, I am working with a research group in the UK that has the potential to contribute substantially to society at both a scientific and technical level, an opportunity I was denied in my home country.

For a scientist, even a short six months of being kept from research activities under discriminatory policies can be very destructive. The opportunity by Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship played a crucial role for me, at a personal level, for my scientific research and contribution to academia and society. It is hard to overestimate what Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship makes possible; it contributes to the existence of the individual and their right to life, to the creativity of the individual, which otherwise would have been terminated, to the research he/she participates in, and to the future of freedom of speech and expression in the entire world, which in return, is the main guarantee of our existence as individuals in these modern times.

We would definitely be living in a much better world if we had more organizations like CARA, ideally in every democracy in the world, so that society can better protect individuals with more powerful and responsive financial support. It is a bet that is meant to win for sure. As a response, being productive in my work is a pleasure. Thank you."

Cara on Channel 4

Cara was featured on Channel 4 news, where esteemed British Sculptor and long-term supporter of Cara, Antony Gormley, discussed its importance with Jon Snow. Gormley highlights the key role academics worldwide play in the contemporary environment and how Cara allows them to carry out the vital work they do.

Donate to the Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship

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Make a Single gift

Payroll Giving for Lancaster Staff

Contact Us

By Post

Philanthropy, Alumni and Supporter Engagement
C Floor
University House
Lancaster University
Bailrigg, Lancaster
LA1 4YW
United Kingdom

By Phone

+44 (0)1524 594109

We're here Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm

By Email

friends@lancaster.ac.uk.

Contact a member of our team directly.

To find out more about The Lancaster Sanctuary Fellowship, please contact Dr Rebecca Marsden in the first instance.

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