Why Becoming a College of Sanctuary Matters to City Lit
For Maria Vasquez-Aguilar, City Lit’s journey towards becoming a College of Sanctuary is not simply a new initiative. It is something much more personal.
“My family and I arrived in the UK as refugees from Chile in 1978,” she says. “I have lived experience of what it is to arrive as a child refugee, and the difference adult education can have on a community. Making City Lit a College of Sanctuary therefore is a personal as well as a professional hope of mine.”
At City Lit, education has always been about more than qualifications. It is about confidence, connection and giving people the chance to feel part of something. That is why the work around sanctuary matters so deeply to Maria and to many others across the college.
A journey shaped by education and community
Maria’s story begins in Chile during the military regime that overthrew President Salvador Allende. Her parents were imprisoned, and Maria learnt to walk in a concentration camp visiting her Father, before she and her family were eventually forced into exile.
“Thousands of people sadly did not survive. We were among the lucky ones, although we never thought we were going to end up living in the UK forever!” The dictatorship went on to last 17 years.
After studying Political Science and working in youth and community work, Maria trained as a teacher in 2007. She later joined City Lit in 2012 as a PTHP tutor in the Community Outreach team.
Today, as Head of Community Partnerships, she brings together her passion for education and community work every day.
“I still miss teaching,” she says. “I try to do it whenever I can.”
Maria is also Chair of the UCU City Lit branch, a role she says she is incredibly proud to hold.
Why City Lit is working towards College of Sanctuary status
For Maria, becoming a College of Sanctuary feels like a natural step for City Lit.
“City Lit has always been about helping people reach their potential and removing barriers to learning,” she says. “This work builds on what we already do.”
The idea gathered momentum after Refugee Week events and courses held at the college last year. Those conversations sparked wider discussions about how sanctuary and inclusion could become part of the culture across the whole college.
The College of Sanctuary award is built around three principles: learn, embed and share.
For City Lit, that has meant reflecting honestly on what is already working well and where there is room to improve. Staff development and learner voice have become important parts of those conversations.
“If we achieve the award, it will not mean the work is finished,” Maria says. “It is part of a much longer journey.”
The role education plays in people’s lives
Maria believes adult education can be life changing, especially for people rebuilding their lives in a new country.
“Education can help people regain confidence, meet others and feel part of a community again.”
Across City Lit, teams are already supporting learners from sanctuary seeking backgrounds, including Deaf refugees and learners facing additional challenges.
Maria says the work is not only about providing support. It is also about listening and learning from people’s experiences.
“There is a lot of misinformation in the world right now,” she says. “Educators have a responsibility to raise awareness of the reasons people seek sanctuary, and encourage understanding and humanity. Everyone deserves to live with dignity.”
That belief sits at the heart of the College of Sanctuary movement and the work already happening across City Lit.
Hossein Khamseh, Deaf Refugee from Iran and City Lit Student
Why Refugee Week matters
Every June, Refugee Week brings people together through events, conversations and creative activities that celebrate the contributions of refugee communities and encourage greater understanding.
City Lit is continuing to build on the success of previous Refugee Week activities by offering more courses and events across the college.
“We want it to become a lasting part of the City Lit calendar,” Maria says.
For her, the connection between education and freedom is impossible to ignore.
“In Chile, some of the first places targeted by the military regime were places of learning, including adult and community education programmes. That tells you everything about the power education holds.”
It is also why creating welcoming spaces for learning matters so much.
“City Lit does that every day. People come here to grow, connect and feel supported. We want sanctuary seeking learners and staff to feel that this is their space too.”
Looking ahead
For Maria, working towards becoming a College of Sanctuary is about more than achieving recognition.
“It is about creating a culture of welcome that people genuinely feel when they come through the doors.”
Through teaching, community partnerships and a commitment to inclusion, City Lit hopes to continue building a college where everyone feels they belong and has the opportunity to thrive.
College of Sanctuary
We are proud to be working towards recognition as a College of Sanctuary. Since our founding in 1919, City Lit has been a place of welcome – beginning with lipreading classes for veterans deafened in the First World War. For over a century, we’ve opened education to people from every background. Today, we continue that tradition by supporting all who seek sanctuary, offering not only skills and knowledge but a community where diversity is valued and ambitions can thrive.
