MUSICIANS IN EXILE - AWARD FOR RACE, FAITH AND RELIGION AT THE NATIONAL DIVERSITY AWARDS 2019

That this House congratulates Musicians in Exile, a community project for asylum seekers and refugee musicians formed by The Glasgow Barons, an orchestra in Govan, on winning the Community Organisation Award for Race, Faith and Religion at the National Diversity Awards 2019 at a prestigious black-tie ceremony at The Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool on Friday 20 September 2019; notes the award is recognition of the work been done to engage and recruit musicians seeking asylum through city-wide leafleting in many languages including Kurdish, Arabic, Farsi and English; further notes that the award recognises that the organisation helps its service users, most who have fled without their instrument, by purchasing and providing long-term loans of instruments; pays tribute to the work being done with partner agencies, such as the Red Cross and Govan Community Project, to identify interested musicians; welcomes the efforts to bridge cultural and language barriers facing those who arrive in Glasgow seeking asylum by providing them with a place they can contribute to their local community through the universal language of music; and wishes Musicians in Exile continued success in the coming years.