Sanctuary at Mansfield Announcing the Council of Lutheran Churches Scholarship
Welcoming the first Kofi Annan Scholars to Mansfield A new partnership with the University of Oxford’s Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme.
‘At Mansfield we aim to educate, equip, and empower our students to realise their ambitions, ask questions, and make a positive impact on the world around them. We wanted these new scholarships at Mansfield to be associated with a figure whose name provides inspiration and honour to those in receipt of them, and to reflect the intended purpose of the scholarships in educating people to make the world a better place. With Kofi Annan’s deep commitment to education for the benefit of international peace, collaboration and development, and our proud link with him, we could think of no better name to achieve that intention.’
In October 2020, we welcomed the first ever cohort of Kofi Annan Scholars to our College. In partnership with the University of Oxford’s prestigious Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme, Mansfield plans to offer seven new fully funded graduate scholarships for exceptional students from low-income countries, for the next five years. The Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme aims to provide outstanding university graduates and professionals from developing and emerging economies with the opportunity to pursue study at Oxford. In addition to their studies, the graduates participate in a tailor-made leadership programme to give them additional practical skills and opportunities.
Helen Mountfield QC, Principal, Mansfield College
graduate studies at Oxford. All the scholars talked about the warm welcome they had received at Mansfield and how this College’s ethos and values reflected their own.
The new scholarships are named after the former SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Kofi Annan (1938-2018), who officially opened the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at Mansfield in June 2018, just weeks before he died. We are delighted that the Kofi Annan Foundation has granted us permission to name this endeavour in honour of Kofi Annan, and to be working closely with the Foundation on this initiative.
In what was an inspiring moment for everyone, Kofi Annan’s widow, Mrs Nane Annan, our special guest at the event, talked to us about how much she felt Kofi would have approved of the scholarships: ‘Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation’.
The Kofi Annan Scholarships have been made possible thanks to the generosity of Mansfield alumnus, Jan Fischer (PPE, 1989), of Germany.
At a time when, globally, inequalities in society are deepening, we at Mansfield believe that universities can help, by enabling people from a broad range of backgrounds to develop their talents and to make a positive contribution to the world.
At an online event in late October, Mansfield’s Principal joined representatives from the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust, the Kofi Annan Foundation, and our sponsor, Jan Fischer, to hear from each of the scholars about their aims and aspirations in pursuing
Mansfield was founded to welcome students who had up until the mid-19th century been excluded from an Oxford education because of their religious beliefs. Today we remain true to this inclusive tradition and, in conjunction with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, we are proud to stand up for equal dignity, respect and rights for all. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), half the refugees worldwide are under the age of 18, and only about three per cent of them enter higher education. Funding is a major barrier. From October 2021, thanks to new support from the Council of Lutheran Churches, Mansfield College will offer a fully funded graduate scholarship to an outstanding student who has been forced to migrate from their home and has sought sanctuary in the UK. We are delighted that through our shared commitment to supporting refugees, and also through our new Chaplain, Sarah Farrow, we have re-established Mansfield’s historic partnership with the Lutheran Church. From the mid-1950s to the 1990s, Mansfield was the only educational foundation in the UK to offer
training for Lutheran pastors, through a tutorship established by the Lutheran World Foundation (LWF) in co-operation with the Council of Lutheran Churches. Interestingly, one of the LWF tutors, Dr Jan Womer, acted as Principal of the College from 1986 to 1988. The Council of Lutheran Churches Scholarship is intended to meet the needs of a highly able student whose education has been disrupted by forced migration, and reflects Mansfield’s continued commitment to the College’s founding principles. This scholarship will cover living costs and, in partnership with the University of Oxford, all fees. The new scholarship is part of an initiative by Mansfield – working with Somerville College, which is also launching a Sanctuary Scholarship – to engage more closely with people seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. We commit to learning what it means to be seeking sanctuary, and celebrating sanctuary seekers’ contributions to society, through a varied programme of activities. These will include: student-led and Collegesupported initiatives; collaborations with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights; and an annual event organised jointly with Somerville College. The first of the joint
‘I am delighted that our community was universally so supportive of offering a refugee scholar the opportunity to study at Mansfield, and that Mansfield and Somerville Colleges are working together to apply for College of Sanctuary status.’ Helen Mountfield QC, Principal, Mansfield College
If you would like to know more about this year’s scholars, and their areas of research, please consult the Kofi Annan Scholars page on the Mansfield College website.
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‘ W e commit to learning what it means to be seeking sanctuary, and celebrating sanctuary seekers’ contributions to society’
events took place in July 2020 with the principals of both colleges welcoming Lord Alf Dubs to speak, interviewed by broadcaster Natasha Kaplinsky. Mansfield and Somerville Colleges are together applying for College of Sanctuary status. This scheme, which grew from the City of Sanctuary movement, involves pledging to provide the most welcoming and accessible environment possible for refugees and asylum seekers. The scholarships reflect the University of Oxford’s broadening efforts to support refugees. The Oxford Students Refugee Campaign, a student-led initiative, has provided financial support for seven refugee students at Oxford in recent years and work is taking place to create new provision across the collegiate University.
