It's World Refugee Day! And we've got some insightful stories to share 🌍
Refugee Festival Scotland ends on 22 June so we're rounding up some personal stories and facts/myth-busting around refugee and asylum seekers for you this week!
In this week’s newsletter:
Exploring themes of multiculturalism as well as busting myths surrounding refugees and asylum seekers this World Refugee Day
The Power Shift: a round-up of all the latest stories to come from our investigative project exploring the transition to renewables
More news from our partners: including a local Pride event happening in Lothian, Glasgow City Council is named one of the leading authorities on climate action and Rural Communties Challenge Fund is open + more!
Elsewhere in local news:
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Latest from our website
A Nigerian heart in a Scottish home: exploring what it means to belong
Ramatu Umar Bako, shares her journey growing up as a third culture kid…from feeling disconnected from her Nigerian roots to finding belonging in Scotland.
Refugee Week: The facts and myth-busting lies around refugees and asylum seekers
What is a refugee? Refugees are people who have fled their countries to escape conflict…
Sri Lankan cuisine finds a home on Glasgow’s food map
A blend of tradition with a modern twist, Kofi Kade and Ceylon Tea Bar in Glasgow are more than just Sri Lankan restaurants. They are a celebration of…
Latest from The Power Shift Project
Is the current planning system for renewables sidelining communities?
“It seems [Scottish Ministers Alastair Allan and Gillian Martin] are completely detached from the reality…
Open letter to John Swinney calls for immediate moratorium on wind farm developments
Local campaign group Sustainable Shetland is one of the signatories of this open letter to…
Call for new wind farms to be community-owned
All new wind farm developments should be community-owned, a Scottish Parliament committee heard this week..
‘We need a stronger voice’: 52 Highland community councils unite to demand a say in Scotland’s energy future
Community councils from across the vast Highland Council area came together in Beauly on…
More news from our partners
Midlothian View: The Equality & Scottish Trans Pride in Our Community event is this Saturday, beginning at 11am at Holyrood Park joining the Pride March at 12:30pm
Greater Govanhill: Glasgow City Council is one of the UK’s leading authorities for action on climate, new data has found but community leader is ‘flabbergasted’
The Edinburgh Reporter: Edinburgh councillors have agreed to consider moving to a four day week to improve the wellbeing of employees. More info & application HERE
The Bellman: Rural Communities Challenge Fund now open, with closing date on 17 August
Inverclyde Now: Inverclyde artist who took up painting after receiving art materials as a gift has gained confidence exhibiting at Beacon Arts Centre’s summer exhibition
Elsewhere in local news…
News in Crisis: Co‑creation to the rescue?
As trust in traditional media continues to decline, a new initiative from the Public Interest News Foundation explores co-creation as a path forward, where journalists and communities collaborate to tell more inclusive, accurate and democratic stories. At a recent event hosted with the Universities of Stirling and Warwick, speakers including Scottish Beacon and Greater Govanhill founder Rhiannon Davies shared insights on co-creation’s potential to rebuild trust and accountability in public interest journalism.
Drawing on their 2023 Co-Creational Model report, PINF is now developing a co-creation toolkit to support newsrooms in working alongside communities through every stage of the reporting process; from planning to measuring impact. Advocates say the approach can help address historic media harm and bring underrepresented voices into journalism in meaningful ways, though it also requires clear boundaries, long-term commitment, and ethical care.
The project signals a growing movement towards journalism that is done with, not just for, communities and one that may be key to sustaining trusted local media in the years ahead.
The ‘churn for clicks’ era is ending for tech‑driven media
As publishers navigate the fallout from advertising shifts and social algorithm changes, Press Gazette reports that the once-dominant model of high-volume content and clickbait no longer guarantees audience growth. With dwindling referrals from Facebook and Google zero-click results rising, digital outlets are scrambling to retain readers.
At the recent Press Gazette Future of Media Tech conference, industry leaders revealed what’s working instead: deep user engagement habits, like encouraging app installs (which can cut churn by 50%) and promoting newsletter subscriptions (reducing churn by 11%), for example.
It seems publishers are now focusing on subscription and membership models and platform-agnostic strategies rather than chasing fleeting clicks. The shift points to a tougher, more sustainable path forward, one that prioritises quality, community and commerce over low-quality, sensationalist viral traffic.