Learn About Us

UKOWLA is committed to supporting mutually beneficial partnership links between communities in the UK and in other parts of the world particularly Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Latin America.

	“I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my masters.  I want the full menu of rights”. Bishop Desmond Tutu

UKOWLA believes that:

• creative links between the peoples of the world through exchange, mutual practical support, through development education and advocacy are crucial for world peace
• these links enable people to see themselves and their responsibilities in the context of a diverse complex and interdependent world
• mutual respect for cultural, social and religious diversity is a basic tenet of partnership and that true and lasting friendship is a prerequisite for the promotion of understanding between the people internationally
• links to other parts of the world can and should be a powerful tool in creating greater social cohesion between diverse communities in Britain.

Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow Just walk beside me and be my friend Albert Camus (attributed)

Who are we?

• UKOWLA is a charity (no 1105005) with a small but effective staff and led by board of 14 trustees from diverse backgrounds, all of whom have experience of community linking partnerships.
• We are a membership organisation with over 300 community groups around the UK who see the benefits that being a member of UKOWLA can bring.
• We are not a grant giving organisation but can give advice about fundraising.
• We are not directly engaged in setting up links but can point you in the right direction for finding potential partners.

What We Do

• We give telephone, e mail and face-to-face advice to individuals and groups who are either ‘thinking of linking’ or have established partnerships.
• We organise meetings, workshops and conferences on different aspects of linking.
• We run country-specific conferences for groups with links to particular countries e.g. Uganda, Sierra Leone, Gambia, Ghana, Tanzania and Sri Lanka.
• We produce written information and guidance through e.g. a quarterly newsletter, the UKOWLA “Toolkit of Good Practice – Opportunities and Challenges” and other publications
• We have an active website which gives up-to-date information about events and activities in which we are engaged

We are a consortium member of the DFID (external link) funded Global School Partnerships (external link) led by British Council (external link), with VSO (external link) and Cambridge Education Foundation (external link) supporting school partnerships with particular emphasis on encouraging schools to involve the wider community.