The Edinburgh Ukraine partnership received two awards – Commercial Partnerships & Voluntary Sector Partnerships – at the Public Service Awards which were hosted at The Scottish Parliament.
The Commercial Partnerships Award was made to the Edinburgh Ukrainian Welcome Hub in recognition of the support provided by Natwest and The City of Edinburgh Council to establish the facility at Gogarburn which welcomed over 11,000 Ukrainians seeking safe refuge in Scotland.
The Voluntary Sector Partnerships award – Edinburgh’s Warm Scots Welcome – was made to EVOC, Volunteer Edinburgh, Capital City Partnership and AUGB Edinburgh on behalf of Edinburgh’s third sector who have supported the response over the last 21 months.
The work of third sector organisations delivering food provision, mental health support, youth work and children’s integration, English language, social and cultural support etc has been critical to Edinburgh’s Warm Scottish Welcome and will continue to be critical as we look forward to the Warm Scottish Future.
Both awards are collected on behalf of the 26,000 Ukrainians who now call Scotland their home.
In addition at the same awards ceremony the Integrated Regional Employability and Skills Programme (IRES), which is part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal programme, won the Project and Programme Management Award. This is a policy to drive inclusive growth, with a promise of delivering an additional 14,700 skill improvements in Edinburgh and the region and help 5.300 people into employment.
Council Leader Cllr Cammy Day said: “I’m absolutely delighted to see the fantastic work in our city being recognised.
“Edinburgh’s solidarity and support for Ukraine and the Ukrainians who now call Edinburgh home is unwavering. These awards highlight the extensive partnership work between local government, third sector, private sector and other partners that has taken place across the city since the start of Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine in February 2022. As we shift our focus from welcoming our Ukrainian guests to helping with settling into their new lives here in Edinburgh, this strength of partnership is as important as ever. I’d like to wholeheartedly thank all our partners and the people of Edinburgh for all their efforts.
“Employment, upskilling, and improving the working lives of our residents are also key priorities, and it’s great to see that these have been recognised in IRES’s award.”
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