This project aims to support small and medium community organisations in areas of capacity-building needs identified by the groups themselves. As part of our 2008 progarmme. we are now in the process of recruiting 10-15 community groups to provide them with free1-2-1 targeted technical support to build up their governance and operational structures, help them with business and project planning and management and increase their access to resources and funding. The groups will be selected on ‘first come, first serve” basis. If you wish to be considered for support please fill in the online form: Outreach Capacity Building Support. (Click here )

The University of Wales, Lampeter, provides vocational training for volunteers and the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors. All courses and qualifications are run as part-time distance learning and are designed to fit into already busy lifestyles. No previous qualifications needed. All assessment by course work, no exams. Tutor support via phone, email or the internet. All courses accredited by the University of Wales. For further information click here.

BMER Outreach HR Advice & Support Project Presents a Free half-day training for BMER groups
11th June 2008, 1:30p.m.-4.30pm
Centre for Armenian Information & Advice (CAIA), Hayashen, 105a Mill Hill Road, W3 8JF

Participants to this training event will: Have better understanding of employment legislations and their roles and responsibilities as employers; Get to know about HR management principals; Have better understanding of better practice examples; Be better equipped to support their employees and deal with crises.

The workshop covers all essential areas of employment practice and law and includes presentation of legislation and interactive discussion and exercises on how to put legislation into practice. Participants will receive guidance and information on the range of resources available to them.

For further information please contact: Feride Baycan on 020 7700 8124 or email: feride@lvsc.org.uk

The estimated 60,000 migrant men living in the UK, who may be gay, bisexual, transgender or identify as straight but have sex with men, are often a hidden population marginalised within both the migrant and gay communities. With little planning prior to their move, men frequently find they don’t have the language skills or support structures they need to help them with life in the UK. This can result in increased risky behaviour just to survive. Coming here in search of gay liberation and economic opportunity, men repeatedly find themselves excluded from the open and accepted way of life they had hoped for. Without the knowledge of where to go for help they can find themselves in situations that increase their vulnerablity to HIV and poor sexual health.
These training course from the Terrence Higgins Trust are for people in organisations working with or supporting migrants, whether or not they directly engage with men who have sex with men, and for those working in gay men’s health promotion.

Training for Migrant Organisations - London, Tuesday 24 June
This workshop will give participants the chance to gain an understanding into the issues facing migrant gay men living in the UK, and the impact this has on their risk of acquiring HIV.

Training for Gay Men Health Promoters - London,Wednesday 25 June 2008
This course aims to raise awareness of the difficulties facing migrant gay men and how this impacts their HIV prevention needs, and what gay men’s health promoters can do to help migrant gay men using their services.

For booking information or if you have any specific questions regarding the content of the training contact Paul Dobb on 020 7812 1808 or email paul.dobb@tht.org.uk

'How to set up a Refugee Community Organisation' is a resource designed with and for new and emerging refugee community organisations to help them establish themselves as organisations.
The resource includes advice from activists who have recently set up refugee community organisations (RCOs), in the form of quotes. The draft of the resource was peer reviewed by representatives of recently established RCOs, informing the content and overall look of the resource. There is a fold-out illustrated 'river' in the back of the booklet which can be used to chart the progress of setting up an RCO, with artwork to represent the content outlined above, mirrored in the booklet. The booklet is also illustrated with photos.
It is aimed at people wanting to establish, and in the process of establishing, RCOs - as such it can be used directly by refugee community activists, or by development workers and trainers as a supporting resource. There is also a section on how generic development workers (such as in a CVS) can better understand the needs of RCOs. It shows the options that are available to groups, not a simple one-size-fits-all approach.

To order a copy email admin@fcdl.org.uk or contact FCDL (Federation for Community Development Learning) on tel. 0114 253 6770. Price: Free to refugee community organisations ; £15 per copy to voluntary and community organisations; £30 to statutory organisations (All prices include p&p).

This publication presents and discusses some of the key information available in the newly created Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC). The many graphs and tables include data on: immigrants’ demography including age, gender and duration of stay; and their labour market outcomes including labour market status, occupation and sector of activity.

The book consists of nine thematic chapters, each including a brief description of sources, and a discussion of cross-country differences. The chapters also include a short analysis of specific issues relevant to the data, such as the gender dimension of “brain drain”, the international migration of health professionals, and the role of low-skilled foreign-born workers in domestic services.

An introductory chapter provides an overview of the data to present a picture of international migration to the OECD from four regions: Africa, Asia, and Latin America and from within the OECD area. A methodogical note completes the report by summarizing the different sources and methods applied and explaining the structure of the new DIOC.

For further information and to order a copy click here.

Both Exiled Writer INK schemese are funded by the Arts Council England funded.
Writers can apply for one scheme. Deadline is June 18, 2008.

Exiled Writers INK mentoring scheme
Are you a writer forced to live in exile? Are you finding it hard to get recognition and published in the UK? Exiled Writers INK is running a mentoring scheme to match writers in exile with well known writers in the UK. You will work together intensively over a year, leading to publications/ readings and new opportunities. You do not have to have been previously published, or have a perfect level of English but you do need to be writing at a high level and ready to accept guidance and constructive criticism from your mentor. If you are interested, please send 10 poems or 2 short stories and a CV to: NatTeitler@aol.com or: Exiled Writers Ink mentoring scheme, 94 Beaufort Street, London SW3 6BU. Work will not be returned.

Exiled Writers INK translation scheme
Are you a writer forced to live in exile? Are you finding it hard to get translated and published in the UK? Exiled Writers INK is running a scheme to match writers in exile with expert translators in the UK. You will work together intensively over a year, leading to publications, readings and new opportunities. If you are interested please send a CV in English and 10 poems or 2 short stories in your own language to: NatTeitler@aol.com or Exiled Writers Ink Translation scheme, 94 Beaufort Street, London SW3 6BU. Work will not be returned.

Open for applications: 7 May 2008
Application closing date: 27 August 2008
Minimum grant: £10,001 ; Maximum grant: £500,000 for projects within one region.

Infrastructure services do vital work to help voluntary and community groups achieve their aims, through services such as training, providing information, representing community groups' interests, supporting networks and sharing good practice. The BASIS programme aims to ensure that voluntary and community organisations throughout England have access to high quality support that will help them be more effective.

In round one the Lottery Funded BASIS programme awarded £101 million to 206 voluntary and community sector infrastructure organisations across England. They expect to award up to £50 million in round two. Sanjay Dighe, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund’s England Committee, said: "Through BASIS 2 the Fund is continuing to develop the provision of expert, consistent and sustainable services, across the range of voluntary and community sector organisations. This second round of BASIS is taking a much more targeted approach to ensure funding is used specifically to meet identified needs within third sector infrastructure support. (...) This support aims to fill the gaps remaining after BASIS 1 on both a regional and national level, ensuring the sector is fully equipped to operate to the best of its ability, ultimately improving the services it provides in enhancing lives and communities across the country."

For further information and application guidelines click here.

It's never been more important to nurture innovation and excellence among smaller charities, which are so often overshadowed by the big players of the voluntary sector. Yes, the household names of the charity world do a vital job in so many aspects of our society. But it's typically the smaller organisations that have the fresh thinking, flexibility and reach into communities that make the crucial difference to people's lives.

For the past 16 years, the Guardian Charity Awards have set out to showcase best practice among small and medium-sized charities and help them win the profile and funding they need to move forward. To the big players, the message is: sorry, this is one set of awards you cannot enter.
The awards are aimed at charities delivering practical solutions to present-day problems. So long as the objective of your charity is improving social wellbeing in its broadest sense, and provided other entry criteria are met, nothing is ruled out.

The five winning charities will each be awarded: £6,000 prize money; a brand new PC, donated by Trams; a half-day consultancy session plus follow-up support for up to six months on strategy, impact, governance, leadership, campaigning or collaboration, courtesy of NCVO’s new consultancy service; a tailored package of media services from Media Trust.

For further information and to enter the competition, click here.