In August 2024, Migrant Action and its associates met and spent the night in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales manor, Parceval Hall, to discuss its past, present, and future. Newly certified with independent charity status after being under the umbrella of Leeds Christian Community Trust (LCCT) since its inception in 2016, Migrant Action sought to initiate a new chapter, making time for connection, reflecting on their journey, and planting seeds for transformation.
The Strategy Residential, facilitated by Heather Barker and Laurie Spafford – on behalf of Oasis Human Relations and supported by the Oasis Foundation – enabled the charity to further explore how it wishes to grow, rooted in humanity, empowerment, systemic justice and transformational change — and reaching towards a world without borders.
To learn more, read the Director of Migrant Action’s report at the bottom of this blog, and underneath you can find reflections from the Oasis co-facilitators and images that came out of the event.
Heather’s Reflections
If asked what are the “best” ingredients for successful Away Days and planning sessions, I would say that combination of meeting in person, a conducive environment and a group of people passionate about what they do and why they are involved. Never has this been more evident to me than the time spent with Migrant Action at Parcevall Hall in Yorkshire. Objectives of the session? To take the time to think about the world in which migrants are living and what this means for the life of the organisation, the role that Migrant Action has to play – and to dream a little! To do this, it was important for the team to get to know each other – to laugh and debate together, to understand each others’ values and concerns; importantly to “be” together. And the venue and the people made it happen! Parcevall Hall offered beauty, nature and space to free thoughts from the structure of everyday lives.
Laurie’s Reflections
My relationship with Migrant Action began in 2022 when I supported the development of their strategic thinking framework in collaboration with the Oasis Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Meeting Fidelis and Mike again this August to co-facilitate the reflective gathering was a revelation. How the organisation has grown! All these lovely and interesting people – working, thinking, and feeling together, weaving together their expertise, knowledge, and experience, and committing to making Migrant Action’s future one that provides hope for migrants in the UK, and indeed further across the world. This group and this session were a pleasure to co-facilitate, with such fertile conversations, deep reflection, and such intentional and purposeful steps being taken together to build, develop, and sustain Migrant Action, to continue the strategic thinking, and to proactively dream a more just society.
