Building stability and UK security

 

 

 

 

-    By working on behalf of the UK where the UK’s history, foreign policy or military interventions divide opinion, we build trust for the UK, contributing to the UK’s long-term security.

 

-    We provide opportunities for different perspectives to be shared through the arts, social action, school and community linking, capacity building and networking, reducing tensions and helping create the cultural and social underpinning for stronger societies.

 

 

- Through English, the arts and our work in education and society, we play a major role in building skills, connecting educational and arts institutions, encouraging links with the wider world, and supporting cultural and economic development. 

 

- We provide opportunities for people to be active and constructive participants in their own societies and to inform and change perceptions in the UK and other countries.

 

 

- Our operations are occasionally attacked, and our programmes disrupted by unrest, but we believe it is vital to building trust for the UK that we continue working with people who want our services even when our operations are disrupted or our security is threatened.

 

 

In South Sudan, we opened our office as soon as the country was established. We have brought former combatants, shaken by civil war, into the classroom, teaching them English and helping them to move from conflict to public service and peace-keeping roles. 

 

In Afghanistan, we provide English for the public sector, business leaders, academics, and in support of the legal system.  

 

We are supporting language policy for the new Afghan Defence University, helping to bring stability and security to the country. Essential military aviators have already graduated from our English language courses.

 

In post-conflict Iraq, we have provided training for Ministry of Education English Supervisors developing modern methods of teaching English in schools. We also have a government-sponsored university programme, linking more than 30 UK universities with counterparts in Baghdad, Basra and Kurdistan.

 

Through our ‘Releasing Potential in Iraqi Schools’ project, we have trained Iraqi teachers, transforming the learning experience of 100,000 Iraqi pupils.

 

We helped establish the Iraq National Youth Orchestra, with 42 musicians representing all of Iraq’s ethnic and religious communities.

 

In Pakistan, we have delivered activities for young people in vocational schools to develop their enterprise skills, promoting entrepreneurship as a career option and making them more employable.

 

In the Middle East and North Africa, we provide direct support to learners through television, radio, social media and newspapers. The surge of interest in social networking has allowed us to extend our Facebook service to learners of English, reaching over 100,000 individual active subscribers with daily English language practice materials. 

 

In August 2011, insurgents carried out an attack against our compound in Kabul and 12 people lost their lives. The attack has doubled our determination to continue making a difference in places such as Afghanistan, where our work is so important to providing development and opportunities, as well as contributing to a more stable and stronger society.  Our programmes were back up and running within a week and we continue to operate in the country.