Migrant Voice is working on planning some creative stunts/street theatre to raise public awareness of high visa costs and long settlement routes for migrants. This is part of our campaign, which has been calling to reduce extortionate visa costs to processing cost only and for settlement routes to be capped at 5 years.

Join our next planning and workshop sessions to be part of building the props, making the costumes, writing the script and acting out the performance.

This is for everyone: you don’t need to have any theatrical experience. Join us to help make this event happen and to raise awareness of the issues, whether you are affected by visa fees or not. We have several ideas for the stunts – help us shape them further and make them happen.

Next planning session: Our next Migrant Voice Meet-Up will take place on: Wednesday, 12th February 5.30 – 7.30pm.

Where: Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. (please note the lift is currently out of order, and we are on the 2nd floor)

Register here 

For more information contact: [email protected]

The issue: Migrants coming to the UK to work, study or join family have to pay extortionate amounts for their visas on top of the taxes and living costs that we all pay. Individuals are paying over £3600 every 2.5 years to renew their visas, which is 7-10 times the cost of processing their visas.

Until now, many of those who want to settle in the UK have been on a route that after five years allowed them to apply to stay indefinitely. Some 150,000+ people have been on a ten-year route, with greater cost, instability and harm.

In 2025 the government’s white paper on immigration set out proposals to extend routes to settlement, with some being 10 and even 20+ years long. Paying extortionate costs for so long while being in limbo, unable to fully settle or plan for the future would cause irreparable harm for the individual and society.

The government’s consultation into “earned settlement” is due to close on February 12th, 2026. This consultation gives us an opportunity to oppose the new policies and share our experiences for why we need a better system which treats all migrants with dignity. The consultation itself has some areas which seem designed to catch people out though.

Together with a number of other organisations, we have compiled some basic guidance on how we feel the consultation could be completed to best argue the case for a genuinely fairer system.

On Tuesday February 3rd, from 4pm to 5:30pm, we are collaborating with other organisations to host a webinar to go through some of the ways we think the consultation could be filled in.

If you would like to attend, please register via this zoom link

Our Joint Guide for Completing the Government’s Consultation on Earned Settlement is here

Migrant Voice invites you to our next network meeting in Glasgow on Wednesday 4 February from 6-8pm to follow up on our October discussions on hate crime.

This meeting will be an opportunity to hear from the police and local authorities about their response to our recommendations and briefing and what they can do to support our communities. We will also hear from community leaders and engage in further discussion.

Speakers include:

Emma Croft, Chief Superintendent, City Commander for Greater Glasgow

Councillor Graham Campbell

Also on the agenda at this meeting is a small celebration to mark 16 years of Migrant Voice with cake and music.

Where: The Chapel at the Renfield Centre, 260 Bath St, Glasgow G2 4JP
When: 6-8pm followed by networking

To ensure we have space and for catering purposes, please register here

For any questions please email [email protected]

Look forward to seeing you on the 4th of February.

We invote you to our celebration of International Migrants Day and the finale of our 'Putting Ourselves in the Picture' project on 12 December.

At the event, we will launch a new video documentary about the project and we will hear about the impact of the project through speeches from the project funder, the project lead, and some of the participants. We will conclude with a multicultural ceilidh (bring your dancing shoes!). Delicious food will be served.

The programme also includes: 
* ​a k​ey note speech from the Director of Migrant Voice
* an exhibition showcasing some of what was developed during the project 
* a slideshow of photographs from our events

When: 12 December, 5 - 9 pm,

Where: Bath Street, G3 (exact address will be sent to those who sign up)

Note: We will have activities from 5 until 9 pm. It is fine to only attend part of the event. Please note, the venue has limited capacity and is strict about the numbers of attendees. We expect our evening ceilidh to be highly popular. Only the people who sign up will be admitted. 

Putting Ourselves in the Picture is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to all the players. 

Join us for our International Migrants Day festival 18 December, 2025

'One City, Many Journeys – Honouring Migrants and Shaping a Shared Future'

As part of the Cultural Hangout Festival London 2025

Migrant Voice and Centre for Youths Integrated Development (CYID) welcome you to the event of the year – a migrant festival to celebrate our lives, journeys and resilience.

Migration continues to shape the social, economic, and cultural fabric of the United Kingdom. From public service to creative innovation, migrants make immense contributions. Yet, challenges like discrimination, exclusion, and integration barriers remain.

Our International Migrants Day 2025 embraces the theme “One City, Many Journeys – Honouring Migrants and Shaping a Shared Future” to affirm that migrants are not peripheral - they are central. They are workers, entrepreneurs, artists, caregivers, and community leaders, enriching the UK’s heritage and growth. This event is a space to challenge stereotypes, inspire empathy, and celebrate shared humanity.

International Migrants Day 2025 is more than an event - it’s a platform for unity, dialogue, and celebration. It’s an opportunity for migrants to be honoured, for communities to connect, and for shared futures to be shaped. We look forward to collaborating with stakeholders to make the festival a meaningful celebration of migration, culture, and community.

Everyone is welcome.

Date: 18 December, 2025

Time: 2-9pm

Venue: St John’s Hyde Park, Hyde Park Crescent, London W2 2QD

To sign up: click here

For more information contact: [email protected]

To inquire about having a stall, fill in this form

To suggest a performance contact  [email protected]

Core Features

Stalls and cultural exhibitions: hosted by migrant communities showcasing art, textiles, music, food, and traditions

Stage Performances: Live music, spoken word, dance, and cultural showcases by migrant and local artists.

Panel discussion: ‘Hope out of Hostility – shifting the narrative’ - interactive discussions with community leaders, creatives, and policymakers on recent migration policy and developments, youth empowerment, and integration

Interactive Workshops: including ‘Creating a fairer system - challenging extortionate visa fees and longer settlement routes’ and ‘Heritage Education as a Foundation for Tolerance and Mutual Respect.’

Rights and resilience circle: Free legal advice, migration help desks, and financial management support for migrants settling in the UK.

Migrant Recognition Moment: Celebrating individuals and organisations making a positive impact in London’s migrant communities.

After Party: Culture Meets Celebration, an evening of Afrobeat, Caribbean music, and cross-cultural networking to close the day with joy and unity.

Organisers: Migrant Voice and Centre for Youths Integrated Development (CYID)

About

Migrant Voiceis a migrant-led national organisation building a community of migrant voices to speak for ourselves and call for justice for all. We put migrant voices at the centre of the migration debate by developing the skills and confidence of migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees across the UK.

The Centre for Youths Integrated Development (CYID), founded in 2005 in Lagos and registered in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom, empowers young people and supports vulnerable communities through skills development, leadership, and entrepreneurship programs. CYID also plays a strategic role in migration advocacy and reintegration support, helping migrants and returnees rebuild their lives with dignity and opportunity.

International Migrants Day is observed annually on December 18 to recognize and honour the contributions of migrants around the world and to promote the protection of their rights. The day finds its roots in the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 1990. This landmark convention highlighted the vulnerability of migrant workers and the need for international standards to protect their rights. In 2000, the United Nations officially proclaimed December 18 as International Migrants Day through Resolution A/RES/55/93, in recognition of the growing number of migrants globally and the need to promote respect, inclusion, and dignity across borders.

The Cultural Hangout Festival (CHF) is an international platform celebrating identity, honouring migrant contributions, and promoting unity across cultures. www.culturalhangoutfestival.co.uk

We invite you to join us at our October Network Meeting 'Saying No to Hate'. In light of the events and the hatred we've witnessed during the summer and the impact that these actions have had on our communities, we would like to invite you to a safe space where we will be discussing, planning and organising. We are holding this space to reclaim the narrative, plan strategically to counter hate, racism and bigotry, and organise to build our communal power.

At the session, you’ll hear from representatives of anti-racism and migrant-led organisations and meet many fellow Migrant Voice network members for an engaging, solutions-oriented exchange.

Migration is a natural human activity, not a problem. The problem is weaponising migration for political purposes. The UK is home to people from different backgrounds and this is what makes it great. The attempts to politicise people's identities and scapegoat people who are different is unacceptable and doesn't represent Britain.

Please join us on 30th October from 5.30 until 8.30 pm.

Venue address will be sent to those who sign up. Bath St, Glasgow G2

Click here to sign up for the Network Meeting

Launching 30th October - come and join us

This new initiative will create a monthly space where we meet and have an informal discussion over a cup of coffee about what’s happening around us and around the world. This is a space for people to gather, heal, organise and grow. This is an inclusive, safe and equal space, a space where our different journeys are acknowledged /celebrated/ and our stories are told. We will come and be together, we will organise, take action to create a better future for our society. 

Open to: Migrants, those with a migrant background, or anyone who is involved or interested in migration work. 

Our Meet-up activities will evolve as the year progresses but will include 

Conversation and deliberation: where we meet and have an informal discussion over a cup of coffee about what’s happening around us and around the world 

Creative Activism: turning our experiences and messaging into creative materials and actions for our campaigns

Our Space: sharing creative and wellbeing activities including poetry and performance

Media labs training: to get our voices heard - upcoming topics to include photography, blogging, creative writing, digital literacy, interviews, podcasts, telling your story to the media

Venue: Migrant Voice’s London office

Time: The last Thursday of every month 5:30-8pm starting 30 October, 2025. 

Other key dates: 12 November 'Meet-Up' online. 27 November, 'Meet-Up' in person.

To sign up click here

Letters to the Editor & Opinion Pieces - Online Media Training

Part 1: Thursday 6 November, from 6 - 7.30 pm Online

Part 2: Thursday 20 November, from 6 - 7.30 pm Online

Is there anything important to you that you want to share with others through the media? If so, this online training is for you! You will learn how to write compelling opinion pieces and letters to the editor and choose suitable media outlets for publishing them. 

To sign up click here

Join us at our upcoming London Network Meeting on migrants rights and settlement routes in light of the White paper proposals. 
 
The meeting 'Longer settlement routes and higher visa costs: Where is migrant justice in the hostile environment?’ will take place in person on Wednesday 25th June from 6pm to 8pm at 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 JP. Food and refreshments will be provided. 

At the meeting will be looking at what the White paper proposals means for migrants on visa routes. In particular, the proposal to increase settlement routes from five to ten years and extend visa costs for thousands of migrants, creating a two tier system. 

Speakers will include migrants affected by these proposals, community groups, and legal/policy experts. 
Background.

With the Citizenship Ban last month and the race riots last summer, we will also be discussing the continuing trend of at least the last three decades of ever increasingly hostile rhetoric and anti-immigration policies implemented by successive governments, including the current one. We are looking to discuss ways in which we can better mobilise and counter it, including through our visa fees campaign.

For more information and to sign up please email [email protected]

Join us this spring for a series of training sessions: from writing a blog, to engaging with the media, and advocating for our rights. 

We will be sharing with you how to use a range of tools and ways to speak out and tell your stories, to raise awareness, for self-empowerment and to advocate. Come and take part and speak out.

All the sessions are free and taking place online. The training sessions build on each other but can also be taken as stand-alone sessions.

You can sign up for the training sessions here

Join us for a shared learning event exploring the collaboration between Migrant Voice and Glasgow Museums on the ‘Putting Ourselves in the Picture’ photography exhibition at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. 

When: Monday 28 April 2025
1 pm - 4:30 pm
Where: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

In 2022, we set upon a journey together to bring out the heritage of migrants and showcase their contribution to life in Scotland, giving visibility to missing chapters in the representation of migrants in Scottish heritage. We wanted to ensure migrants are better represented in public life and institutions so future generations will see their place in the history of Scotland and understand they have roots in the country.

In this event, you will hear from Migrant Voice staff, museum curators, migration researchers, culture funders, and migrant community members involved in the curating process. You will have a chance to learn about the process of developing migrant-led exhibitions, see ‘Putting Ourselves in the Picture’, and network.

‘Putting Ourselves in the Picture’, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, is open until October 2025. We offer free learning resources and guided tours for school, college, and community groups - please get in touch if you would like one

Migrant Voice would like to invite you to join us and other community leaders for a network meeting, Citizenship Ban and the creation of ‘Systemic Statelessness’ on the recently announced changes to the ‘good character requirement’ for who can get citizenship. We will discuss the implications of this and what are our calls for change.

The meeting will take place online on Thursday 30 April,  6-7:30pm, Sign up here

This meeting will discuss the recently announced changes to the ‘Nationality: Good character requirements,’ which mean that individuals who arrived in the UK through irregular routes will be refused citizenship, regardless of how long ago they entered or whether they had no option but to take a dangerous route.

At this meeting we will look into the implications of this change, and discuss its legality and the legal repercussions.

We will discuss whether the lack of safe routes for people fleeing persecution and the new ‘Citizenship ban’ creates a system of ‘statelessness’ that violates the international laws and treaties the UK is a signatory of.

Speakers will be announced soon.

To sign up go to this link here

For any questions or accessibility requirement please email [email protected]

Migrant Voice is delighted to invite you to our  two-day conference in London on 27-28 February, 2025.

Migration continues to be weaponised for political gain, and toxic rhetoric and scapegoating of migrants fuels dangerous violence and riots. Across Europe, far right movements are strengthening, while mainstream parties move towards more restrictive border and immigration policies, undermining rights and worsening the situation for migrants.

While more migrant voices are heard and seen in the coverage of migration issues these days the under/mis-representation of migrants in media and political narratives is as prevalent as ever.

This timely event will go to the heart of these issues and explore ways forward. It will bring together migrant communities with experts on migration, equality, academics, the media, unions and other stakeholders from the UK and Europe.

This will be a packed and engaging event with a number of panel discussions, workshops and training to address the challenges for migrants’ rights, and changing the way migration is discussed.

The conference will also mark 15 years of Migrant Voice and of migrants speaking out to change and reclaim the narrative.
 

The event will take place at the National Education Union in central London.

Please save the date. A full agenda and further details will be circulated in the coming weeks.

Migrant Voice is delighted to invite you to celebrate International Migrants Day! Our theme for this year will be “Migration Making Britain Great”.

After a challenging year for all migrants, we will come together to celebrate, tell our stories, share our cultures, dance, discuss, reflect, and empower each other. We will screen two short films created for the “Migration Making Britain Great” Campaign and hear from some of the people featured in them.

We will screen two short films created for the “Migration Making Britain Great” Campaign and hear from some people featured.

You can sign up for the event here!

Should you have any questions, accessibility requirements or dietary restrictions, please contact Loraine at [email protected].

We look forward to welcoming and celebrating with you.

The Migrant Voice Team

Migrant Voice is thrilled to invite you to the opening event for Outside In - our photography exhibition about how migrants bring the world to Scotland! 

Join us to see the exhibition and celebrate the people from across the globe portrayed in it. They have made Scotland their home, and enrich the country with their traditions, skills, and ideas.

We hope Outside In becomes a source of pride and expands visitors’ knowledge of the many ways in which migrants make Scotland more vibrant, sustainable, healthier, and fairer for all. This is a perfect way for us to mark International Migrants’ Day. 

Friday 6 December 2024, 6PM
Maryhill Burgh Halls
24 Gairbraid Ave, Glasgow G20 8YE

Please confirm your attendance by completing this form: tinyurl.com/outsideinopening

We look forward to welcoming you there. You’ll get a chance to mingle over refreshments with the project team, photographers, and those portrayed in the exhibition. You will also get to hear from a variety of speakers and enjoy performances by migrant artists. 

This exhibition is part of the Putting Ourselves in the Picture project, which aims to ensure that migrant heritage is documented and recognised as part of Scotland’s heritage. We’re grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for making this project possible with their generous funding, and to everyone who contributed their time, skills, and knowledge to bring this exhibition to life. 

Migrant Voice and the University of Westminster HOMELandS Centre are delighted to invite you to celebrate International Migrants Day!  Our theme for this year will be “Migration Making Britain Great” 
  
The event will take place on:  

Wednesday 11 December from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm  
  
University of Westminster, Regent Street Campus  
309 Regent Street, London W1B 2HW Room: Fyvie Hall  

After a challenging year for all migrants, we will come together to celebrate, tell our stories, share our cultures, dance, discuss, reflect, and empower each other.   
  
We will screen two short films created for the “Migration Making Britain Great” Campaign and hear from some of the people featured in them.  

REGISTER HERE  

Agenda  

6:00 pm: Arrival & refreshments  

6:30 - 6:40 pm: Welcome and Introduction - by Federica Mazzara – Reader - in Cultural Studies – University of Westminster & Nazek Ramadan – Director - Migrant Voice 

6:40 - 7:40 pm: Film screening, followed by a panel discussion with individuals featured in the films and Show Racism the Red Card   

7:45 pm Dance Show from Mauritius   

8:15 pm Networking Reception (Food and Drinks will be served)  

  
This is an event with limited capacity. If you have requested a ticket and can no longer attend, please cancel your booking to allow other people to participate. Please register individually as University Security Staff requires each individual’s name on the registration link to allow access.  

Should you have any questions, accessibility requirements or dietary restrictions, please contact Ismail at [email protected].  
  
We look forward to welcoming and celebrating with you.  
  
The Migrant Voice Team and The University of Westminster 

Migrant Voice would like to invite you to join us and other community leaders to a meeting on how we can work together to stand up to hate and division.

The meeting will take place on Thursday 3 October,  6-8pm, at our office, Migrant Voice, 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. Sign up here

The recent riots laid bare the intersection between the rhetoric on migration and the racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and other social issues. How do we address the root causes in the rhetoric about migrants and migration? Where is the political will for change and for a new positive narrative? How do we address the insidious racism and hate that is both blatant and under the surface?

Speakers include:

Jeremy Crook, Chief Executive, Action for Race Equality

Mustafa Field, Director, Faiths Forum for London

Representatives from Migrant organisations;

full list of speakers TBC

This meeting will be an opportunity to come together to address this and take action together.

Background

The recent events did not happen in a vacuum. The hostile environment which was created by the previous government presented migration as a threat to the country and migrants and people who are seeking asylum in the UK as “invaders” who are here to change our way of life.

Historically the immigration system was shaped with racist and classist agendas and these policies and narratives have influenced the way migrants are scapegoated and migration problematised.

The intersection between migration, Xenophobia and other forms of hate is not new to Britain, yet the recent violent attacks seemed surprising to people who were not aware of the way the dehumanisation of certain groups and communities has been normalised. These riots should serve as a reminder that there is a lot of work that should be done to build a progressive, inclusive and fairer society.

Migrant Voice has held some recent safe space meetings following the riots where members share some of their concerns. One person said:

“What concerns me is where we go next. Yes, there is the blatant recent violence of the far right, but there is insidious racism that was there before too. We don’t just want that to get shoved under the carpet. How do we address this, and how do we address the root causes in the rhetoric about migrants and migration as a ‘serious problem’. Where is the political will for change as opposed to just saying it is legitimate concerns and tightening the immigration rules, which is the wrong response. It just legitimises what just happened.”

To sign up go to this link https://forms.gle/D7eG58Zbo16MUNhn6  

Please join us from 5.30pm where hot food will be served.

For any questions please email [email protected]

We are inviting you to contribute to our ‘election-year’ Migrant Voice newspaper and multimedia platform.

This year we are reviving our Migrant Voice Newspaper and, through both an online platform and printed paper, we will be telling our own stories, as migrants, to tell the public and parliamentarians the priorities for migrants in this election year.

Taking inspiration from our pre-election special newspaper, which we produced in 2010 when we were first set up as an organisation, this year we will be sharing the issues most important to migrants with the public, the media and all the new parliamentarians.

Over the next few weeks we will come together in London, Birmingham and Glasgow to develop our story ideas. We will work on producing articles, photos, videos and podcasts to show and celebrate how migration is making Britain great through our stories and experiences. Our stories will cover a range of general interest topics including sports, arts, food, business, etc.

Through a series of interviews, articles and features, the multimedia platform and newspaper will also raise awareness of injustices and issues impacting migrants to set out our priorities for the new parliament. Our platform and newspaper will be launched for International Migrants Day 2024.

Come and join us if you

• Have a migration story to tell
• Want to raise awareness with the new parliament of a particular injustice
• Want to help create articles/photos/videos/podcasts
• Contribute ideas, share your skills and be part of our community

Sign up here

In London join us on Wednesday 3 July from 6-8pm at Migrant Voice, VAI, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. For any questions please email [email protected]

In Birmingham join us on Tuesday 16 July 5.30-7.30pm at Zellig Building, (The Custard Factory), Room 235. Gibb St, Deritend, Birmingham B9 4AA. For any questions please email [email protected]

In Glasgow join us on Tuesday 23 July, 6-8.30pm at the Oasis Cafe, The Renfield Centre, 260 Bath Street, G2 4JP. For any questions please email [email protected]

Join us for a national network meeting to look at the upcoming e-visa system coming into effect from December 2024.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday 25 June, from 5.30-7.00pm online on Zoom.

All biometric cards and residence permits must be updated to digital status by December 31, 2024. At this meeting we will hear from experts on what this means for those who have to change their status, and we will hear from those affected directly.

We will discuss the wider implications of this latest change to a ‘digital only status’, hearing from others who have worked on issues arising with right to rent and right to work checks, on challenges proving status for those waiting for visa renewals, and on issues for European Citizens with proving status on the Settlement scheme.

We will also look at the wider positives/negatives around a digital only status, the risks of not being able to prove status, electronic systems not working, bias built into systems, and surveillance and tracking issues of the ‘digital border’.

Finally, we will look at lessons learned from the Windrush scandal and what happens when it is not possible to prove status.

Speakers include:

Zoe Bantleman, Legal Director, Immigration Law Practitioners' Association, will give us an overview of what the new policy means and the issues that may arise in practice for individuals who are moving to digital-only immigration status.

Monique Hawkins, Policy and Research Officer, the3million, will speak about the lessons (not) learned from the problems with implementation of digital status in the EUSS.

Other speakers will be confirmed soon.

To sign up: [Eventbrite link]
For any questions email [email protected]

We know the recent increases to visa costs, the Immigration Health Surcharge, and Minimum Income Requirement have been devastating to migrant communities in the UK.

Together with RAMFEL we are offering a free session on fee waivers to inform members of the process, eligibility and requirements for fee waivers, as well as a Focus Group to hear your thoughts and concerns about rising visa costs.

The event will be held in person at Migrant Voice’s London Office in Kings Cross (VAI, 200a Pentonville Road, N1 9JP) on Thursday 13th June between 6pm and 8pm. The fee waiver session will be led by Refugee & Migrant Forum of Essex and London and the focus groups led by Migrant Voice.

Join us if you:

• Are affected by visa costs
• Want to share your experiences, have a say on the issue and contribute to our campaign
• Are interested in knowing more about applying for a fee waiver (to reduce part or all of the cost of the visa
• Come from a community organisation/organisers whose members may be applying for fee waivers.

The event is free for all to attend. We will also be providing refreshments and if you need assistance covering the cost of transport please let us know by emailing or within the sign-up form.

Sign up to the event here - https://forms.gle/gxrkujhYNgGSWWZ87

This event is a part of our ongoing Campaign against extortionate visa costs. There is still time to complete our survey to further develop our campaign, if you have not done so already, please fill out the survey here - https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/VisaCostsMV

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Join our Media Lab in Glasgow on Interviewing for Podcast, writing articles and more. This Media Lab brings 4 different exciting sessions to choose from.

When: Tuesday, 23 April (different time slots between 5.00 & 9.00 pm)

Where: Oasis Cafe, 260 Bath Street, G2 4JP

Signup required: https://www.tinyurl.com/MediaLabApril2024

Migrant Voice is hosting a series of training sessions to support all migrants in creating their own narratives. Join us to learn how to develop compelling messages about the positive impact of migration.

See the sessions available and sign up for your chosen one(s) via the form above. If you wish to attend ‘Bring your writing’, ‘Come with an idea’ or ‘Editing audio interviews’, you must sign up by Thursday 18 April. 

Practical info: Free entry, refreshments provided, travel expenses available for those who need them. You need at least an intermediate level of English. No media experience necessary.

At our second Media Lab session this Spring, we will practise editing interview recordings, writing for the media, interviewing for podcasts, and more. Let’s work together to get our stories published and shape the public discourse on migration! We welcome all migrants, regardless of your circumstances, background or profession. Whether you’re a sports- or a businessperson, a carer, a nurse, a cleaner, a teacher, a builder, an asylum seeker not allowed to work, or simply a person who has something to say - come to tell your story and help other migrants share theirs.

The training sessions we offer this time are:

Bring your writing - One-to-one session with a professional journalist who will read and provide feedback on your writing. 5.00 - 6.30 pm (individual time slots of approx. 20 minutes will be allocated). Priority will be given to those who signed up for this session at our previous Media Lab but were placed on a waiting list. To attend this session, you must sign up by Thursday 18 April.

Come with an idea - A session for migrants who have an idea for writing an article but don’t know where to start or need some help structuring it. 5.00 - 6.30 pm, one-to-one or small group session. To attend this session, you must sign up by Thursday 18 April.

Editing audio interviews - Select the most compelling quotes from our audio interviews with migrants and learn to edit audio recordings in Canva. 5.30 - 6.30 pm.

Interviewing for podcasts - Get to know professional standards for interviewers and learn to conduct and record good audio interviews. Come up with engaging questions and bring interesting answers out of your interviewees. You will practise interviewing in pairs or small groups. 6.30 - 9.00 pm

Join us for a Media Lab on bringing our untold stories to life, through two sessions focusing on photography and pitching our stories to the media. Let’s come together to tell our stories and shape the public discourse on migration as we see it. We promise a day full of learning and fun.

When: 25 April 1:00 - 7.00 pm
Where: Migrant Voice,
Voluntary Action  Islington,
200a Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JP

1:00-4:00pm Photography Workshop - with visual artist Sara Shamsavari

Join artist Sara Shamsavari for a photography workshop exploring your experience of immigration and the issues you want to see change. Bring an object to photograph that represents something about an immigration issue personal to you. During the workshop we will explore the possibilities of photography in sharing stories of migration and/or how they can be used as messages for campaigning for fairer migration rules

4:00-7:00pm Pitching your story idea to the media -  With Journalist Daniel Nelson

• 4:00-4:30pm Introduction to pitching

• 4:30-7:00pm individual Pitching Mentoring sessions

Many important stories about our lives as migrants and our experiences of migration go untold. Do you have an idea for a story you want to pitch to the media? This session will help you learn new skills or polish an existing skill and better navigate the British media.

Most of the workshop takes the form of individual half-hour sessions. Bring your pitch or idea, meet one-on-one with Daniel Nelson and refine and complete the pitch ready to send to the media.

As it is necessary to sign up for an individual time - Please email [email protected] to sign up for the training and confirm your slot.

Trainers bios: 

Sara Shamsavari is an award winning British- Iranian artist based in London. Through her photographic and painting projects, Sara explores themes of global identity, migration, inclusion and transformation as well as the universal themes of love and family. Born in the midst of the Iranian Revolution, Sara recovered from infant cancer while fleeing war and impending persecution of her family in Iran and was granted asylum at the age of two in the UK where she is now based. Her early experience surviving war and her rich heritage continue to inform her artistic subject matter.

Sara’s work is housed among the permanent collections of several international museums and foundations including MoCP (Museum of Contemporary Photography at Columbia College Chicago) and NoVo Foundation. Sara regularly lectures at Central Saint Martins on art, ethics, photography, migration and social change. Her work has been widely published in books and media including Aperture, The Guardian, New York Times and Vogue.

Daniel Nelson has written for and edited newspapers, magazines, news agencies and web operations in Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, The Philippines, Uganda, UK and elsewhere, and worked for and acted as consultant to many not-for-profit organisations, from the International Baby Food Action Network to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and, in recent years, for Migrant Voice.

Daniel is an experienced trainer, having run workshops in Accra, Berlin, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Douala, Kampala, Kuala Lumpur, London and in many other countries. During his long involvement with journalists’ training he has run courses in Africa and Asia for, among other organisations, the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development, the Commonwealth Press Union, the Commonwealth Journalists Association, the Press Foundation of Asia and the Thomson Foundation. For several years he was a part-time lecturer at London’s City University.

We look forward to welcoming you soon,

The Migrant Voice Team

Join us for our Media Lab on How to give good interviews with Birmingham Live Community Journalist Nathan Clarke on 11 April 4.30 - 7.00 pm (venue in central Birmingham TBC)

Learn to present yourself in interviews on and off camera in a clear, engaging way. Practice preparing your message, giving interviews and recording quality videos on your phone. 

Book here

We are hosting this series of training sessions to support all migrants in creating and publishing their own narratives. Join us to learn how to present yourself and develop compelling messages about the positive impact of migration and things that matter to you. 

At our Media Lab training, we will learn what works in getting our message across to a journalist in an interview, and practice preparing the message and giving interviews on and off camera. 

Let’s work together to get our stories published and shape the public discourse on migration as we see it! We welcome all migrants, regardless of your circumstances, background or profession. Whether you’re a sports- or a businessperson, a carer, a nurse, a cleaner, a teacher, a builder, an asylum seeker not allowed to work, or simply a person who has something to say - come and learn with us to tell your story, on your own terms.
 
Nathan Clarke is an award-winning Community Reporter for BirminghamLive/The Birmingham Mail. For the past two and a half years he has been working on covering under-served communities in the city, with a particular focus on migrant, disabled and LGBT communities. He has experience in live news reporting, community and investigative journalism, for which he has been nominated for various industry awards. 

To sign up click here or you can email [email protected] or 07849182225

We look forward to welcoming you soon, 

Migrant Voice Team

To launch our 'Migration Making Scotland Great' project activities, Migrant Voice is hosting a roundtable on how we can challenge the hostile rhetoric on migration through sport. 

Date: 8 February (Thursday), 5.30 - 7.30 pm, followed by a networking reception until 8.30 pm

Venue: Glasgow City Chambers, Satinwood Suite, 82 George Square, Glasgow G2 1DU

Book your place here: http://tinyurl.com/MMSGLaunch. 

The event will explore how migrant athletes act as positive role models and how sport can provide a tool for migrant and refugee integration. We will also exchange ideas on how we can use sports to challenge racism and xenophobia and transform the narrative around migration by showcasing diverse, positive stories of people who made Scotland their home. We will hear from sports personalities, community sports organisations, and the project partners. 

Speakers will include:

Nazek, Ramadan, Director of Migrant Voice

Ged Grebby, Chief Executive, Show Racism the Red Card

Gary Pluck, IMIX Regional Lead 

Razgar Hassan, Chief Executive of Outdoors For You

'Migration Making Scotland Great' is a new initiative in partnership with Show Racism the Red Card and IMIX to celebrate migration across the UK, and particularly the regions of the Northeast, West Midlands and Scotland.

Using education, facts and sporting role models, the initiative aims to challenge and address many of the myths surrounding migrants and celebrate the contribution made by those who have made the UK their home.

These are not just events for the sporty though. This is the start of an exciting time for a wide variety of activities which will show just how much immigration brings to the country, and why we should be celebrating it.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

To sign up, please click HERE or contact us by emailing [email protected] or on 07395 284459. 

To launch our 'Migration Making Britain Great' project activities in the West Midlands, Migrant Voice is kicking off 2024 with a roundtable on how we can challenge the hostile rhetoric on migration.

Date: 25 January from 6-8pm followed by a reception (8-9PM)

Venue: Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham,  B4 7XG

(we are in Level 4, Curzon event suite, main meeting room)

We will hear from a number of speakers including local sports personalities, followed by a discussion. We will come together to discuss how to challenge the existing narratives around migration, and place migrants' experiences at the forefront of any discussions. We will be looking at, among other things, how we can use sports to tell different and positive stories of migration and challenge racism and xenophobia.

Speakers will include:

Nazek Ramadan, Director of Migrant Voice

Ged Grebby, Chief Executive, Show Racism the Red Card

Gary Pluck, IMIX Regional Lead (West Midlands)

'Migration Making Britain Great' is a new initiative in partnership with Show Racism the Red Card and IMIX to celebrate migration across the UK, and particularly the regions of the Northeast, West Midlands and Scotland.

Using education, facts and sporting role models, the initiative aims to challenge and address many of the myths surrounding migrants and celebrate the enormous contribution made by those who have made the UK their home.

These are not just events for the sporty though. This is the start of an exciting time for a wide variety of activities which will show just how much immigration brings to the country, and why we should be celebrating it.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Migrant Voice is kicking off 2024 with roundtables on how we can challenge the hostile rhetoric on migration to launch our 'Migration Making Britain Great' project activities.

'Migration Making Britain Great' is a new initiative in partnership with Show Racism the Red Card and IMIX to celebrate migration across the UK, and in particular the regions of the Northeast, West Midlands and Scotland.

Using education, facts and sporting role models, the initiative aims to challenge and address many of the myths surrounding migrants and celebrate the enormous contribution made by those who have made the UK their home.

We will launch our Migration Making Britain Great project activities with events in Birmingham on 25 January from 6-8pm  and in Glasgow on 8 February from 6-8pm

We will come together to discuss how to challenge the existing narratives around migration, and place migrants' experiences at the forefront of any discussions. We will be looking at, among other things, how we can use sports to tell different and positive stories of migration and challenge racism and xenophobia.

Thease are not just events for the sporty though. This is the start of an exciting time for a wide variety of activities which will show just how much immigration brings to the country, and why we should be celebrating it. 

Our roundtable events will be followed by a reception, with the location to be confirmed closer to the date.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

Migrant Voice is organising a series of activities on the occasion of Migration week 2024 to highlight the necessity of having a more humane, responsible and positive approach to migration. 

Migration week is a United Nations week dedicated to promoting dialogue on migration-related issues, based on the framework of what is known as the ‘Global Compact for Migration’.

We aim to highlight the approach that the UK has taken and the noticeable discrepancy between its global commitments and policies pursued at home. 

In 2018 the UK, along with countries around the world, signed up to the Global Compact for Migration, designed to create a coordinated, global, approach to international migration. Join us for Migration Week as we look at how far it has distanced itself from those commitments, and how you can push your MPs to advocate for us moving back towards them.

Since the adoption of the agreement the UK has moved further away from its commitment to the principles of the Compact. The UK’s hostile policies and rhetoric are noticeable evidence of this. 

As we draw closer to a General Election, migration is already being exploited for political gain, and migrants continue to be subjected to further hostilities. 

Through our events, we aim to highlight the approach that the UK has taken and the noticeable discrepancy between its global commitments and policies pursued at home. We invite you to join us.

As part of our activities we are holding two events in the coming weeks:

Advocacy training
1 February - 5-8 pm
The training will be online via Zoom and will focus on advocacy around the UK immigration system. (How to contact decision makers and put your case forward). However, the skills and knowledge can be used for other forms of advocacy. To sign up for this training please follow this link 

Round Table discussion
6 February 6-8pm 
Our round table discussion will focus on current UK policies and rhetoric around migration and will explore the noticeable discrepancy between its global commitments and the policies pursued at home. The roundtable will be happening online via zoom. It will also be broadcast live on our facebook page. On the day there will be opportunities to share your views, experience on the topics raised.
Speakers will include:

Peter Walsh, Senior Researcher at The Migration Observatory, and Departmental Lecturer in Migration Studies, University of Oxford.
Dickson Tarnongo, …..
Helia Lopez ……

To sign up please follow this link

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact  us on [email protected]

On 12 December, 2023 we are holding a national, online, session on how to write letters to editors.

This session will include how to create a strong, but short letter to editors focused on issues affecting you around migration.

We are hoping to submit the letters to different press outlets in time for them to be published on International Migrants Day, 18 December. This can either be done yourself, or with the help of the Migrant Voice team

Using the skills you learn in the training we hope that you will write your own letter to take part in this.

To sign up and receive the zoom link, please email [email protected]

In order for your letter to be included they would need to be sent to our Advocacy and Communications Manager, Daniel Sohege, [email protected] by 3pm on Wednesday 13 December.

We are delighted to invite you to our London End of Year Event:
12 December from 4:00-8:00pm at our London office, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. 

This is an event to celebrate International Migrants Day, which is later this month, with a number of different activities:

Programme for 12 December: End of Year Celebration

4:00 pm: Arrival & refreshments

4:30 pm: Introduction to our Welcome Project and other works of Migrant Voice. 

From 4:00pm onward: Showcase from our Welcome Project

We celebrate the finish of our Welcome Project, which we have been running for the last few months. In this project we wanted to create and use messages of welcome to defy the current negative rhetoric and policies on migration. 

We used creative writing, photography and drama, to explore and create messages of welcome. 

As the work on the Welcome project has ended, we come together to celebrate and invite you to join us in viewing some of the photos and writing from the project.

5:00 - 7:00 pm  Training session - Letters to the editor

We will be running a training session on writing Letters to the Editor. This is part of our national activity to write and send letters of celebration and solidarity with migrants to be published on International Migrants Day, December 18.

7:00 - 8:00 pm Networking reception

We look forward to welcoming and celebrating with you.

To join us, please email [email protected]

The Migrant Voice Team

As part of our Welcome Project, we will be running a new Media Lab on Thursday 21 September with workshops on creative writing and a Feedback and mentoring session.

You're welcome to join this Media Lab even if you haven't been part of the previous ones!

The Media Lab will include:

• 3.30 - 4.30 pm | Feedback and mentoring session: bring your work in progress (photos, drama, writing). We will have a discussion, share feedback and support. 
• 5 - 7 pm | Creative writing workshop with award-winning playwright and novelist Rogelio Braga. This is the second of three workshops, but feel free to join us if you couldn’t make the last one.   

Workshops will take place at Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.

Reserve your spot here.

What is the Welcome Project?

The Welcome Project is a series of creative workshops and training sessions, organised by Migrant Voice and run by artists and professionals, through which we will work to explore the meaning of ‘welcome’ and create messages of welcome to migrants using photography, drama and creative writing.

We will use creative tools and explore how these can be used to express our ideas and experiences of welcome. We want to send an alternative welcoming message to migrants at a time of negative rhetoric and policies on migration.

You can find more information and a timeline of activities on this page.

Join our project if you would like to:

• Explore using photography, creative writing and drama to share our messages

• Discuss how to make society more welcoming to migrants

• Get to know new people

• Create photos, writing and other creative messages for an online exhibition

If you are interested, but haven’t joined yet, please email [email protected] if you would like more information.

Come to the launch of our Putting Ourselves in the Picture exhibition at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow, on Saturday, 16 September 2023, 2-5 pm.

We’re proud to be collaborating with Glasgow Museums on this vital exhibition which aims to address the significant under-representation of migrants in Scottish heritage and capture Scotland’s history as it happens.

Reserve a spot here.

The exhibition, sharing photographs from two of Migrant Voice’s projects, creates a space where individual stories about moving to Scotland come to life. Alongside portraits of migrants by photographer Karen Gordon, there are also pictures taken by migrants themselves showing their experiences of settling in the city of Glasgow over a period of time.

Join us to celebrate this exhibition of sixty photos, showing a range of diverse experiences and lives, the impact of immigration on Scotland’s rich heritage, and the feelings of those migrants who have built their lives in the country. The exhibition will be showing at Kelvingrove for one year, alongside a public programme of seminars exploring curation and (under) representation of migrants, and stories from migrant communities.

The launch will include speeches from the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration Through Languages and Arts, Professor Alison Phipps, Migrant Voice Director, Nazek Ramadan and individuals portrayed in the exhibition.

Reserve a spot here.

Putting Ourselves in the Picture project is funded by Heritage Fund. With thanks to National Lottery players.

As part of our Welcome Project, we will be running a new Media Lab on Thursday 31 August with workshops on drama and creative writing.

The Media Lab will include:

• 2.30 - 4.30 pm | Drama workshop with Seb Aguirre from Ice and Fire Theatre
• 5 - 7 pm | Creative writing workshop with award-winning playwright and novelist Rogelio Braga

Workshops will take place at Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.

Reserve your spot here.

If you've missed our 10 August session, join us on Zoom on Thursday 24 August at 3 pm. Email Ismail for more information.

What is the Welcome Project?

The Welcome Project is a series of creative workshops and training sessions, organised by Migrant Voice and run by artists and professionals, through which we will work to explore the meaning of ‘welcome’ and create messages of welcome to migrants using photography, drama and creative writing.

We will use creative tools and explore how these can be used to express our ideas and experiences of welcome. We want to send an alternative welcoming message to migrants at a time of negative rhetoric and policies on migration.

Join our project if you would like to:

• Explore using photography, creative writing and drama to share our messages

• Discuss how to make society more welcoming to migrants

• Get to know new people

• Create photos, writing and other creative messages for an online exhibition

If you are interested, but haven’t joined yet, please email [email protected] if you would like more information

Join us for a meeting to discuss the government’s proposed punishing increases to what is already extortionate visa and settlement charges.

The meeting will take place on 26 September 2023, 5-8pm, at the Birmingham and Midlands Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham, B3 3BS.

The government claims that this is how it will pay for public sector pay rises, but what migrants will really be doing is #PayingForInequality.

Reserve a space

The policy is cruel, cynical and trying to pit people against each other. We reject this zero-sum narrative.

In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis this deliberate unjust act will impoverish and take food away from many who are already paying more in fees than they would in most other countries. These increases of 66% on the NHS surcharge and 15-20% on different visa routes will further punish migrants and we cannot keep quiet.

Join us and migrants in Birmingham to stand up against these unjust fee increases, which are an attack on migrants, and discuss the actions we want to take in our campaign against extortionate visa costs and beyond.

For any other questions email [email protected].

Join us for a national online meeting to discuss the government’s proposed punishing increases in what is already extortionate visa and settlement charges.

The meeting will take place online, on 8 August 2023 from 5-7pm on Zoom.

The government claims that this is how it will pay for public sector pay rises, but what migrants will really be doing is #PayingForInequality.

The policy is cruel, cynical and trying to pit people against each other. We reject this zero-sum narrative.

In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis this deliberate unjust act will impoverish and take food away from many who are already paying more in fees than they would in most other countries. These increases of 66% on the NHS surcharge and 15-20% on different visa routes will further punish migrants and we cannot keep quiet.

Join us and migrants from across the UK to stand up against these unjust fee increases, which are an attack on migrants, and discuss the actions we want to take in our campaign against extortionate visa costs and beyond.

To sign up click here (Eventbrite)

For any other questions email [email protected].

Come and join us at Migrant Voice’s Coffee Morning!

Meet our team, make new friends, network with members of migrant communities and also help us celebrate the start of South Asian Heritage Month! All welcome.

WHEN: Tuesday 18 July 2023 | 10am – 12pm
WHERE: Migrant Voice, 208 Zellig (Custard Factory), Gibb Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B9 4AT

For more details, email Loraine at [email protected], or call/message her on 07849 182225.

In this series of Media Labs, we will explore creative uses of photography, drama and writing. We will explore the power of the arts to express our messages and produce a series of images and writing to showcase on our platforms.

Join our Media Lab on Wednesday 12 July, 3.00-7.00pm, at Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.

Pop by for just one session or stay for the afternoon - it's your choice.

Session 1 • Messages of welcome - discussion and photography follow up session, by Anne Stoltenberg and Ismail Moussa • 3.15 - 4.45 pm

We will discuss ways of creating a welcome environment for migrants and explore how photography can be used to express our ideas and experiences of Welcome.

We will share plans for our project to use photography and other creative tools to create messages of welcome, an alternative to the hostile rhetoric on migration. 

Although this is a follow up session to our June 1 Media Lab, it is not necessary to have attended the first session.

Session 2 • Drama as a tool to express Welcome, by The Compass Collective • 5 - 7 pm

The Compass Collective will run a workshop to explore how we can use drama to explore the idea of 'welcome'. 

All English language levels are welcome, boost your confidence, have fun.

The Compass Collective is an arts charity that supports young refugees and asylum seekers to build resilience and integrate into the UK.

For more information, please email [email protected].

To mark Refugee Week, Migrant Voice and the University of Westminster are hosting an evening of award-winning film and discussion on 19 June at the University’s Regent Street campus. We will screen two powerful short films, MATAR and AYMAN, followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.

Register here

Speakers include Hassan Akkad, the Bafta award-winning director of MATAR, and Ayman Alhussein, who directed the award-winning AYMAN and co-wrote MATAR based on his own lived experience as a young refugee who fled from Syria to the UK in 2015. The discussion will be chaired by Migrant Voice director, Nazek Ramadan, and introduced by Dr Federica Mazzara, reader in Cultural Studies at the University of Westminster.

All are welcome to join us for this event from 6-8pm on 19 June at Fyvie Hall, University of Westminster, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2HW.

While this event is free, registration is necessary. Make sure to reserve your spot by registering here.

This event is hosted by Migrant Voice in collaboration with the University of Westminster and WaterBear. Migrant Voice is a migrant-led charity that supports & empowers migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees, to speak out and be heard. We challenge prejudice and build support for our rights by amplifying migrant voices in the media and in public life.

About the Films

A powerful and poignant story of resilience and perseverance, MATAR follows the story of an asylum seeker in England who, when confronted with the hostile immigration system and discrimination in the UK, is forced to live on the fringes of society and rely on his bike to survive. The docu-fiction is produced by Deadbeat Studios in association with Choose Love.

AYMAN is a short documentary filmed during the emergence of the current European refugee crisis in 2015, giving a first-hand glimpse into the conditions refugees experience. The film is told from the perspective of Ayman Alhussein, a young Syrian refugee, and his journey to seek safety after his world was turned upside down along with tens of thousands of others in the world's largest refugee crisis since WWII. This is Ayman's story of his experiences in the Calais camp, and his genius plan to get to England, no matter the costs.

In 2020 AYMAN film won the Award of Excellence at the Docs Without Borders Film Festival, won Best of Festival at the Depth of Field International Film Festival and was shortlisted for Best Documentary Short at the NYC Short Documentary Festival.

At the next series of Media Labs, we will explore creative uses of photography and writing. We will explore the power of the arts to express our messages and produce a series of images and writing to showcase on our platforms.

The first Media Lab is on Thursday 1 June, 3.30-8pm, at Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.

It will focus on photography and it will be made up of three workshops. Each traning session will last approximately 1 hour 15 minutes, and you can join as many as you like. Pop by for just one or stay for the afternoon - it's your choice.

Reserve your spot.

Session 1 • Messages of welcome through creative photography, by Anne Stoltenberg • 3.30 - 4.45 pm

This session will kickstart Migrant Voice’s mini-project to use creative tools to create messages of welcome, an alternative to the hostile rhetoric on migration. We will explore how photography can be used to interpret ideas and concepts, feelings and experiences.

The session will cover:

• Introduction to and exploration of the project idea
• Getting some inspiration to how photos can convey ideas and symbolic messages
• The basic concepts of composition
• Practical exercise to get the photo ideas started

Everyone is welcome. It is not going to cover technical aspects of photography. You can use a mobile phone camera or any other camera.

Session 2 • Telling a story through photography, by Cathy Teesdale • 5 - 6.15 pm

Session 3 • Photography Basics & Photo Review, by Sam Ivin • 6.30 - 8 pm

Photographic artist Sam Ivin will give an introduction to his practice, where he explores themes such as human migration, play and portraiture. He will then facilitate a quick photo exercise. After this mini-workshop Sam will give feedback on any images you have sent it.

Did you ever take a photo that didn't quite work, and you want to know how to take the perfect shot next time? Or maybe you're having trouble editing a particular photograph and want some advice? Sam will go through some of your images and troubleshoot any camera difficulties you might have.

If you would like to join this workshop, please send [email protected] a photo you would like Sam to look at by Monday 29 May.

For more information, please email [email protected].

Join our next network meeting in London looking at the impact of the current hostile rhetoric towards migrants.

The meeting will take place in person on Tuesday 6 June, 6-8pm, at Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.

Reserve your place.

The political rhetoric surrounding the Refugee Ban Bill (Illegal Migration Bill) is reaching new heights of hostility in tone as well as policy. This meeting will look at the implications of this increasingly toxic, misleading rhetoric on migrants and how it is impacting our communities. We know the mainstreaming of such language is emboldening the far-right and inflaming tensions. We need to speak out for a different, more compassionate society that treats all human beings with dignity.

Migrant Voice was set up to change who speaks and how we speak about migration; we know well the damage of divisive rhetoric, especially when migrants' voices are absent.

The human impact is devastating, as shown in our recent report on the appalling conditions in hotel accommodation for asylum seekers, "No rest, no security".

At the meeting we will discuss how we are impacted by this escalating rhetoric and discuss our views and how best we can challenge it together with our communities and beyond.

Joining us at this meeting will be Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Kings College London and a senior fellow at UK in a Changing Europe, plus migrant speakers, both individuals and from different organisations.

If you'd like to get in touch about this meeting, please email [email protected].

Apply for an Intensive two-day Media Lab training and develop your skills in podcasting and print journalism! The professional-level workshops are free and open to everyone with experience of migration. Although prior media experience isn't necessary, all applicants must demonstrate a strong interest in journalism. Language support can be provided for those who don’t speak English fluently.

Where: University of Glasgow,

When: 25 and 26 May from 10-4pm

We have 6 spaces in podcast journalism and production and 6 in print journalism and production. You sign up for either two days of podcasting or two days of print journalism training. Each group will produce a publication / podcast. 

This Media Lab is a collaboration between the University of Glasgow and Migrant Voice, funded by the British Academy ECR Network.

Find more information here.

Apply by 12pm on Monday the 8th May.

April is an exciting month for us in Glasgow - find out more about the events we have planned:

We’ve teamed up with Outdoors for You, another migrant-led organisation, to take our members on a tour showcasing the city centre’s murals. It's a great opportunity to see work by local and international artists.

Thursday 13 April, 10.30 am - 12 pm

Sign up here.

We will meet in front of the Lion statues in George Square, please bring water and comfy shoes. We will finish the tour at Garnethill Multicultural Centre where tea, coffee, and soup will be on offer alongside conversations about cultural heritage and life. This tour has been made possible thanks to the funds from the Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership.

Join our co-creation workshop ‘We are Living Heritage, and we share World Heritage’ with Hsiao-Chiang Wang (Hope).

Thursday 13 April, 5.30 - 8 pm

21 Rose Street, G3 6RE Glasgow

This workshop is designed to guide Migrant Voice members in the discovery of the heritage in their life journey and in greater understanding of some fundamental topics, including cultural rights, heritage, and interpretation. It is done with the hope that this workshop will benefit individuals to realise their influence as a migrant and help them to contribute to relevant Migrant Voice projects, such as Putting Ourselves in the Picture. The workshop follows the principles of participatory action research (PAR) and adopts creative methods of delivery.

Sign up here.

After several consultation sessions, we have gathered a selection of ideas for our upcoming photography and illustration exhibitions portraying migrants' experiences, heritage and contributions. The themes range from experiences of the immigration system, through language and communication, to traditions. Join our Vision Group to make final decisions on these themes and get hands-on involved in bringing them to life. 

Thursday 27 April, 5.30 - 8 pm

21 Rose Street, G3 6RE

Sign up here.

We’re excited to host a wide range of activities in March, starting with a Vision Group for the Putting Ourselves in the Picture project on the 9th and ending with a Multicultural Spring Ceilidh on the 25th, Media Lab on the 28th, and a Women’s Group for English Learners on the 30th.

We’re looking forward to writing, dancing, and learning with you!

Here is what's coming up:

• Thu 9: Putting Ourselves in the Picture vision group
• Sat 18: Traditional Persian pattern workshop
• Thu 23: Women's group
• Sat 25: Multicultural spring ceilidh
• Tue 28: Media Lab

Recurring activities:

• Fri 10, 17, 24: Creative writing for women
• Thu 16, 23, 30: Women's English group

Thursday 9 March: Putting Ourselves in the Picture vision group

Join us on Thursday the 9th to create a vision for the Putting Ourselves in the Picture!

You'll meet the facilitators of our upcoming photography and illustration workshops and share your ideas for the themes to portray in our future exhibitions and publications.

9 March, 5.30 - 8.15 pm
260 Bath Street, Glasgow, G24JP

Sign up here

Saturday 18 March: Traditional Persian pattern workshop

The session on traditional Persian patterns with Negin S Jordan is taking place on Saturday the 18th of March, 1-4 pm at 21 Rose Street. Materials will be provided. This session is aimed at adults, but young people (7 years old +) are welcome to join their parents and guardians.

18 March, 1 - 4 pm
Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose Street

Sign up here

Thursday 23 March: Women's group

The women will get a chance to develop their skills in evaluation and monitoring techniques through Participatory Action Research. In addition, we socialise, share ideas and plan events and publications.

23 March, 5 - 8.30 pm
Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose Street

Sign up here

Saturday 25 March: Multicultural spring ceilidh

Come along and have a boogie to music from around the world, including Scottish, Kurdish, Persian, Ukrainian, Indian, Nigerian & Polish tunes. Places are limited. Please note, the event is held upstairs where there is currently no wheelchair access.

25 March, 7 - 10.30 pm
Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose Street

Sign up here

Tuesday 28 March: Media Lab

Save the date! Our next Media Lab training session will take place on Tuesday 28 March, 4.30-8.30 pm.

The signup form will be shared when we have all the workshops confirmed.

Make sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date on our activities. You are also invited to join our Facebook group here: Migrant Voice Glasgow Network | Facebook

28 March, 4.30 - 8.30 pm
Venue TBC

Recurring activities

Thursdays 16, 24, 30: Women's English group

If you want to learn English, we invite you to join this group for beginner elementary level English speakers. You’ll develop your spoken and written English by taking part in conversations, activities and writing short stories.
Please note, the sessions are held upstairs where there is currently no wheelchair access.

Thursdays 16, 23, 30 March, 12.30 - 1.30 pm
Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose Street

Sign up here

Fridays 10, 17, 24: Creative writing for women

Migrant Voice and Povestry are hosting a series of creative writing sessions where we will explore our heritage, journeys and identities through storytelling in all its forms. 

The sessions are open to women with the experience of migration: those who moved to Glasgow from elsewhere, those from Glasgow who have lived somewhere else, and those with ancestry in other parts of the world.

The sessions are suitable for those who don’t speak English fluently and we can offer language support.

Thanks to the funds from Glasgow Winter Wellbeing Fund, the stories written by the group will be collected and published in a literary and artistic anthology.

Fridays 10, 17, 24 March, 5.15 - 7.15 pm
Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose Street

Sign up here

As always, don't hesitate to contact Marzanna if you have any

Do you want to learn more about how the media works and how you can get your stories in it? Are you looking for a hands-on training on media skills - pitching, interviewing, photography, filming and more?

Then join our media labs!

In February and March, we'll be running two media labs in Glasgow and London:

• Glasgow - 24 February

Develop your skills in photography, interviewing, telling your own story and more.

Find more information and register here, or email [email protected] if you have any questions.

• London - 16 March

Learn how to use social media to raise awareness about important issues and make an impact.

Find more information and register here, or email [email protected] if you have any questions.

You’ll have the chance to attend sessions run by experts and professionals and receive mentoring by the trainers.

Media Labs are open to anyone with an experience of migration.

We’ve got some exciting happenings arranged in Glasgow to bring an energising start to 2023 at Migrant Voice! There is something for all tastes, from dancing to writing, and an opportunity to get involved in event management for those of you who want to volunteer with us.

Here's what's coming up:

* Thursday 19: Media Lab

* Saturday 21: Multicultural Ceilidh

* Thursday 26: Women's group

* Friday 27: Creative writing workshop

We invite you to join our collaborative zines as part of the Putting Ourselves in the Picture project! Go to this form for more details and to register your willingness to contribute.

CURRENT TOPIC: Greetings (insights into greetings amongst the various cultures & languages in Glasgow, similarities & differences)

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 16th of January 2023 (might be stretched a bit for a special contribution)

FORM: words / photography / illustration / other

LANGUAGE: any (we will provide translation)

OPEN TO: everyone with experience of migration: those who moved to Glasgow from elsewhere / those from Glasgow who have lived somewhere else / those with ancestry in other parts of the world.

We are going to be publishing those zines almost every month throughout 2023, and you’re welcome to contribute at any point. There will be a variety of topics selected by our project members, so register via the form to receive updates or simply get in touch. Each zine features a poster designed by a different local artist and in about a year from now there will form an exhibition showcasing Glasgow’s diversity. If you are an artist or know someone who might want to join our initiative, please share this invitation with them.

Our Media Labs are open to everyone with experience of migration. Sessions are suitable for all levels of English speakers and language support will be provided. 

Sign up here and we will send you the exact address.

The first session is on Thursday 19 January 2023, 6 - 8.30 pm, at the University of Glasgow. 

You will take part in sessions around:

• Migrants, the media, and representation
• Interviewing skills
• Analysing media content

The Media Labs are organised by Migrant Voice in partnership with the University of Glasgow.

Migrant Voice and Garnethill Multicultural Centre are delighted to invite you to our joint Burns Night celebratory meal and a ceilidh with dances from around the world. 

Saturday 21 January, 7.30 pm - 10.30 pm at Garnethill Multicultural Centre.

Apart from the Scottish and multicultural tunes to dance to, you can also expect some traditional food, henna painting, and other activities. Feel free to dress up for the occasion. Please note, the event is held upstairs where there is currently no wheelchair access. Places are limited so please sign up now to avoid disappointment.

The next meeting of our Women’s Group is on Thursday the 26th of January starting at 6.15 until around 8.30 pm, Garnethill Multicultural Centre. At our sessions, we share thoughts about migrant heritage and contributions, come up with ideas for publications, exhibitions, and plan and organise events. Speakers of all English levels are welcome. The women will also have a chance to take part in a block of women only creative writing sessions in March. To join our group, sign up here.

As part of our campaign against extortionate visa fees, we will be holding a conference, “A Better Deal for Migrants: Campaigning for a fairer visa and settlement process”, on 9 February 2023 in London.

We will be bringing together people who have first-hand experience of the UK’s settlement process, as well as campaigners and policy makers and shapers to discuss how we can campaign for a fairer visa systemfor migrants.

This is an event for individuals and organisations to come together to strategize and strengthen all our campaigning around these issues.

Join us at our conference if you have been impacted by extortionate visa fees, are on the 5 or 10 year route to settlement, or are campaigning on these issues.

Click here to sign up.

The conference will include a panel session to discuss the current situation facing migrants in the UK and put into context how the UK Visa and Immigration system needs to change. A series of workshops will bring together campaigners to discuss tactics, messaging and how we can learn from other campaigns.

There will also be an opportunity to exchange ideas with other attendees as well as sign up to help different campaigns and share your own story.

Space is limited so please sign up now!

If you need any help planning travel or finding the venue, please contact us at [email protected].

Do you have experience of migration? Would you like to develop your skills in photography, interviewing and other media related skills? Or perhaps you are an experienced journalist, photographer or film-maker and would like to put your skills to use? If so, then our Media Labs are for you!

Sign up by Monday 16 January via this form www.tinyurl.com/MVMediaLabsGlasgow.

The first session is on Thursday 19 January 2023, 6 - 8.30 pm, at the University of Glasgow. 

Participants will take part in sessions around:

• Migrants, the media, and representation
• Interviewing skills
• Analysing media content

Open to everyone with experience of migration. Sessions are suitable for all levels of English speakers and language support will be provided.

The Media Labs are organised by Migrant Voice in partnership with the University of Glasgow.

Join Migrant Voice's West Midlands Migrants Ambassadors programme on 4 February.

Join us at the first ‘Putting Ourselves in the Picture’ event at Kelvingrove Art Gallery on Saturday 3 December, 1-4pm!

There will be opportunities to interact with the team involved in the project and other participants, share ideas for publications and exhibitions, sign up for activities and upcoming training, and go on a mini tour around the museum.

You can arrive at any time and 1.5 hours will be enough to get the full experience. Sign up via this form and share the event with your community, friends and family!

Migrant Voice and Glasgow Museums teams, who are organising this event, are excited to meet you! In addition, there are activities for children happening in the museum that day and we will signpost families to them. Everybody is welcome!

Our project explores and celebrates the heritage and contributions of those who have made Scotland their home and creates opportunities for people to interact and get to know one another! Collaborative exhibitions, events and publications will bring this to life for the wider Glasgow Community.

EVENT INFO

When: Saturday 3 December 2022, 1-4pm

Where: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Argyle Street, Glasgow G3 8AG

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email [email protected].

As part of our campaign against exortionate visa fees and for a fairer visa and immigration system, we will be holding a conference on 9 February 2023.

Join us if you are:
- affected by extortionate visa fees
- on the 5 or 10-year route to settlement
- campaigning on these issues

This is for individuals and organisations to come together to strategise, mobilise, inspire and learn.

For more info contact [email protected]

Join our next media lab on how to use social media to raise awareness about important issues and make an impact!

We will be running a media lab on Thursday 10 November, from 3 to 8 pm, at Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.

You will have the chance to join training sessions with experts and professionals and receive practical advice on how to best social media to create change.

Trainers include Rafael Dos Santos, journalist, entrepreneur and media expert, and Elena Sánchez, filmmaker and director.

Training will cover how to best use social media platforms, such as Instagram, and photography, video making and short texts to put your message across. You will receive training on how to develop your message and you can book one to one mentoring session with one of the trainers.

If you would like to attend the event, please email [email protected].

Join our next network meeting in London, which will look at how migrants are coping with the cost of living crisis.

The meeting will take place in person on Tuesday 1 November from 6-8pm at Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.

The cost of living crisis affecting millions of Britons and migrants across the UK, with women, those from ethnically diverse communities and those relying on benefits being worst affected. Migrants are not unique in facing the cost of living crisis, but there can be additional challenges, due to restrictions on visas, the level of asylum support or NRPF conditions, or having to pay thousands of pounds in visa fees that affect how some groups of migrants can manage the increased cost of living.

London Assembly member Sakina Sheikh will join the network meeting to speak about the Mayor of London's cost of living hub. We will also hear from speakers from migrant communities about the impact of cost of living on migrants.

We aim for our discussion to lead to a series of recommendations that we can take forward to policy makers and the public to call for change.

If you would like to attend, please email [email protected].

Migrant Voice has a new office in Glasgow and we’re excited to invite you to an event celebrating the launch of our new projects and activities in the city!

Join us on Saturday the 8th of October to hear about our local projects and enjoy food and dances at our multicultural ceilidh! Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose Street, G3 6RE, starting at 7pm until 10pm. The event is free to attend but to help us plan for catering, please confirm your attendance via this quick form: www.tinyurl.com/MVCEILIDH

We especially want to share the news about:

OUR UPCOMING EXHIBITION AT THE KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY

The exhibition, entitled Putting Ourselves in the Picture, is a collaboration with Glasgow Museums and will feature photographs taken within two projects delivered by Migrant Voice in Scotland: Engaging Pictures (2013) and Changing Lenses (2018). There will be several ways to get involved in this project! 

OUR NEW WOMEN’S GROUP

We’re launching our new Women’s Group where women from different migrant backgrounds can meet together to explore creative solutions to their needs, share interests and skills, and make their voices heard. Sign up via this form: www.tinyurl.com/MVGlasgowWomen. 

The launch event for this group is at 4 pm on Saturday the 8th of October. Our sessions will be taking place every two weeks at times suiting the majority. 

RELAUNCH OF OUR MIGRANT MEDIA LABS

We are relaunching our popular training sessions with journalists, film-makers, photographers, and media experts from Glasgow University and other partners. 

OUR OTHER ACTIVITIES

We are also planning drop-ins and network meetings, multicultural events, workshops, talks and film screenings alongside our continuous work around migration campaigns and policy influencing.

The launch event will be a great opportunity to connect with others, have fun dancing, and to sign up and help us shape our Glasgow based activities. We’re looking forward to welcoming you there!

Our new office is at the Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose Street, G3 6RE. We are looking forward to welcoming members, visitors, and partners there on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays between 10 am - 4.30 pm!

Are you active in your community, feel passionate about changing the debate on migration, and concerned about the lack of migrant voices in the media?

If so, this is for you. Migrant Voice is looking for proactive migrants who are keen to develop their skills and knowledge in getting the voices and issues of their communities into the media.

You’ll become one of our migrant ambassadors. We’ll share with you our years of experience and train you in identifying stories in your community and pitching them to the media – and you’ll get plenty of follow-up mentoring and support from us too.

Participants will get a copy of our media toolkit and information about how to contact journalists in the West Midlands. You’ll also become part of our national network of migrant ambassadors and be able to share experiences and learning with them, as well as having access to future media training activities to further build your skills.

The first training will be the only whole day session and will take place in person on Friday 7 October, 10am - 4.30pm at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, 9 Margaret St, Birmingham B3 3BS.

The following sessions will be two hours. Dates for the follow-up sessions will be agreed with participants at the first session.

Participants will be asked to come prepared with a story idea or an issue affecting their community that they want to raise in the media.

To book or find out more, email [email protected].

The Externalisation of Borders: Perspectives from UK, Europe and North Africa

Organised by Migrant Voice and the University of Westminster

Thursday 8 September 2022, 9:30-12:30

the University of Westminster, Fyvie Hall, 309 Regent Street, London W1B 2HW

This September, Migrant Voice will be holding a roundtable with the University of Westminster.

The roundtable focuses on ‘externalisation of borders’. We will look at the development of borders over the last decade in Europe; how the externalisation of borders has evolved and what has been the impact on migrants. We will also look at how we create change: What are some of the solutions and tactics employed in different countries to uphold human rights and what role can migrants, NGOs, academics, and other ordinary citizens play in this?

Speakers include colleagues from Leave to Remain, Migration Observatory, Amnesty International UK, Global Strategic Communications Network, a number of migrant-led organisations, and colleagues from Spain, Italy and Tunisia.

As a global trend, borders are no longer at the edge of a state, but externalised to other countries as well as embedded inside society among ordinary citizens and through greater digitisation of border controls. Borders are now fluid, but they are around and among us.

In the UK, immigration controls have been increasingly outsourced to ordinary citizens - turning them into unwilling border agents. Landlords, doctors, teachers, employers and others are required to perform checks on their patients, students, service users, and report their status to the Home Office.

At the same time, the UK's new Rwanda plan signals a shift further from externalisation of border controls to outsourcing responsibilities altogether.

Meanwhile across Europe, the externalisation of borders and the increasing criminalisation of migration and those rescuing or showing solidarity with migrants demeans the notion of European values and institutions we claim to uphold.

This roundtable will focus on issues around borders and engage UK and international perspectives in learning and discussion.

Please see this leaflet for more details on the day's programme, and email [email protected] to let us know if you wish to attend.

July marks ten years since the start of the ten-year-route to settlement. We invite you to join our network meeting - 'The 10-year route, ten years too long' on 12 July from 5-7pm on Zoom.

We will hear from people currently on the ten-year route, from Migrant Voice campaigners about how we're calling for routes to settlement to be capped at five years, and from Chrisann Jarret at WeBelong about their successful campaign to ensure many young people who came here as children can settle after five years. Chrisann will share the learning from their campaign and help inspire us for future action.

A legal adviser will be available to give a brief overview of the new 5-year routes for children and how we want to campaign for this to be extended to others who have to pay extortionate fees and can’t settle for at least 10 years.

We'll look at what recent wins for some migrants may mean for our campaign against extortionate visa fees and for a fairer immigration system, and discuss what more we can do to call for an end to this lengthy settlement process.

Please join us - whether you're on the ten-year route, five-year route, or want to stand with us in solidarity.

Please email [email protected] and we will send you the Zoom link.

We are also looking for people to join us in speaking out about the ten-year route in the lead-up to July's sad and shameful anniversary of the route. Please let us know if you would be interested in sharing your story as a video/audio file, poem, blog, photo or interview.

This Refugee Week, we invite you to join our screening of the first episode of “Amend: The Fight for America”, a Netflix socuseries exploring the history of discrimination and activism for equality in the United States.

The first episode covers the story of Frederick Douglass, the abolition of slavery and the ratification of the 14th amendment.

The screening will be followed by a discussion.

The screening is hosted by Migrant Voice at Brushstrokes Community Project, 253 High Street, Smethwick, B67.

The event takes place in person, on Saturday 25 June, 4:30 PM – 7:00 PM. It's free - get your tickets here. We hope to see you there!

Please join us for our Glasgow in-person Media Lab at Glasgow City Chambers on Tuesday 7th June 2022 from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
 
The Media Lab will include a media training session on how we can bring our stories to the media, how to develop and articulate our key messages, how to prepare for an interview and what are our rights, how to pitch the story to the media and finally which media platform is the appropriate one for our story. 
 
We are delighted that Simon Israel - former Senior Home Affairs Correspondent at Channel 4 News - will be running the session for us. He will also be offering follow-up mentoring to those who are ready to work on their stories and to raise important issues in their community or their own life.
 
The training couldn’t come at a better time considering Westminster’s new policies on immigration and other fast-paced migration matters. This will be a great opportunity as migrants to be equipped to speak for ourselves. 
 
On this occasion Councillor Graham Campbell will profile our work and award certificates to our Glasgow Ambassadors. 
 
We will appreciate it if you can reserve your place as soon as possible, by emailing [email protected] or texting 07743 743323, as limited places will be available - and for the purposes of catering and Covid safety. 
 
Venue: Glasgow City Chambers, 82 George Square, Glasgow G2 1DU, in committee room 8. 

As part of our campaign to reduce extortionate visa costs, we're launching a report on the impact that visa fees and the visa application process has on migrants.

The launch will take place on 27 April 2022 from 5 – 7PM in Committee room 12 of the Houses of Parliament.

The report will show how the cost of visas puts a strain on the lives of innumerable migrants and their families.

At the report launch you will hear from Migrant Voice about the findings of our research, from legal and policy experts on how we can create a fairer visa and immigration system and from many migrants who will share their first-hand experiences of the impact of having to pay these extortionate visa fees.

Based on the experiences of more than 100 migrants, some of the key findings from our report are:

• Migrants are being charged more than 7 times the administrative cost of their visa.
• People can expect to pay tens of thousands of pounds per person during their settlement journey. Two thirds of respondents reported they spent thousands of pounds in additional costs alone, including the International Health Surcharge.
• Two thirds of migrants we have spoken to are or have been in debt to afford their visas.
   

There are very limited spaces available, so please email [email protected] early to reserve a place.

Please join us for a media training session on interview skills for speaking out on visa fees. The same training session will be repeated twice so you can join us either on Thursday 7 April 5-6.30pm OR on Monday 11 April 11-12.30 via Zoom

The training sessions will cover how to prepare clear, concise ways to tell our messages and experiences in order to prepare for speaking to the media or on public platforms. We will explore:

• How to tell your story in the media - telling your story on your own terms
• How to make the most of interviews and public speaking
• Managing expectations and understanding your rights
• Practice telling your story

This training is for people affected by high visa costs who are interested in speaking out on the issue. Following the training, we can support with further mentoring.

The training session is to help us prepare for the launch of Migrant Voice’s report into the impact of extortionate visa costs. We are campaigning for a fairer immigration system by advocating for removing extortionate visa costs.

If you would like more information or you would like to take part, please email [email protected] to book a place.

We invite you to attend our next roundtable event, ‘Build Back Better? Migrants, democratic rights and political participation’, from 4pm to 6pm on Tuesday 26 April on Zoom.

Many migrants have been long-term residents in the UK and play active roles in the UK society both nationally and locally. Yet too many migrants are unable to take part and exercise their voice as equal partners in this country in one critical mechanism of the UK’s democracy – voting - including in the forthcoming local elections on 5 May 2022. 

Excitingly, progress has already been made in Wales and Scotland. In February 2020, the Scottish Parliament passed a new law which extends the right to vote in Scottish elections to people who are over 16 and live in Scotland. This includes people with refugee status. Many refugees voted in Scottish Parliamentary Elections on 6 May 2021, and some for the first time. 

Our roundtable event will explore the following questions: what possibilities do “residence-based voting rights” open up for migrants, in our ability to shape our future? Is having British citizenship the only way for migrants to participate in the UK’s political life, or are there other ways too?

We will be joined by:

Lara Parizotto from Our Home Our Vote and the Young Europeans Network, who will speak on the campaign for residence-based voting rights and Savan Qadir from UNESCO Rila and Refugees for Justice, who will speak on the impact of the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Act on refugees.

Join us in this roundtable to discuss with other migrants how we can collectively build back better for a better society for everyone, including migrants.  

If you would like to attend, please email [email protected] to confirm attendance, by sending your name and the name of your organisation (if any) and we will send you a Zoom link.

We look forward to welcoming you to our event.

This event is part of our series of Build Back Better roundtables

If you are eligible to vote, you must register before 14 April. Check here to see if you are eligible to vote: https://www.gov.uk/elections-in-the-uk/local-government

We are kickstarting a national action week of writing letters to our MPs about the impact of extortionate visa fees.

Join us for a training session Monday 21 February 11:00-12:30 OR Tuesday 22 February 17:30-19:00 on Zoom to get tips for how best to raise awareness with your MP about extortionate visa fees and the impact of the ten-year route.
 
You will learn more about the roles of MPs, what they are responsible for, what they can do to help and how you can get help from them.
 
We will look at how to find out who your MP is, how to contact them, and how best to structure a letter to them so that you get the answers or the help that you need.
 
The training will also cover:
·       other representatives you may be able to contact and asks for support from
·       An overview of our visa fees campaign
·       how else you can make your voice heard
 
The training will focus on writing about the impact of visa fees and the ten-year route to settlement. However, the skills learned can also be applied to other issues that people may want to contact their MP to speak about.
 
Following the training, we can support with your draft emails or letters to MPs on this issue.

To reserve a place or for more information, please contact [email protected]
 ___

Migrant Voice's campaign against extortionate visa fees focuses on the horrific impact that visa costs and the associated stress of visa renewals puts on migrants across the UK. 
 
We are campaigning to reduce the cost of visas down to administrative costs only, and free for children – this will mean the Home Office no longer makes a profit from migrants. We will also be asking for the 10 year route to be scrapped and for everyone to be placed on the 5 year route to settlement.
 
We will soon be launching our report into the impact the fees have had on migrants in the UK and spell out the way we can make the UK a more hospitable place for migrants to work and live.
 
You are welcome to get involved in the campaign.
 

Dear West Midlands network members, friends and colleagues.

Please join us on Tuesday 8 February 4-6pm on Zoom for our Migrant voice West Midlands network meeting: ‘Care has no time limit’

Following the announcement of care workers being added to the Shortage Occupation list for visas, we're organising a meeting on this issue.

The new care worker visa will be available for new migrants to apply to from overseas, but will also be open to asylum seekers who have the right to work.

At this meeting we’ll hear about the new route, who will benefit and how to access it as well as discuss critical issues:
• Why is it a temporary route for only 12 months with no route to settlement?
• Why is it not extended to all migrants in the UK?

Come to our network meeting and have YOUR say and YOUR suggestions put forward

Speakers will include 

• A legal practitioner to explain the process for people in the UK
• Migrant care workers
• Trade union reps from the care sector

Please Email [email protected] to book your place and receive the Zoom link.

• Anisah Vasta, community journalist at Birmingham Live 
• Fiona Walker, former reporter at BBC Scotland  
• Robert Wright, social policy correspondent at The Financial Times 

Join us on Tuesday 23 November for our first face-to-face Glasgow network meeting and social in two years!

This is an opportunity to hear updates from migrant communities and to share your views and experiences of the challenges facing migrants in Scotland at this time. We will also discuss how best to use the media to amplify our voices and campaign messages to achieve the change we want.

The meeting will take place at Garnethill Multicultural Centre, 21 Rose St, Garnethill St, Glasgow, G3 6RE, from 5.30-8.30pm.

Speakers from many communities will address the meeting, and we will look at the issues that connect us and discuss potential collaborations and actions to take forward.

We are delighted that Simon Israel, former senior home affairs correspondent for Channel 4 News, will be joining us to support us with how to make the most of the media.

The event will also be an opportunity to enjoy some social time with food, networking and music from around the world by Ando Glaso.

If you are able to join us, please confirm your attendance by 18.11.2021 to [email protected] for catering purposes and to ensure compliance with Covid-safety.

Migrant Voice would like to invite you to a national network meeting looking at the issue of the 10 year route to settlement. The meeting will be held on Zoom from 4-6pm on Tuesday 2 November.

There are more than 170,000 migrants in the UK whose pathway to settlement is 10 years or more. During this time they have to renew their visas every 2.5 years, paying thousands of pounds. Over ten years a family of 4 pay over £50,000. Most other routes to settlement in the UK are 5 years. This extended period of time spent living in limbo forces migrants into years of insecurity, with many pushed into poverty.

At this meeting we will discuss the effects of this policy, why we need it to change, and how we can make that change happen and call for a 5 year route for all!

Speakers include MV members Tameka Beckford, Gabriela Savariego and Camiquea Bryce-Jordan, who will talk about their experiences of the 10 year route to settlement; Jim Wilson, Immigration & Human Rights Solicitor, J M Wilson Solicitors; and others TBC.

The network meeting will be online on Zoom. Please email [email protected] or [email protected] to confirm attendance and we will send you a Zoom link.

Please do get in contact if you have any questions about the network meeting or the campaign.

This year’s Black History Month is a time to celebrate the achievements, excellence and contributions of the Black communities in the UK and around the world. As the theme for 2021 is called “Proud to Be”, we will be sharing what our members are proud of on social media, using the hashtag #ProudToBe.

We will also be listening to the experiences of our Black members through a series of events in the Birmingham area - both celebrating their achievements and hearing about the issues that they face. 

The city of Birmingham is home to a large community of Black people, including members of the Windrush generation and refugees, and it is important for us to highlight their stories.

Migrant Voice’s full calendar of events for Black History Month is below. Our events this year are in partnership with Saathi House and Bruhstrokes; and will be updated as the month goes on.

Commonwealth and communities

Tuesday 5 October | 10am - 12pm

• DETAILS: Coffee morning at Saathi House including podcast discussions with journalist Anisah Vasta from Birmingham Live on Commonwealth nations, shared experiences and the impact of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games on local communities. Refreshments provided.

• LOCATION: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR

Lewin Williams campaign workshop

Monday 11 October | 12pm - 2pm

• DETAILS: Workshop in support of Lewin Williams’s campaign to stay in the UK. Lewin, 74, has lived in the UK for more than 18 years and is battling cancer. He won't be able to afford medical treatment if he is deported to his home country of Jamaica. The workshop will include poster-making, petition signing, discussion, photography and refreshments. 

• LOCATION: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR

Empowering migrants through media

Tuesday 19 October | 12pm - 2pm

• DETAILS: In discussion with Farisai Dzemwa and Althia Barnett, two Migrant Voice members who joined us to learn writing and multimedia skills and went on to become community journalists and published ‘Beyond’ magazine celebrating Black excellence. Farisai will also be discussing publishing her autobiography ‘Healed: Road to Recovery’. Q&A chaired by Selbin Kabote. Refreshments provided. 

• LOCATION: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR

Show Your Heart - Together with Refugees

Wednesday 20 October | Time TBC*

• DETAILS: Supporting the ‘Show Your Heart - Together with Refugees’ rally in Birmingham as part of a national week of action against the Borders and Nationality Bill. Organised by Stand Up To Racism.

• LOCATION: Victoria Square (TBC)

In Conversation with Cllr Sharon Thompson and friends

Date & Time TBC*

• DETAILS: In conversation with Cllr Sharon Thompson, Shantal Murray and Espoir Njei. Chaired by Salman Mirza, discussion points will include migration, Windrush and addressing the question: ‘How welcome are refugees and asylum seekers to ‘City of Sanctuary’, Birmingham?’

• LOCATION: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR

FILM SCREENING: Glasgow Girls

Friday 22 October | 6pm

• DETAILS: Film screening of ‘Glasgow Girls’, a drama about a group of seven young women in Glasgow, Scotland, who highlighted the poor treatment of asylum seekers whose rights of appeal had been exhausted. In 2005, the group campaigned against dawn raids, raised public awareness and found support in the Scottish Parliament.

• LOCATION: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR

Black Heritage Walk: Remembering Ida B. Wells

Saturday 23 October | 1pm - 4pm

• DETAILS: Black Heritage Walk tour highlighting the story of remarkable African American woman Ida B. Wells who travelled to Britain to campaign against slavery, racism and lynching from the 1830s to the late 1890s. Ida B Wells was a feminist, activist, author, a social reformer and an inspirational figure. Wells visited Birmingham in 1893 and 1894.

• LOCATION: Edgbaston Community Centre, 40 Woodview Drive, Birmingham B15 2HU (Our group is meeting at Saathi House and travelling to the location together)

Vanley Burke migrant photography project

Tuesday 26 October | 10.30am - 12pm

• DETAILS:  Ikon is partnering with Migrant Voice and the School of Education, the University of Birmingham on a project with artist Vanley Burke, who will photograph ten pre-selected Birmingham residents and families in their social, professional and domestic settings. Participants will share aspects of their cultural heritage from a range of countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Jamaica, Nigeria, Poland and Pakistan. Vanley Burke and the team will be joining us for a coffee morning to share more about the project.

• LOCATION: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR

* TBC = To be confirmed

All of our events are free and open to all, especially Migrant Voice members. Some events may have limited spaces so please check beforehand.

For more information about any of these events, or to book, please email: [email protected] 

Join us on Wednesday 1 September 2021 from 5:00pm to 6:30pm on Zoom to learn about the key developments of the UK government’s plan for evacuation and resettlement and to discuss the refugee and migration sector’s concerns and responses.

We will also look at how the media is framing the issue and discuss how we respond to this.

The meeting will be an opportunity to share what MV, our members and Afghan

communities are doing in solidarity with Afghan refugees and to discuss our key demands, messages and actions.

To join us, please email [email protected] and we will send you the Zoom link.

Migrant Voice would like to invite you to our London network meeting focusing on our latest campaign against the extortionate cost of visa/immigration fees in the UK. The meeting will be held on Monday 19 July at 5-7pm.

The meeting will be an opportunity to get an update on our visa fees campaign, further help shape the campaign and its recommendations and share our own experiences.

Our MV West Midlands colleague Salman Mirza, who is also an Immigration Advisor, will be leading a session on fee waivers. He will be explaining how they work, how to fill out an application form for the waiver, and will hopefully give you the best chance to get a fee waiver in the future if you are eligible.

To help us with our campaign, we are currently running a survey on individuals experiences with the cost of visas. It can be completed anonymously and only takes around 15 minutes https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MV_Visa_Fees_Survey  Please help us by sharing the survey with your friends and colleagues.

The network meeting will be online on Zoom. Please email [email protected] to confirm attendance and we will send you a Zoom link.

Please do get in contact if you have any questions about the network meeting or the campaign.

We are inviting you to attend the launch of The TOEIC Justice Project, a joint initiative between Migrant Voice and law firm Bindmans LLP, who for years have both been supporting and representing the victims of the TOEIC scandal.

The launch of the project will take place on Zoom on Tuesday 6 July, from 5:00pm to 6:30pm, and will discuss recent developments in the TOEIC Scandal.

The event will provide an update in relation to:

• Current immigration issues and ongoing judicial review challenges
• Campaigning and parliamentary action
• Civil claims for compensation for the falsely accused

The webinar will be chaired by Migrant Voice director Nazek Ramadan, alongside John Halford and Theodora Middleton from Bindmans. The speakers include: 

• Stephen Timms, MP
• Greg Ó Ceallaigh, Garden Court Chambers
• Julianne Morrison, Monckton Chambers
• Cameron Ball, Campaigns Organiser at Migrant Voice

There will also be an opportunity to ask questions surrounding the TOEIC scandal at the launch. You can register for free tickets by clicking here.

This TOEIC scandal unfolded in 2014, after BBC Panorama revealed cheating by some international students on an English language test known as TOEIC at two London test centres. 

In response, the UK government asked Educational Testing Service (ETS), the company that ran the test, to investigate. As a result of this, the Home Office accused almost 34,000 students of cheating. Their visas were immediately revoked or refused, and more than 2,400 were deported, while a further 22,000 were told their test results were “questionable”.

Thanks to a grant from the Trust for London, we are now stepping up our campaign against extortionate visa fees. To better inform and shape our campaign strategy, we would like to hear from anyone affected by the UK visa process and invite you to take part in one of the focus groups (online) we are running over the first two weeks of May.

The focus groups will be looking at the impact of visa fees, including but not limited to the high costs of visas, appointments for uploading documents, the NHS surcharge, etc. We are also interested in the impact that these policies have had on you and your families such as housing, work, and the impact on your physical and mental health.
 
We will also be exploring how we can shape the campaign strategy and plan, its priority areas, potential activities and recommendations.
 
The dates and times of the Focus groups are:
-          Thursday 6th May 10:00-11:30
-          Friday 7th May 14:00 - 15:30
-          Tuesday 11th May 17:30 – 19:00
-          Thursday 13th May 12:00 – 13:30
 
Please email or Campaign Organiser, Cameron Ball: [email protected] indicating which session you would like to attend and we will be in touch with a Zoom link and further details. Feel free to email us a brief overview of your situation regarding visa fees and their impact on you. Please also include your location in the UK.
 

We are inviting you to a special national network meeting Wednesday 7 April from 4-6 pm (on Zoom) to look at the new proposed overhaul of the asylum system in the UK, announced by Home Secretary Priti Patel on 24 March.

The Home Office is doing a Consultation on the proposed changes until 6 May and Migrant Voice will be making a submission to this.
 
At this network meeting, we want to hear your own experiences and views - especially those of you with the first-hand experience of the asylum system. It is very important that migrants give their views on this massive proposed change in the asylum process. It is also important to have the views of our colleagues in the sector including those with legal and other expertise.
 
To book a place, please email [email protected] and we will send you a Zoom link.
 

Please join us for the MiFriendly Cities 'Share Our Journey' online event. Click here to register.

As you may know, over the last three years we have been partnering with 10 other West Midlands organisations to deliver the MiFriendly Cities project – creating cities where the voices, skills and passion of refugees and migrants flourish, so that all branches of the community are fully invested in its future, and the social and economic fabric of the region is strengthened.

We'd like you to join us on March 10th 10-4.30pm for a day of practical, experience-based insights, sharing what we've learned from the MiFriendly Cities project.

On the day you will be able to:

• Hear live from public bodies and our participants.
• Get exclusive access to content and resources sharing our activities and impact.
• Watch our brand new film about the project and visit our new online exhibition.
• Attend 2 workshops to ask questions and gain deeper insights on topics you are most interested in.

We very much look forward to hosting you, alongside Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton City Councils, and 7 other project partners and our project participants.

In the meantime, if you have any queries, please email [email protected]

You can register here. 

Best wishes

The Migrant Voice Team

We are delighted to invite you to our next online Media Lab training workshop for migrants in the West Midlands, Tuesday 23 February from 10.45am - 3.00pm

This Media Lab follows on from our recent network meeting on 9 February, where some of the key issues raised were the impact of extortionate visa fees and No Recourse to Public Funds. At this Media Lab we will learn how to refine our messages to share our stories around these and other issues we want to raise awareness of.

Global women’s rights and current affairs journalist Rachel Hagan will share her experience of what makes a strong message and story. And Instagram Consultant Asad Shah will help us with how best to amplify these on social media platforms.

Rachel Hagan is global women’s rights and current affairs journalist who reports on news, social policy and global stories — often from a women’s angle. Her work has been widely published across The Financial Times, The Independent, VICE, ELLE, Dazed, Huck, Novara, Tribune and others. She has interviewed victims of sexual trafficking, Syrian women living under siege, UN peacekeepers, British asylum seekers and sex workers among others. She is particularly interested in and passionate on migrants' rights and women's rights.

Asad Shah is an aspiring entrepreneur that after multiple start-ups used his Marketing knowledge to catapult his personal brand. He reaches 250,000 people every month with Instagram and teaches people how they can do it too via his course and consultations on his website. Asad has also established Huddle Duck, a company that helps businesses build profitable communities on Instagram.

Agenda for the Media Lab

10.45 – 11.00 - Zoom connections, welcome and introductions
11.00 – 12.30  - Session 1 - Rachel Hagan will share with us how to refine our messages to create a strong story.'
12.30 – 1.15 - Lunch break
1.15 – 2.45 - Session 2 – Asad Shah will help us understand how better to use social media platforms amplify our stories
2.45-3.00 - Q&A, finishing off projects, evaluation

To join us please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance and get the Zoom link for the day.

We are delighted to invite you to our next West Midlands network meeting: 'Migrants, same struggle - new challenges' on 9 February at 4-6pm (on Zoom). 

Join us to hear updates from migrant communities and to share your views and experiences of the challenges facing migrants at this time.

We want to look at how immigration has changed post Brexit and due to the pandemic and what issues and concerns these raise for migrants.

At this meeting we are bringing together speakers from many communities to look at the issues that connect us and to discuss potential solutions and actions to take forward.

Speakers joining us at the discussion will include:

• Tameka Beckford, a healthcare worker on the front line who has to pay thousands in home office fees while risking her life on a daily basis to care for others
• Faith Ngcobo, one of the Leaders of the Birmingham Asylum & Refugee Association and also part of the #StatusNow4All network working with undocumented migrants
• Mariana Plamadeala, one of the founders of RUDA (Romani Uniti din Anglia). She supports the integration of the Romanian nationals and works to reduce stereotypes.
• Loraine Masiya Mponela, community organiser and the current chairperson of Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group (CARAG). CARAG is part of the #StatusNow4All Network.
• Mohammed Shazad from the Childrens’ Society, who has worked with families with No Recourse to Public Funds for over 10 years

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance and we will send you the Zoom link to join.

This meeting is open to all - whether EU nationals, migrants or refugees from other parts of the world, and anyone standing in solidarity with us.

Migrant Voice is delighted to invite you to our next 'Know Your Rights' session for EU nationals in Glasgow and Scotland on Monday 18 January 5-7pm on Zoom. 

Join us to hear from our colleague Salman Mirza, who is also an immigration advisor at Brushstrokes Community Project in the West Midlands, about the changes to the rights of EU nationals post-Brexit and to discuss concerns around the EU Settlement Scheme.

Once the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December 2020, we will see a new immigration system with big changes for many migrants. Salman Mirza will address some of these during the session. 

The session will also provide a valuable opportunity for EU nationals to contribute their views on what the new human rights law in Scotland should look like.

To confirm attendance and receive the Zoom link please book your free ticket here.

Please email [email protected] for any questions or to discuss additional requirements.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice January events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice December events.

Join us for our monthly Cup'a'Tea - an online space to meet with MV members, staff and volunteers. Come and say hello, share concerns or issues you or migrant communities in your areas are facing, and positive tips for keeping healthy and happy during this time. 

When? Friday 8 January, 5-6pm.

Where? The online video tool Zoom. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this. You will need a link to access the meeting - email [email protected] and we will send you the details of how to join.

Hope to see lots of you there!

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice December events.

In collaboration with the Status Now network, of which Migrant Voice is an active member, we are running an online social media training session on Wednesday 23 December at 7pm. 

Participants will learn about the best ways to use social media to get your message across, how to interact on Faceboook news feeds and how to start a campaign using social media.   

The session will be led by Migrant Voice's Birmingham Network Worker Salman Mirza, who has been a leading figure in the Gurmit Kaur campaign and has been galvanising people to challenge negative comments about migrants and migration on social media.

The training session will take place on Zoom and everyone is welcome to attend. Contact [email protected] to get the Zoom link.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice December events.

On Wednesday, 16 December, we're launching a report looking at media coverage of migrants and migration during the first Covid-19 lockdown in the UK.

The launch will take place on Zoom, 5.30-7pm, and all are welcome. Email [email protected] to get the link. 

For this report, we analysed almost 900 news stories across nine of the UK’s most popular media outlets to answer these questions: Did we really see a shift to positive coverage of migrants, or just those working in the NHS? Which news outlets were best at including migrant voices in their Covid-19 coverage? Were migrants presented as heroes, threats or victims during this unprecedented time?

At the launch, you'll hear directly from the Migrant Voice volunteers who spent months analysing news stories and working on this report. You’ll then have the chance to ask them questions, before hearing from a panel of media and migration experts who will help us put the findings into a broader context

The panel will be chaired by Professor Nando Sigona, Chair of International Migration and Forced Displacement at the University of Birmingham and Migrant Voice trustee. The experts will include:

• Dr Federica Mazzara, Senior Lecturer in Intercultural Communication at the University of Westminster
• Dr Bethia Pearson, Research Associate in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Glasgow, and former journalist

Email [email protected] to confirm your attendance and to receive the Zoom link.

Join us for our monthly Cup'a'Tea - an online space to meet with MV members, staff and volunteers. Come and say hello, share concerns or issues you or migrant communities in your areas are facing, and positive tips for keeping healthy and happy during this time. 

When? Friday 4 December, 5-6pm.

Where? The online video tool Zoom. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this. You will need a link to access the meeting - email [email protected] and we will send you the details of how to join.

Hope to see lots of you there!

On Tuesday 1 December 2020 at 5-6.30pm, Migrant Voice is holding its Annual General Meeting where we will be discussing our work in the period April 2019 to March 2020 and looking ahead. 

This meeting is open to all our members. If you would like to attend, please contact [email protected].

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice December events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice December events.

Migrant Voice and MiFriendly Cities are hosting a special online Media Lab training session on Tuesday 1 December 2020.

Time: 10.45am-3pm

Location: online via Zoom (log-in details will be sent out when you RSVP)

The session is free and open to migrants, refugees, asylum seekersand their friends in the West Midlands. To register to join, please contact: [email protected] or 07821 147341.

This project is co-financed by the European Regional and Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative. 

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice December events.

Migrant Voice is organising an online Media Lab on Monday 9 November, 6.30-8.30pm. 

The programme will include the following sessions: 

Thistle and a Rose. We join with Havana Glasgow Film Festival for a poetry workshop with Félix Flores Varona. Want to learn about the connection between Scottish and Cuban poetry, and have fun writing some verses? Felix brings inspiration from Cuban poet José Martí and Scottish poet Robert Burns, both beloved and revered in their respective countries. Félix Flores Varona is the author of several books on translation studies and winner of numerous national and international literary prizes. His work centres on the Cuban national hero, journalist, philosopher and activist José Martí, and his links with various Scottish writers.

How to write to the Editor with Daniel Nelson. A veteran UK journalist who has worked across Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, Uganda and the Philippines will lead a session on how to write letters to the Editor of a newspaper. He'll be sharing his top tips for making sure your letters get published.

Tips to improve your videos. (full info TBC)

As part of these sessions, we will also be talking about International Migrants' Day on 18 December and the messages we want to share on that day.

Scots and new Scots from all over the world - asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants living in Scotland - join us online on Monday 9 November, 6.30-8.30pm, to learn media skills that will make your voices heard.

The Media Lab will take place on Zoom. Sign up for your free ticket here: https://medialabmigrantvoice_hgff.eventbrite.co.uk

Please email [email protected] for any questions or special requirements.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice November events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice November events.

Join us for our monthly Cup'a'Tea - an online space to meet with MV members, staff and volunteers. Come and say hello, share concerns or issues you or migrant communities in your areas are facing, and positive tips for keeping healthy and happy during this time. 

When? Friday 6 November, 5-6pm.

Where? The online video tool Zoom. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this. You will need a link to access the meeting - email [email protected] and we will send you the details of how to join.

Hope to see lots of you there!

Migrant Voice is organising an online Media Lab on Monday 9 November, 6.30-8.30pm. 

The programme will include the following sessions: 

Thistle and a Rose. We join with Havana Glasgow Film Festival for a poetry workshop with Félix Flores Varona. Want to learn about the connection between Scottish and Cuban poetry, and have fun writing some verses? Felix brings inspiration from Cuban poet José Martí and Scottish poet Robert Burns, both beloved and revered in their respective countries. Félix Flores Varona is the author of several books on translation studies and winner of numerous national and international literary prizes. His work centres on the Cuban national hero, journalist, philosopher and activist José Martí, and his links with various Scottish writers.

How to write to the Editor with Daniel Nelson. A veteran UK journalist who has worked across Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, Uganda and the Philippines will lead a session on how to write letters to the Editor of a newspaper. He'll be sharing his top tips for making sure your letters get published.

Tips to improve your videos. (full info TBC)

As part of these sessions, we will also be talking about International Migrants' Day on 18 December and the messages we want to share on that day.

Scots and new Scots from all over the world - asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants living in Scotland - join us online on Monday 9 November, 6.30-8.30pm, to learn media skills that will make your voices heard.

The Media Lab will take place on Zoom. Sign up for your free ticket here: https://medialabmigrantvoice_hgff.eventbrite.co.uk

Please email [email protected] for any questions or special requirements.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice November events.

Migrant Voice and MiFriendly Cities are hosting a special online Power Talk presentation and Q&A for refugees, migrants and asylum seekers from the West Midlands.

Join us as we explore the engaging journalism and social activism of Joshua Williams this #BlackHistoryMonth, including an eye-opening discussion and Q&A with the public figure about his journey as a writer, campaigner and Birmingham-based media personality.

Date: Friday 30 October 2020 | 5pm - 7pm
Online: via Zoom (log-in details will be sent out when you RSVP)

The session is free and open to migrant communities and friends in the West Midlands. To register to join, please contact: [email protected].

-----------------------------------

This project is co-financed by the European Regional and Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative.

We are delighted to invite you to our next West Midlands network meeting, jointly organised with Polish Expats Association and RUDA on Wednesday 14 October at 4-6pm (on Zoom). We will be discussing the concerns of EU nationals in the UK at this moment and post-Brexit.

Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips will be joining the meeting alongside a number of speakers from community organisations representing or working with EU nationals. The meeting will provide an opportunity to hear about the current experiences and concerns of our friends, colleagues and neighbours from the EU and to discuss solutions and actions together with a local MP. 

It is important for us to come together at this particular time as we get closer to the end of the transition period and move towards the deadline for submitting applications to the EU Settlement Scheme, on top of the challenges presented by Covid-19. From January 2021, new immigration rules will be in effect for anyone wanting to move to the UK. At this meeting we will be getting a legal update on what this will mean for migrants.

Speakers will include:

Jess Phillips, MP for Birmingham Yardley

Alicja Kaczmarek, Polish Expats Association CIC and Centrala

Ionut Matei, Founding member and EUSS Advisor, RUDA

Fartun Mohamud, Community Advice Worker, Ileys Community Association

Shantel Murray, Migrant Voice member who is active in our visa fees campaign

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance and we will send you the Zoom link to join.

This meeting is open to all - whether EU nationals, migrants or refugees from other parts of the world, and anyone standing in solidarity with us.

We're running an online Media Lab for our West Midlands members on Tuesday 6 October. Full details coming soon!

Join us for our monthly Cup'a'Tea - an online space to meet with MV members, staff and volunteers. Come and say hello, share concerns or issues you or migrant communities in your areas are facing, and positive tips for keeping healthy and happy during this time. 

When? Friday 2 October, 5-6pm.

Where? The online video tool Zoom. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this. You will need a link to access the meeting - email [email protected] and we will send you the details of how to join.

Hope to see lots of you there!

We are delighted to invite you to our next West Midlands network meeting, jointly organised with Polish Expats Association and RUDA on Wednesday 14 October at 4-6pm (on Zoom). We will be discussing the concerns of EU nationals in the UK at this moment and post-Brexit.

Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips will be joining the meeting alongside a number of speakers from community organisations representing or working with EU nationals. The meeting will provide an opportunity to hear about the current experiences and concerns of our friends, colleagues and neighbours from the EU and to discuss solutions and actions together with a local MP. 

It is important for us to come together at this particular time as we get closer to the end of the transition period and move towards the deadline for submitting applications to the EU Settlement Scheme, on top of the challenges presented by Covid-19. From January 2021, new immigration rules will be in effect for anyone wanting to move to the UK. At this meeting we will be getting a legal update on what this will mean for migrants.

Speakers will include:

Jess Phillips MP

Ionut Matei, RUDA

Alicja Kaczmarek, Polish Expats Association CIC and Centrala

TBC, Ileys Community Association

Shantel Murray, Migrant Voice member

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance and we will send you the Zoom link to join.

This meeting is open to all - whether EU nationals, migrants or refugees from other parts of the world, and anyone standing in solidarity with us.

We're running an online Media Lab for our West Midlands members on Tuesday 6 October. Full details coming soon!

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice September events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice September events.

Join us for our monthly Cup'a'Tea - an online space to meet with MV members, staff and volunteers. Come and say hello, share concerns or issues you or migrant communities in your areas are facing, and positive tips for keeping healthy and happy during this time. 

When? Friday 4 September, 5-6pm.

Where? The online video tool Zoom. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this. You will need a link to access the meeting - email [email protected] and we will send you the details of how to join.

Hope to see lots of you there!

This Media Lab is for migrants (including asylum seekers and refugees) in and around Glasgow. It will take place on Zoom, 2-5pm, on Tuesday 8 September.

More details to follow.

On Tuesday 25 August, 2-3.30pm, Migrant Voice is hosting an advice session for students wrongly accused of cheating on their TOEIC test six years ago and still fighting to clear their names.

The session will be run by Paul Turner, immigration barrister at Imperium Chambers, who has dealt with dozens of TOEIC cases.

If you are a TOEIC student and you would like to attend this session and/or submit a question for Paul Turner to answer, please email [email protected] for more information.

We will only accept questions submitted by Thursday 20 August at 6pm. Any questions submitted after this time will not be answered at the session.

Over the last months, we’ve been speaking with a number of international students in the UK who are facing particular struggles due to Covid-19 and the lockdown. Many say they have nowhere to turn for help.

If you’re an international student facing problems – or you know others who are – join us on Zoom on Thursday 20 August, 2-3.30pm, to discuss these issues and how we can work together to raise our voices so those in power can hear them and are moved to act.

In July, we held Migrant Voice’s first International Students Week, celebrating the international students who come to the UK and amplifying their voices on the issues affecting them. We heard that many relied on part-time work to pay their rent and buy the essentials, but with the lockdown, most of that work disappeared and they weren’t eligible for any Government support. 

Others have found themselves isolated in their student accommodation and consumed by worries about the safety of their families, often thousands of miles away, while still facing strict deadlines on their academic work. The impacts on the mental health of many international students are likely to be long-lasting. 

Now, some students are faced with deadlines to pay fees for the new academic year – impossible when they haven’t been able to work since March. 

Join us on Thursday 20 August to tell us what you’re going through and find a way forward together.

Email [email protected] for more information and to get the link to join the Zoom meeting.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice September events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice August events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice August events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice August events.

Join us for our monthly Cup'a'Tea - an online space to meet with MV members, staff and volunteers. Come and say hello, share concerns or issues you or migrant communities in your areas are facing, and positive tips for keeping healthy and happy during this time. 

When? Friday 7 August, 5-6pm.

Where? The online video tool Zoom. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this. You will need a link to access the meeting - email [email protected] and we will send you the details of how to join.

Hope to see lots of you there!

It's August 2020 and we're gradually restarting our lists of physical events relating to migration and international development. Here are some exhibitions that you can visit in London this month. Watch out for similar lists for Glasgow and the West Midlands coming soon! And here's our list of online events, accessible to anyone anywhere.

EXHIBITIONS

* History of Bombs, Ai WeiWei takes over the Imperial War Museum’s 1,000 square feet atrium - the first time space has been given to a single artist. He draws his investigation into politics and power, international migration and the relationship between the individual, society and the state, free. 

* Rendered Reality, multi-media works by London-based Korean artists Joonhong Min and Shinuk Suh, Korean Cultural Centre, Grand Buildings, 1 - 3 Strand, WC2, visits to be booked in advance.

* Gordon Parks, Part 1, focuses on two of the African American photographer’s defining stories, Segregation in the South and Black Muslims, Alison Jacques Gallery, 16-18 Berners Street, W1, until 8 August.

* Radical Figures: Painting in the New Millennium, African and Asian influences include Daniel Richter’s paintings drawn from current events – the migrant crisis or Taliban mythology; Michael Armitage’s narratives of politics and violence in East Africa, and Iran-born Tala Madani’s fantasies of abject men and children, £9.50/£7.50, Whitechapel Gallery, until 30 August.

* Homeland under My Nails, exhibition of prints by Mohammad Omar Khalil, “one of Sudan's most important artists”, Mosaic Rooms, Tower House, 226 Cromwell Road, SW5, until 30 August. 

* This is Uganda, works by Collin Sekajugo, Sulger-Buel Gallery, by appointment at The Loft, 51 Surrey Row, Unit 2 La Gare, SE1, or online, until 31 August.

From Tuesday 4 August

* Blueprints, Beijing-based multi-media artist and filmmaker Cao Fei’s  science fiction world, free, Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens, W2, until 13 September.

From Thursday 6 August

* Seoul Unfolded, collection of architecture drawings, media, and models by National University of Arts students and faculty members, Korean Cultural Centre, Grand Buildings, 1-3 Strand, until 26 September.

* The Krios of Sierra Leone, includes contemporary objects from the collections of Krio Londoners as well as 19th century objects related to British colonial rule from the museum’s collections, free but advance booking required, Docklands Museum, West India Quay, Hertsmere Road, E14, until March 2021.

Thanks to volunteer Daniel Nelson for compiling this list.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice July events.

Join us on Tuesday 14 July 2-4pm to hear from migrant communities and to share your views and experiences of the impact of Covid-19 on BAME and migrant communities, and to discuss potential solutions and recommendations going forward.

The meeting will explore pre-existing inequalities and particular policies that made migrant communities more vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic.

This meeting is organised to ensure our voices are heard. The experiences shared at the meeting and the suggested recommendations will feed into a Migrant Voice briefing which will be shared with the relevant organisations and policymakers in Scotland and in Westminster to help drive effective policy change.

Joining us at the discussion will be:

- Sinenhlanhla Zondo - will be speaking about the experiences of international students in Glasgow

- Marzanna Antoniak - will be speaking about experiences of European citizens

- Ako Zada - a Campaigner End Hotel Detention- will be speaking about experiences of asylum seekers

- Solomon Adebayo - a Campaigner for LGBT rights from Unity- experiences of the LGBT community

- Elizabeth Hutchin-Bellur - Feministas Hispanohablantes Glasgow - will be speaking about the experiences of Ibero-American women.

Migrant Voice’s Zoom network meeting will be recorded in order to help write up our policy briefing but all contributions will be anonymised. You can opt out at any time and can anonymise your contribution on the day.

The meeting will end with a workshop delivered by Karin Goodwin from 'JustRight Scotland' on the 'right to belong' as part of Migrant Voice' 'Know your rights' activity.

The Right to Belong workshop will explore:

What does it mean to belong? What does it mean to be a citizen? As a migrant what rights do you have now? Which rights are you denied if you don’t have citizenship? And how could we change that in Scotland?.

To confirm your attendance please sign in here: https://migrantvoicenetworkmeeting.eventbrite.com

Email [email protected] for any questions or special requirements.

Migrant Voice Zoom Network Meeting:

Impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities - Share your views and experiences for a House of Commons inquiry

Thursday 2 July 2020 | 4-6pm (GMT / UK time)

This meeting is organised to ensure our voices are heard. The experiences shared at the meeting will feed directly into an inquiry of the House of Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee: Unequal Impact? Coronavirus and BAME people.

This is your opportunity to have your thoughts feelings and experiences relayed to the corridors of parliament to make effective policy change.

Joining us at the discussion will be:

* Juma Begum, Centre Manager, Birmingham Asian Resource Centre
* Loraine Masiya Mponela, Chairperson, Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group (CARAG)
* Jacques Matensi-Kubanza, Chair of African speaking Community Support.

The House of Commons’ Women and Equalities Committee has launched the ‘Coronavirus and the impact on people with protected characteristics inquiry’.

In the next phase of this inquiry, the Committee has focused its approach on three sub-inquiries, one of which is ‘Unequal Impact? Coronavirus and BAME people.’ This sub-inquiry will explore the pre-existing inequalities that made BAME communities more vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic and hear the impacts on BAME people during the pandemic through understanding people’s lived experiences.

The Committee is particularly keen to hear from those with lived experience. The Committee is currently calling for written evidence submissions for this sub-inquiry.

Migrant Voice's Zoom network meeting will be recorded in order to help write up our submission to the inquiry but all contributions will be anonymised. You can opt out at any time and can anonymise your contribution on the day.

*** Please email [email protected] to confirm your attendance and you will be sent the Zoom joining details. ***

Biography of speakers:

Juma Begum is Community Hub Elder and Carers Coordinator and centre manager for Birmingham Asian Resource, with 20 years’ experience in dealing with complex benefit queries, tribunal representation work to Legal Services commissioned standard.

Loraine Masiya Mponela, the chairperson for Coventry Asylum and Refugee Action Group (CARAG): https://thebareuk.com/2020/04/20/the-impact-of-covid-19-government-measures-on-asylum-seekers/?fbclid=IwAR0whPJfGka6zxZSV0O6_aJzVYXS2WSLVoJi1CJL5Fz2ytqQ9rCvWZmprZ0

Jacques Matensi-Kubanza Chair of the African speaking Community Support, member of Migrant Voice: https://www.migrantvoice.org/index.php/archive/jacques-story-220118064922?fbclid=IwAR3GfG-enatNSl49XnLXwyzprkk_Q1LVAxAMQj1UJ75BxIITtYKnKd5x5-0

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice July events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice June events.

Migrant Voice and MiFriendly Cities are hosting a special online Media Lab training session on Tuesday 30 June 2020.

Rakeem Omar Hyatt: Rakeem is a BBC presenter, a journalist for Birmingham Mail and a documentary filmmaker.
Having worked with BBC One and BBC Three, he’s currently a presenter on BBC WM, discussing the most impacting stories across the West Midlands.
As a Channel 4 Investigative Journalism alumnus, he is passionate about sharing the stories of those from underrepresented communities.

10:45am - 11:00am: Zoom connections, welcome and introductions
11:00 am - 12:00 pm: Session 1 – Community journalism skills with Rakeem Hyatt (introduction and background, discussion representation, basic skills and tips, activity set for return after lunch)
12:00pm - 1:00pm: LUNCH BREAK
1.00pm - 1.50pm: Session 2 - Refresher, revisit task set prior to lunch, practical interactive activity to help the group write a basic community article as a group
1.50pm - 2.00pm: SHORT BREAK
2.00pm - 2.30pm: - Q&A, Wind down, finishing off projects, evaluation, announcements.

DATE: Tuesday 30th June 2020 | 10.45am - 2.30pm
ONLINE: via Zoom (log-in details will be sent out when you RSVP)

The session is free and open to migrants in the West Midlands.
To register to join, please contact: [email protected] or 07821 147 341.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice June events.

Migrant Voice and MiFriendly Cities are hosting a special online Power Talk presentation and Q&A for refugees, migrants and asylum seekers from the West Midlands.

Join us as we explore the engaging community leadership and activism of Salma Yaqoob, including an eye-opening discussion and Q&A with the prominent figure about her journey as a campaigner, politician and media personality.

Date: Thursday 18th June 2020 | 5.00pm - 6.30pm
Online: via Zoom (log-in details will be sent out when you RSVP)

The session is free and open to first and second generation migrants in the West Midlands as part of our 'Media Lab' initiative working with media professionals.

To register to join, please contact: [email protected].

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice May events.

Migrant Voice and MiFriendly Cities are hosting a special online Media Lab training session on Tuesday 26 May 2020.

There will be two interactive workshops:

How to conduct a media interview: Salman Mirza, a Birmingham based migration worker and multimedia reporter, will lead a workshop on how to conduct and engage in a media interview, as both an interviewer and an interviewee.

How to write a news interview: Daniel Nelson, a veteran UK journalist who has worked across Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, Uganda and the Philippines, will lead a session on how to write up a media interview into an article or news piece.

10.45-11am: Zoom connections and welcome

11am-12pm: Session 1 – Media interview engagement skills with Salman Mirza 

12-1pm: Session 2 – Media interview writing skills with Daniel Nelson

1-2pm: LUNCH BREAK

2-2.40pm: Joint session - Salman Mirza and Daniel Nelson on polishing and presenting interviews

2.40-3pm: Wind down, finishing off projects, evaluation, announcements.

ONLINE: via Zoom (log-in details will be sent out when you RSVP)

The session is free and open to migrants in the West Midlands.

To register to join, please contact: [email protected] or 07821 147 341.

This project is co-financed by the European Regional and Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice May events.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice May events.

If you're in Glasgow and would like to learn how to speak out, join us on Tuesday 19 May, 3-6pm for an online Media Lab, held via Zoom. More details to follow.

Email [email protected] if you would like to register.

We are pleased to invite you to our next West Midlands network meeting: "Heroes for how long?"

Please join Migrant Voice, MP for Warley, John Spellar, and immigration solicitor Katie Fennell on Wednesday 13 May, 3-5pm to look at the challenges for migrants having to renew their leave to remain or apply for new visas during the Covid-19 and the longer term impact of extortionate visa fees.

The meeting will take place online using the video tool Zoom.

At this time of Covid-19 there are many challenges for those who still need to apply for visas: from health risks to being unable to access legal advice, and being adversely affected by losing work. Some of our members are essential workers who still have to find money to renew their visas (£2,100 each), while risking their lives for others. Others can no longer meet the income threshold (£18,600) for spousal visas due to loss of income during Covid-19.

While we welcome that the government has extended visas for some NHS workers, we are asking the government to extend all visas that are due to expire in the next months.

We are also aware that the visa fees continue to be extortionate and we are concerned about what will happen after the lockdown lifts. We know that the costs of immigration – including visa fees, the NHS surcharge, premium appointments for uploading documents, legal fees, the cost of citizenship – are leaving ordinary people, ordinary families, destitute and pricing people out of their rights.

As part of our campaign we have been calling for visa fees to be reduced to admin costs and for children’s applications to be free.

John Spellar MP has been at the forefront of challenging the government around fees and immigration issues affecting his constituents for over 30 years.

Immigration solicitor Katie Fennel, National Coordinator/Supervisor of Kids in Need of Defense UK at Central England Law Centre, will also join us to share some of her experiences of this issue and offer advice to those affected.

Ultimately, unless we speak out about how we’re affected, it’s difficult to change things. This meeting will give you the opportunity to do just that so your stories can be heard directly by policy makers. Even if you are not directly impacted, please do come along to share your thoughts on how we can campaign together for change on this issue.

To confirm your online attendance, email: [email protected] or call 07758 191798, and we will send you the Zoom log-in details.

Keep checking back for more Migrant Voice April events.

Are you concerned about your immigration status during the Covid-19 pandemic? Is your visa due to expire or are you unsure about your rights to access healthcare, housing or financial support?

Join Migrant Voice and immigration barrister Paul Turner for an online meeting on Thursday 9 April at 2-3pm. 

Paul Turner is a direct access immigration barrister with over 20 years’ experience as an immigration lawyer. He will be answering your questions about your rights and status during this crisis.

The meeting will take place using Zoom, an online video meeting tool. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this.

If you would like to attend, please email [email protected] and we will send you the details for how to join the meeting. 

Please also send ONE question that you would like Paul Turner to answer. He will aim to answer all of the questions you send beforehand during the meeting. We will only allow brief follow-up questions during the session to ensure that we can cover as many different issues and concerns as possible.

Please let us know if you would like to join but you don’t have a WiFi connection – we will be able to send you a recording of the session afterwards.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice April events.

Join us for our first online Cup’a’Tea!

Migrant Voice is launching a regular online social for our members in each city to meet with us and each other. It's a space to say hello, share particular concerns or issues you or migrant communities in your areas are facing, and positive tips for keeping healthy and happy during this time. 

You’re welcome to join for some or all of each session, which we will run using the online video tool Zoom. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this.

The first Cup’a’Tea for our London members will be 3-5pm on Friday 3 April. 

Email [email protected] if you'd like to join us on 3 April and we will send you the details of how to join the meeting. Hope to see lots of you there!

Special Media Lab training workshop for migrants and refugees to be held online as group video conference training session.

We are excited to invite you to a very special training day all about communications: because what is more important than telling the world about the great work you do?

This training day is aimed at leaders of social innovation projects and social enterprises, and will be delivered by Migrant Voice, MigrationWork and Coventry City Council.

We will help you to learn how to promote your story, voice and message; to use communication effectively in your organisation; and to brand your work and to use a free simple design tool.

There will be 3 workshops:

Community Journalism: James Vukmirovic, a Wolverhampton based journalist for Express & Star, will lead a workshop on basic news writing and press statement writing skills, to help you write a pitch/blog/story for your project.

Communication Skills: Selbin Kabote will explore the importance of communication skills in marketing and promoting a business or project. This session will cover presentation skills, listening skills, business communication, and meeting skills.

Social Media and Branding: Abbie Draper and Adam Ali will cover branding, knowing your audience, and logos, and will teach you how to use Canva.

Date: Tuesday 31 March 2020 | 10am-3.30pm
Venue: ONLINE via video conference

The event is free.

For registration and to take part in the online session, please contact: [email protected].

---------------------------------------------------------

This MiFriendly Cities project is co-financed by the European Regional and Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice April events.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice March events.

Special Media Lab training workshop for migrants and refugees to be held online as group video conference training session.

We are excited to invite you to a very special training day all about communications: because what is more important than telling the world about the great work you do?

This training day is aimed at leaders of social innovation projects and social enterprises, and will be delivered by Migrant Voice, MigrationWork and Coventry City Council.

We will help you to learn how to promote your story, voice and message; to use communication effectively in your organisation; and to brand your work and to use a free simple design tool.

There will be 3 workshops:

Community Journalism: James Vukmirovic, a Wolverhampton based journalist for Express & Star, will lead a workshop on basic news writing and press statement writing skills, to help you write a pitch/blog/story for your project.

Communication Skills: Selbin Kabote will explore the importance of communication skills in marketing and promoting a business or project. This session will cover presentation skills, listening skills, business communication, and meeting skills.

Social Media and Branding: Abbie Draper and Adam Ali will cover branding, knowing your audience, and logos, and will teach you how to use Canva.


Date: Tuesday 31 March 2020, 10am-3.30pm
Venue: ONLINE via video conference

The event is free.

For registration and to take part in the online session, please contact: [email protected].

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice April events.

Join us for our first online Cup’a’Tea!

Migrant Voice is launching a regular online social for our members in each city to meet with us and each other. It's a space to say hello, share particular concerns or issues you or migrant communities in your areas are facing, and positive tips for keeping healthy and happy during this time. 

You’re welcome to join for some or all of each session, which we will run using the online video tool Zoom. It’s easy to use and we can provide training beforehand for those of you who would benefit from this.

The first Cup’a’Tea for our London members will be 3-5pm on Friday 3 April. 

Email [email protected] if you'd like to join us on 3 April and we will send you the details of how to join the meeting. Hope to see lots of you there!

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice March events.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice March events.

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s Birmingham network meeting on Wednesday 18 March to discuss the post-election landscape and our hopes/concerns as migrants.

Details to follow soon.

TOP IMAGE: Westminster, Chris Bird, Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Migrant Voice is organising a special Media Lab training workshop in Birmingham on Friday 28 February 2020.

Former Al Jazeera and  BBC News broadcast journalist Hasan Patel will lead an MV Media Lab training session to help amplify migrant voices through digital communication. 

Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants living in Birmingham, please join us to learn skills that will make your voices heard.

10:00am - 11:00am: Welcome, registration & refreshments
11:00am - 1:00pm: Part I - How to craft a good story - Tools for a basic journalist
1:00pm - 2:00pm: LUNCH BREAK (Lunch will be provided)
2:00pm - 4:00pm: Part II - Constructing a story for TV, print and/or digital media
4:00pm - 5:00pm: Wind down, finishing off projects, evaluations, networking

Equipment will be provided, you do not need to bring anything with you but you are more than welcome to bring along your phones and also use these if you’d like.

Venue: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR.

The sessions are free. Free food & refreshments will also be provided. For early registration, please contact: [email protected] or 07821 147 341.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice February events.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice February events.

Come to the launch of a brilliant short documentary about the hidden migrant night workers of London.

A reviewer at the San Francisco International Film Festival described the film as “a heart-wrenching poem of survival in a callous world.”

Migrant Voice member Julius-Cezar MacQuarie has been researching the lives of London’s invisible night workers since 2013 – even becoming one of them for several months. He has made several podcasts and documentaries through his production lab Nightworkshop and is now launching ‘Nightshift Spitalfields’, the third film in his nightwork trilogy, made with the help of filmmaker Tim Marrinan.

Watch the trailer here

The 10-minute documentary focuses on the life of Ali, a Romanian worker at the New Spitalfields market in Leyton, where he regularly works six nights a week, often 15-hour shifts, loading and transporting goods.

These shifts are incredibly physically demanding. Many workers have families, but it’s almost impossible to have a proper family life when the graveyard shift is all they have. They can’t take proper part in society, they can’t organise to improve their conditions – they are just exhausted and worn down.

These night workers are an invisible group of people who keep the city running with their labour. Those of us who sleep at night have no idea they even exist, but without them, the supermarket shelves would be empty in the morning.

Crucially, after the end of the Brexit transition period, these workers won't be eligible to come here from the EU under freedom of movement. And if the Government introduces the proposed work-based immigration system – requiring workers to either meet a salary threshold of at least £25,600 or a points threshold based on qualifications, English language ability and age, among other things – they won’t be able to come here at all.

That's bad for them and likely even worse for London, which relies heavily on their labour to function as an urban metropolis.

Come along to Migrant Voice (200a Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JP) on Wednesday 19 February, 6pm, to watch the film and hear from Julius-Cezar MacQuarie. The event is free and open to all.

Email info@migrantvoice to book a place or for more information.

Migrant Voice is organising a free Media Lab training workshop in Glasgow. The programme will include small group sessions led by volunteer film-makers, journalists, and media professionals. You can attend more than one session.

Sessions include:

- Video making
- Interviewing skills
- Zine making

Scots and new Scots from all over the world - asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants living in Glasgow - join us to learn media skills that will make your voices heard!

Venue: Samaritan House, 79 Coplaw Street, Glasgow, G42 7JG.
Date: Monday 17 February
Time: 5.15-7.45pm

There will be time to participate in at least two small group sessions during the evening. This free training is organised in collaboration with Govanhill Community Development Trust. Refreshments will be provided and bus travel will be refunded to those unwaged.

Book your free ticket at https://migrantvoicemedialabfeb.eventbrite.com

For more information please contact [email protected].

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice February events.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice January events.

Due to high demand, we are running a second media training day for migrant and refugee organisations as part of our Meet a Migrant project. This will take place on Friday 7 February, 10am-4.30pm.

At Migrant Voice, we've been working to get migrant voices into the media for almost ten years and we’re now running training days to share our learning with other groups and organisations who work with migrants and refugees.

At the training, we will share our learning from the first phase of our pioneering Meet a Migrant project, where we brought migrants and journalists together to explore issues and develop media stories. You’ll hear about our experiences, about what works and what doesn’t when dealing with the media, and have the chance to refine and write pitches for your own stories and practise doing interviews.

You’ll also get our Meet a Migrant toolkit, information about how to contact media in London, and receive follow-up support when pitching your first story.

The training is free and includes lunch and refreshments. Booking is required as places are limited. A maximum of two people per organisation can attend, who can then share the learnings with their colleagues and wider membership. Since we are prioritising migrants and refugees for this training, we do ask that, if you are booking two spots, one of them will be taken by someone with a migrant background. If none of those from your organisation interested in attending have such a background, we can only offer one space.

The training will take place at Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, 5th Floor Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG.  

You’ll be asked to come prepared with a story idea or an issue affecting your community or someone you work with that you want to raise in the media.

Participants will benefit from the first-hand experience of those running the training: Migrant Voice Founder and Director, Nazek Ramadan; myself (a former journalist); and Daniel Nelson, who has 50 years’ experience working in the media.

We know there are a lot of stories and voices among migrant communities that are missing from the mainstream media in London, but we also know that it can be hard to know how to pitch your ideas to journalists.

This training gives you practical tips on how to do that. We have already run two very successful training days in Birmingham and Glasgow. Here’s some feedback from those sessions:

“I always shy away from [pitching stories]. Now I know there’s no need to shy away. I feel prepared.”

“I loved the pitch-writing exercise”

“The first-hand experiences from Migrant Voice and media professionals was great”

We’re really excited to keep sharing our learning with migrant communities and organisations across the country.

If you would like to book one or two places at the training day on Friday 7 February, or if you want to find out more, please contact [email protected].

The Meet a Migrant project is funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

On Friday 24 January, 10am-4.30pm, we are running a media training day for migrant and refugee organisations as part of our Meet a Migrant project.

At Migrant Voice, we've been working to get migrant voices into the media for almost ten years and we’re now running training days to share our learning with other groups and organisations who work with migrants and refugees.

At the training, we will share our learning from the first phase of our pioneering Meet a Migrant project, where we brought migrants and journalists together to explore issues and develop media stories. You’ll hear about our experiences, about what works and what doesn’t when dealing with the media, and have the chance to refine and write pitches for your own stories and practise doing interviews.

You’ll also get our Meet a Migrant toolkit, information about how to contact media in London, and receive follow-up support when pitching your first story.

The training is free and includes lunch and refreshments. Booking is required as places are limited. A maximum of two people per organisation can attend, who can then share the learnings with their colleagues and wider membership. Since we are prioritising migrants and refugees for this training, we do ask that, if you are booking two spots, one of them will be taken by someone with a migrant background. If none of those from your organisation interested in attending have such a background, we can only offer one space.

The training will take place at Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, 5th Floor Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG.  

You’ll be asked to come prepared with a story idea or an issue affecting your community or someone you work with that you want to raise in the media.

Participants will benefit from the first-hand experience of those running the training: Migrant Voice Founder and Director, Nazek Ramadan; myself (a former journalist); and Daniel Nelson, who has 50 years’ experience working in the media.

We know there are a lot of stories and voices among migrant communities that are missing from the mainstream media in London, but we also know that it can be hard to know how to pitch your ideas to journalists.

This training gives you practical tips on how to do that. We have already run two very successful training days in Birmingham and Glasgow. Here’s some feedback from those sessions:

“I always shy away from [pitching stories]. Now I know there’s no need to shy away. I feel prepared.”

“I loved the pitch-writing exercise”

“The first-hand experiences from Migrant Voice and media professionals was great”

We’re really excited to keep sharing our learning with migrant communities and organisations across the country.

If you would like to book one or two places at the training day on Friday 24 January, or if you want to find out more, please contact [email protected].

The Meet a Migrant project is funded by the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice December events.

Come and celebrate International Migrants Day at Migrant Voice on Tuesday 17 December!

What’s on?

3.30-6pm: Media Lab where we’ll be creating positive messages on migration through photos and blogs to celebrate International Migrants Day (18 December). The session will be run by Migrant Voice and media experts.

6-8pm: End of year party with fun, food and funky music! Come to meet old friends and new people, and to celebrate International Migrants Day, Christmas and the end of another year. Feel free to bring some music from your country, or festive drinks/food to share.

Where?

Migrant Voice London office: 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP

What now?

Book your place by emailing [email protected] – be sure to tell us if you would like to come to the Media Lab OR the party OR both.

Looking forward to seeing lots of you there!

On Tuesday 3 December, from 5.15pm, Migrant Voice will be running a Media Lab in Glasgow.

Details to follow soon.

On Monday 25 November, Migrant Voice will be running a Media Lab in Coventry as part of the MiFriendly Cities project.

Details to follow soon.

On 12 December, the UK is going to the polls in a general election. This is a great chance to make your voice heard.

At some point in the next five weeks in your local area (constituency), there will be a public meeting where residents can ask their local candidates from the different parties what they would do about certain issues if they are elected. We want as many of you as possible to go along to your local meeting, which is called a "hustings", and ask a question about a migration issue that affects or concerns you.

Come along to a training event on Thursday 14 November, 5-7pm at our London office (200a Pentonville Road, N1 9JP) to find out how these public meetings work and to discuss and plan the questions we want to ask the candidates.

We will run two identical sessions at 5-6pm and 6-7pm – you only need to attend one. Contact [email protected] for more information or to book a place.

On Tuesday 1 October, we will be holding our first media training day for "migrant ambassadors" and for staff/volunteers at refugee and migrant community organisations. The training is part of our pioneering Meet a Migrant project, which is now into the second phase.

In this training, you’ll learn how to identify stories in your community and how to pitch them to the media.

We’ll be sharing our learning from ten years of working with migrants and the media, and from the first phase of Meet a Migrant, where we brought migrants and journalists together to explore issues and develop media stories.

The training is from 10am to 4.30pm in central Birmingham (venue to be confirmed). It’s free and includes lunch and refreshments. Booking is required as places are limited.

Sessions include:
- Key lessons from Phase 1 of Meet a Migrant
- Refining and writing your pitch
- Interview techniques

Participants will get a copy of our media toolkit and information about how to contact journalists in Scotland. 

You will be asked to come prepared with a story idea or an issue affecting your community that you want to raise in the media.

Who this training is for:

• Are you active in your community, feel passionate about changing the debate on migration, and concerned about the lack of migrant voices in the media?

If so, this is for you. Migrant Voice is looking for proactive migrants who are keen to develop their skills and knowledge in getting the voices and issues of their communities into the media.

You’ll become one of our migrant ambassadors – and this training day is the start of that process. As an ambassador, you will get plenty of follow-up mentoring and support too, as you start to pitch stories from your community. 

You will also become part of our national network of migrant ambassadors and be able to share experiences and learning with them, as well as having access to future media training activities to further build your skills.

• Are you part of a migrant or refugee-led community group or organisation? Would you like to learn from Migrant Voice’s experience in getting migrant stories into the media?

Then this training is for you. You’ll hear about our experiences, about what works and what doesn’t, and have the chance to develop pitches for your own stories. You’ll also receive follow-up support when pitching your first story.

A maximum of two people per organisation can attend, who can then share the learnings with their colleagues and wider membership.

To book or find out more, email [email protected].

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice September events.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice September events.

Join us for creative, hands-on workshops where we will explore the possibilities of video-making to tell stories of integration from our perspectives.

The seven workshop sessions will:

• Encourage creative expression through video-making;
• Develop practical, introductory video-making skills;
• Create powerful audio-visual messages

The workshops will explore the subject of integration from many angles including: our own experiences of what helps and hinders the process and what creates a sense of belonging.

Through the workshops we will create videos with messages around home, integration and belonging as resources for how everyone of us can all play a role in making integration happen.

The project is open to all – migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, Britons and those from the host and established communities.

The course has 7 sessions starting Monday 23 September. The course is free of charge, but participants must attend all workshops. To register your interest in the project please contact [email protected].

The course is free of charge, but participants must attend all workshops.

Organised and delivered by Migrant Voice, the project is part of the Participate.Integration initiative created by MoneyGram.

Join us for creative, hands-on workshops where we will explore the possibilities of video-making to tell stories of integration from our perspectives.

The seven workshop sessions will:
· Encourage creative expression through video-making;
· Develop practical, introductory video-making skills;
· Create powerful audio-visual messages

The workshops will explore the subject of integration from many angles including: our own experiences of what helps and hinders the process and what creates a sense of belonging.

Through the workshops we will create videos with messages around home, integration and belonging as resources for how everyone of us can all play a role in making integration happen.

The project is open to all – migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, Britons and those from the host and established communities.

WHEN: The course starts on Thursday 5 September 2019, 5.30-7.30pm and continues on the following six Thursdays, 5.30-7.30pm ending in October.
WHERE: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham, B6 6HR.

The course is free of charge, but participants must attend all workshops.

Organised and delivered by Migrant Voice, the project is part of the Participate. Integration. initiative created by MoneyGram.

To register your interest in the project please visit: https://forms.gle/9m5VUA2zVE76D6NA9 or contact [email protected] or [email protected].

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice September events.

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s London network meeting on Thursday 12 September from 6-8.30pm at VAI, 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. Refreshments provided.

We know that the costs of immigration – including visa fees, the NHS surcharge, premium appointments for uploading documents, legal fees, the cost of citizenship – are leaving ordinary people, ordinary families destitute and pricing people out of their rights.

Many of those affected by the high costs of the immigration process in the UK have been writing to us over the last months to share their experiences.

At this meeting, we will be discussing this issue further as part of our new campaign.

Earlier this year at a network meeting in Birmingham, we heard from some members who are impacted by these costs. As a result of that meeting, we wrote a briefing calling for change and sent this to more than 1,000 policymakers across the UK. You can read about that here. 

Now we are gearing up for a bigger campaign on this issue and we want to hear from our members in London.

Even if you are not directly impacted, please do come along to share your thoughts on how we can campaign together for change on this issue.

Please confirm your attendance to [email protected].

Do join us to share your experience of the impact of UK visa fees and your ideas for how we can work together to improve this situation.

TOP IMAGE: UK Sterling bank notes and coins: Mark Hodson, Flickr, CC BY 2.0

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s London network meeting on Thursday 12 September from 6-8.30pm at VAI, 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. Refreshments provided.

We know that the costs of immigration – including visa fees, the NHS surcharge, premium appointments for uploading documents, legal fees, the cost of citizenship – are leaving ordinary people, ordinary families destitute and pricing people out of their rights.

Many of those affected by the high costs of the immigration process in the UK have been writing to us over the last months to share their experiences.

At this meeting, we will be discussing this issue further as part of our new campaign.

Earlier this year at a network meeting in Birmingham, we heard from some members who are impacted by these costs. As a result of that meeting, we wrote a briefing calling for change and sent this to more than 1,000 policymakers across the UK. You can read about that here. 

Now we are gearing up for a bigger campaign on this issue and we want to hear from our members in London.

Even if you are not directly impacted, please do come along to share your thoughts on how we can campaign together for change on this issue.

Please confirm your attendance to [email protected].

Do join us to share your experience of the impact of UK visa fees and your ideas for how we can work together to improve this situation.

Migrant Voice is organising a special Media Lab training workshop in Birmingham on Tuesday 27th August 2019.

Creative writer, social media guru and website designer Jordan Garvey of The Blogatory will lead an MV Media Lab training session to help represent migrant voices online.

Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants living in Birmingham, please join us to learn skills that will make your voices heard.

10:00am - 11:00am: Welcome, registration & refreshments
11:00am - 1:00pm: Part I - How to tell your personal migrant stories using blogs and social media
1:00pm - 2:00pm: LUNCH BREAK (Lunch will be provided)
2:00pm - 4:00pm: Part II - Designing your own website, blog and social media channels
4:00pm - 5:00pm: Wind down, finishing off projects, evaluations, socialising.

(Equipment will be provided, you do not need to bring anything with you but you are more than welcome to bring along your phones and also use these if you’d like.)

Venue: Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR.

The sessions are FREE. Free food & refreshments will also be provided. For early registration, please contact: [email protected] or 07821 147 341.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice August events.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice July events.

Migrant Voice is organising a special Media Lab training workshop in Wolverhampton on Tuesday 30 July 2019.

International photojournalist and creative photographer Denise Maxwell of Lensi Photography will lead an MV Media Lab training session to help represent migrant voices in the media. Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants living in Wolverhampton, please join us to learn skills that will make your voices heard.

12:00pm: Welcome, registration & refreshments
12:30pm - 2:30pm: Part I - How to tell your personal migrant stories using photography
2:30pm - 3:00pm: LUNCH BREAK (Lunch will be provided)
3:00pm - 5:00pm: Part II - Capturing your own photographs and creating a visual medium for documenting your migrant stories and experiences

(Equipment will be provided, you do not need to bring anything with you but you are more than welcome to bring along your phones and also use these if you’d like.)

Venue: The Refugee and Migrant Centre, 1st Floor Roma Parva,9 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, WV1 4NB.

The sessions are free. 
Free food & refreshments will also be provided.
For early registration, please contact: [email protected] or 07821 147 341.

Interested in migration? Check out these films, plays, exhibitions, talks and other events happening in and around Glasgow this month. And if you're holding an event or spot something we've missed, let us know and we'll add it to our list. Email [email protected].

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Thursday 18 July 

* Languages of Belonging: Sogol Mabadi and Birthe Jorgensen in conversation with Amanda Thomson 

Home Where Home Is Not is an ambitious exhibition by Glasgow-based artists Sogol Mabadi and Birthe Jorgensen reimagining fixed notions of home, and what it means to be of more than one place. 
This exhibition is across both GWL and Platform, Easterhouse, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm, free ( booking required ), Glasgow Women’s Library, 23 Landressy Street, Glasgow, G40.

Sunday 21 July

* Performative tour of Sogol Mabadi and Birthe Jorgensen: Home Where Home Is Not exhibition with Julia Lee Barclay-Morton, starting at Platform the event will take place across both exhibition sites meeting at Platform and finishing at Glasgow Women’s Library. (Bus provided), 2 pm to 4 pm, Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, G34.

EXHIBITIONS 

Until 3 August 

* Sogol Mabadi and Birthe Jorgensen: Home Where Home Is Not, is an ambitious exhibition by Glasgow-based artists Sogol Mabadi and Birthe Jorgensen reimagining fixed notions of home, and what it means to be of more than one place. 

After a period research and group work with women connected to Platform and Glasgow Women’s Library, this exhibition of new works includes installations, wood-carved sculptures, and sound works, and will stretch across both sites in Glasgow’s East End. free, all welcome. 
Mondays to Saturdays, 10 am – 5 pm, Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, G34, /  Monday - Wednesday & Friday: 9.30am to 5 pm, Thursday 9.30am to 7.30pm, Saturday 12 pm to 4 pm, Glasgow Women’s Library, 23 Landressy Street, Glasgow, G40.

Saturday 6 July - Sunday 8 September 

* Doro Zinn - Save It For A Rainy Day, the Gorbals, which became famous as being one of the highest populated areas in Europe around the beginning of the 20th century as well as being one of the poorest, with many migrants from Italy and Ireland. This is Zinn’s encounter with the place and people and is an intimate portrait and story of the resilience of people in the Gorbals, free, Street Level Photoworks, Trongate 103, G1. Talk and Reception - Saturday 6 July, 3 pm

Friday 12 July

* Küche | Home And Hospitality  Join us for the launch of Home and Hospitality – a crockery set for the city of Glasgow and an artistic collaboration between artists Ruth Impey and Najma Abukar – in partnership with food-led social business Küche. Najma Abukar is a Somalian, Glasgow-based photographer. Abukar is interested in documenting issues such as cultural identity, gender identities, the African diaspora experience, and immigrant experiences, 6 pm/ Free (unticketed),  All ages, Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, G2.  

* East Meets West. The exhibition presents the work of photographers Yuliya Chystaya and Fuad Alakbarov. 5:30 pm, The Oldhairdresser’s, Free Entrance, 28 Renfield Lane, G2 5AR

PERFORMANCES

Monday 29 - 30 July

* Loving the Enemy Hugo’s in No Man’s Land. Born and raised in Scotland, he’s miles away from his family’s Italian roots but Britain has become a hostile place for his community, demonised when Italy sides with Nazi Germany. To prove himself to his sweetheart, Hugo joins the British Army but has to face deep questions of identity, love and loyalty… with unexpected answers.

Hilda De Felice based ‘Loving the Enemy’ on her Italian father’s real-life story of serving in the British Army. 7:30 pm, 11.50 adults/£10.00 concessions, Websters Theatre, 416 Great Western Road, G4.

FILMS

Saturday 27 July

* Preview: Balance, Not Symmetry (N/C 15+)   After her father’s funeral, American student Caitlin (Laura Harrier) leaves her grieving mother (Kate Dickie) behind to return to her third-year studies at the Glasgow School of Art. Can she again find balance in her turbulent life? 5.40pm, £5.50 / 7.50 / 10.50 ( £1.50 off for CineCard holders ), Glasgow Film Theatre, 12 Rose Street, G3.

Wednesday 31 July

* The Bikes of Wrath + Skype Q&A  (N/C 15+). In 2015, five Australians attempted to cycle 2600kms from Oklahoma to California in honour of the westward migration undertaken by 'The Grapes of Wrath's' Joad family.

Through encounters with everyday Americans, the cyclists get to see the novel’s core themes of migration, inequality and the perceived land of opportunity up close. The fascinating people they meet reveal the enduring strength of human spirit despite inequality and disenfranchisement, which runs as deep today as it does in Steinbeck’s novel, 5.40pm, £5.50 / 7.50 / 10.50 ( £1.50 off for CineCard holders ), Glasgow Film Theatre, 12 Rose Street, G3.

Thank you to our Glasgow volunteers for compiling this list.

Interested in migration? Check out these films, plays, exhibitions, talks and other events happening in and around Glasgow this month. And if you're holding an event or spot something we've missed, let us know and we'll add it to our list. Email [email protected].

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Saturday 22 June

* Cook and Connect by Isaro Social Integration Network, everyone is welcome at this family event featuring information stalls, a community meal, entertainment and fun activities for children, free, 12-3pm, Centre81, 2-16 Braes Avenue, Glasgow G81.

Monday 24 June

* Translanguaging In and Through Art at Refugee Festival Scotland, artists and culture-producers who engage with multilingualism in and through their work are invited to a day of presentations and discussions about the role and representation of languages and translanguaging in contemporary art practice, free, 10am, Milk Café, 452 Victoria Road, Glasgow, G42.

* Words In Exile: Writing Away from Home by Scottish PEN, exiled writers discuss exile, relocation and disconnection, alongside journalists who left their homes after being threatened for their work; there will also be readings from PENning, a journal for people living in Scotland who are from other parts of the world, free but ticketed, 6.30-8pm, The Project Cafe, 2-1a Fleming House, 134 Renfrew Street, Glasgow G3.

* Manaf Halbouni – Artist Talk, Join us for a conversation with Halbouni, who studied at art school in Syria and then moved to Germany a few years before the war; in 2017, far-right groups in Germany protested against his installation Monument, which erected three, upended buses at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and at the Frauenkirche in Dresden, in homage to a barricade of buses that protected civilians from sniper fire in Aleppo, free but ticketed, 7-8pm, Scottish Youth Theatre, Brian Cox Studio Theatre, The Old Sheriff Court, 105 Brunswick Street, G1.

Thursday 27 June

* Refugee Tales Walk, a walk in solidarity with those who have experienced immigration detention, leaving a central Glasgow location at 10.30am and ending at the Glasgow Women’s Library at 1.30pm, followed by a Refugee Tales event with Jackie Kay and Sameena Zehra at 2.30pm, free but please register your interest at [email protected].

* Refugee Tales: Readings with Jackie Kay and Sameena Zehra, relates through heartfelt and harrowing short stories the experiences of people caught up indefinitely in the UK asylum process; two local contributors to the project, Scots Makar Jackie Kay and actor and storyteller Sameena Zehra, share tales which may otherwise never be safely told, £5/£3, 2.30-4pm, Glasgow Women's Library, 23 Landressy Street, G40.

* From Syria to Scotland – Cultures Working Together, follow the map through Syria and taste dishes from different regions while finding out how they are prepared, and chat with the people who made them; Syrian and Scottish costumes, crafts and children’s artwork made by local residents will be on display, as well as video presentations and entertainment from local musicians, free, 4-7pm, St Andrew's Parish Church, 2 Ralston Road, G78.

EXHIBITIONS

Friday 10 May to Monday 17 June

* RE: Respite – reflections on home, journeys, locations through the work of Ain Bailey, Alicia Mersy, Jamsine Brown-Rasé, Las Nietas De Nonó and Lydia Ourahmane; a space of respite, to imagine, to nourish, to pause, to regain perspective, to give new meaning, free, 11am-5pm, Wednesdays to Saturdays, Transmission Gallery, 28 King Street, Glasgow, Scotland, G1.

Wednesday 5 to Sunday 30 June

* Thinking About the Future of Iran in Drumchapel, an exhibition of photos taken on a walk guided by Iranian musician Mohammad Mohammadi Champiri in response to the question of what he would take into the future, 10am-5pm, free, Botanical Gardens, 730 Great Western Road, G12.

Wednesday 19 to Sunday 23 June

* Unconditional Being, Artists Pinar Aksu, Mousa AlNana, Razan Madhoon, Paria Goodarzi, Iman Tajik and Aref Ghorbani will print a publication that discusses language, identity, borders and censorship as part of the refugee and asylum experience in Scotland, free, 11am-6pm (Tues to Sat), 12-6pm (Sun), free, Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2.

Monday 20 to Saturday 25 June

* Claiming Back The Narrative: A Photo Voice Exhibition, in 2016 Refuweegee partnered with LIVED projects and a group of students from the University of Edinburgh to give refugees who have arrived in Scotland and who want to share their experiences disposable cameras to document and describe their hopes and aspirations, sense of home and belonging, and emotional lives after arriving in Glasgow, free, 10am-5pm, Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Argyle Street, G3.

Saturday 22 June

* When People Move The World Moves, a collaborative photography exhibition will guide visitors through the themes of migration and explore how architecture and the clothes we wear can become catalysts for a re-negotiation of identity, history and place, free, 1-5pm, Govanhill Baths Community Trust, The Deep End, 21 Nithsdale Street, Glasgow G41.

Wednesday 26 June

* Rubble Theatre, German-Syrian artist Manaf Halbouni’s sculpture recreates a scene of destruction in Syria, featuring the rubble of a bombsite and an abandoned car, free, 10am-7pm, St Enoch Square, G1.

PERFORMANCES

Saturday 15 June

* Ando Glaso Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month Celebrations, between 1990 and 1997, and then again in 2004 and 2006, Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert photographed the Roma people of Sintesti, Romania; the presentation will be followed by a performance of a Polish Roma family of musicians, Romane Cierhenia to Celebrate GRT History Month, for all ages, free (unticketed), 5pm, Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2.

Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June

* The Sudanese House, a simulation with an artist design of a typical Sudanese house, traditional Sudanese music and inspiring stories about how refugees integrated in the Scottish community, and some traditional Sudanese food for visitors to try, free, 10am-5pm, Molendinar Community Centre, Royston Road, Glasgow G33.

Sunday 23 June

* Scotland Our New Home, an evening of poetry and storytelling to explore the multiple stories shared by migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow, free, 4-7pm, Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall Street, G41.                                                                                   

* Ian Nagoski (Canary Records) with Ellen & Kevin Mitchell - Don’t Let Me Be Lost To You: Early 20th Century Near Eastern Musics in New York City, an exploration of the details of artistic expressions of immigrants and the social realities of a “nation of immigrants” and its ambivalences concerning who matters and who gets remembered, Ellen & Kevin Mitchell perform a short set of Songs of Exile, telling stories of emigration from Ireland and Scotland, 7pm, £6/£8 on the door, The Old Hairdressers 20-28 Renfield Lane, G25.

FILM

Sunday 2 June

* Drive Me Home, conceived during his time working in London and drawing on fellow Italian immigrants’ experiences of long-distance lorry travel, the feature debut from Turin-born Simone Catania tells of two childhood friends who are reunited after many years away from their Sicilian hometown, £5.50 / £7.50 / £10.50 , 5pm, Glasgow Film Theatre, 12 Rose Street, G3.

Saturday 22 June

* The Red Turtle, from acclaimed Japanese animation giant Studio Ghibli, this film is a charming story of a man shipwrecked at sea, who befriends an enormous sea turtle; exploring the emotion of friendship, this Oscar-nominated film contains no spoken dialogue; screening as part of Interfest Garnethill and Refugee Week Scotland 2019, £5.50 / £7.50 / £10.50,11.30am, Glasgow Film Theatre 12 Rose Street, G3.

* Welcome to Britain, charts a century of arrivals to the UK, featuring the voices of different generations of British immigrants, £5.50 / £7.50 / £10.50, 1pm, Glasgow Film Theatre 12 Rose Street, G3.

* ‘Mishwar’s Children’ Afternoon Film Screening, documentary film about the work of a Scottish NGO working with Syrian and Palestinian children and their communities in the refugee camps of Lebanon; followed by a live skype link to the camps and discussion with the Mishwar team and residents on the ground, 1-2.30pm, £5, Websters, 416 Great Western Road, Glasgow G4.

Thursday 27 June

* Under The Jasmine Tree by Monica Cohen, is an animation created by Saint Fillan’s Primary School pupils, based on an original poem written by Glasgow-based Syrian poet, Safanna; this event will feature screenings of the animation as well as two other short films made by the pupils; there will also be a post-screening discussion with members of the project who will reflect on their experiences; refreshments provided, free but ticketed, 6-8pm, Saint Fillan's Primary, 20 Crompton Avenue, G44.

* Small Island embarks on a journey from Jamaica to Britain, through the Second World War to 1948 – the year the HMT Empire Windrush docked at Tilbury; Andrea Levy’s Orange Prize-winning novel Small Island comes to life in an epic new theatre adaptation; experience the play in cinemas, filmed live on stage as part of National Theatre Live’s 10^th birthday, £5.50 / £7.50 / £10.50, 6.45pm, Glasgow Film Theatre 12 Rose Street, G3.

* Rudeboy is a film about the love affair between Jamaican and British youth culture told through the prism of one of the most iconic labels in the history of black music, Trojan Records; it tells the story of the label by placing it at the heart of a cultural revolution that unfolded on the council estates and dancefloors of late 60s and early 70s Britain, as immigration and innovation transformed popular music and culture, £5.50 / £7.50 / £10.50, 8.15pm, Glasgow Film Theatre 12 Rose Street, G3.

Thank you to our Glasgow volunteers for compiling this list.

TOP IMAGE: Glasgow, Ian Dick, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Interested in migration? Check out these films, plays, exhibitions, talks and other events happening in and around the West Midlands this month. And if you're holding an event or spot something we've missed, let us know and we'll add it to our list. Email [email protected].

From Thursday 30 May

* Culture Feast, celebration of contemporary art including migrant contributions, organised by Birmingham Contemporary Arts Network, various locations across Birmingham, until 20 July.

Sunday 2 June

* Far from the home I love: A special concert by Margaret Fingerhut, in aid of Birmingham City of Sanctuary, 6pm, Bournville Quaker Meeting House 65, Linden Road Birmingham B30.

Saturday 8 June

* Culture Connect Community Event featuring Syrian oud player and music educator Rihab Azar, free (donations welcome), 6pm, Elmwood UR Church, 45 Hampstead Hill, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham B20.

Monday 10 June

* Book Launch – Home-Land: Romanian Roma, Domestic Spaces and the State, join author Rachel Humphries and others to discuss her new book – the result of 14 months living with Roma, 11am-1pm, Institute of Research into Superdiversity, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, B62.

Saturday 15 June

* Migration stories: Ways of working with new people and other groups on local history projects, at STEAM house DigBeth Birmingham, 9.30am-2pm, D5.

* Coventry Welcomes festival, part of Refugee Week 2019, from 10am, Broadgate, Coventry.

Saturday 22 June

* Party in the City, hosted by Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, a day full of music, fun, food and art to celebrate the contribution of migrants to the UK, 12-6pm, Norton House, Bird Street, Coventry, CV1.

Sunday 23 June

* Art Connects, part of Refugee Week 2019, 2-4pm, Midlands Arts Centre, Cannon Hill Park Edgbaston, Birmingham B12.

Thank you to volunteer Wafa Islam for compiling this list.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice June events.

Migrant Voice is organising a Media Lab Training workshop in Glasgow on Wednesday 12 June. The programme will include small group sessions on interview skills, social media campaigns, pitching stories to the media, photography, zine making and art action for human rights.

Each session will be led by a media professional. You can attend more than one session.

Scots and new Scots from all over the world - asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants living in Glasgow - join us to learn media skills that will make your voices heard!

Venue: Samaritan House, 79 Coplaw Street, Glasgow, G42 7JG.

Date: Wednesday 12 June

Time: 5:30pm – 8:30pm

There will be time to participate in at least two small group sessions during the evening. Sign-up for each session will take place on the night on a first come first served basis.

This free training is organised in collaboration with Govanhill Community Development Trust.

Refreshments will be provided & bus travel refunded to those unwaged.

For more information please contact [email protected], visit Eventbrite or go to our Facebook page.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice May events.

On Tuesday 21 May, we, together with Stephen Timms MP, are hosting the launch of "Inquisition", a short film about the injustice faced by thousands of international students who were wrongly accused of cheating by the Home Office in 2014 and had their visas revoked or refused.

The 14-minute documentary was made by award-winning filmmaker Tim Langford for Migrant Voice and features five of the affected students, who tell their stories to the camera. It's a harrowing watch and marks a major milestone in our "My Future Back" campaign.

Watch the trailer here.

The film will be shown in full for the first time on 21 May in Portcullis House, Westminster. The event begins at 6pm and we are inviting politicians, journalists, affected students and campaign supporters to attend. The film showing will be followed by a panel and audience discussion, featuring high-profile journalists and MPs.

Places are limited, but if you would like to attend, or find out more about the campaign, please email Cameron Ball at [email protected] or Communications Officer Judith Vonberg at [email protected].

Migrant Voice has been working alongside many of the students affected by the wrongful allegations since 2017. In July we launched a report in Parliament, which led to a Parliamentary debate in September, where MPs described this issue as Britain's "forgotten immigration scandal". In January, we took the campaign back to Westminster with a demonstration and event inside Parliament. Our work resulted in the establishment of a new all-party parliamentary group, chaired by Stephen Timms MP, a long-time supporter of the students. The APPG will gather information from legal professionals and those affected and produce a report into the government's handling of the issue.

The National Audit Office, top government watchdog, is also now investigating the government on this matter and we are working closely with them in that process.

It's five years since the first allegations and many of the students who stayed in the UK to try and clear their names are destitute and suffering severe mental health problems. Most haven’t seen their families back home for five years and have missed weddings and funerals of close relatives. Many have contemplated or attempted suicide.

Those who have left the UK can’t start new courses, find good jobs or get a visa for any other country due to the black mark against their name. Many have also been rejected by their families, who have a strong belief in this country’s justice system and can’t believe the UK would treat an innocent person this way.

We are calling for the Home Secretary to give all those accused the chance to sit a new English test, and clear the names and restore the visas of those who pass.

To find out more about the campaign and to take action:

- Read our latest briefing here

- Sign the petition here

- See media coverage of the issue here

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice May events.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice March events.

On Thursday 2 May, we will be holding our first media training day for "migrant ambassadors" and for staff/volunteers at refugee and migrant community organisations. The training is part of our pioneering Meet a Migrant project, which is now into the second phase.

• Are you active in your community, feel passionate about changing the debate on migration, and concerned about the lack of migrant voices in the media?

• Are you part of a migrant or refugee-led community group or organisation? Would you like to learn from Migrant Voice’s experience in getting migrant stories into the media?

Come to our network meeting in Glasgow on Wednesday 1 May! We'll be discussing media coverage of migration in Scotland in preparation for a later meeting with some Scottish news editors.

As part of a national Migrant Voice project, we’re arranging meetings between some of our members and editors at major news outlets across the UK. This is the first time Migrant Voice is attempting to influence news coverage at this high level.

At the meeting on 1 May, we want to explore together views and issues we should be raising with those editors. Migrants from all backgrounds are welcome, including refugees and asylum seekers, as well as Scots who want to engage in changing the media debate on migration for the better.

We hope you can join us for this important meeting, to help us ensure that our first conversation with the editors is a success.

The meeting will be held from 6pm to 8pm at the Scottish Youth Theatre, 105 Brunswick Street, Glasgow G1 1TF. Refreshments will be available from 5.30pm.

If you’ve ever been frustrated by headlines such as “No end to migrant crisis” and “Halt the asylum tide now” – or by the fact that so few stories about migration include the voices of migrants – this is your chance to make a difference.

Are there enough migrant voices in the Scottish media? Do you want to see more positive stories about migration? Or more coverage of the problems migrants face? What stories about migrants in Scotland are missing from the media, and what is the Scottish media doing well? 

We’ll be joined at the meeting by at least one Scottish journalist, as well as by Daniel Nelson (journalist and media consultant for Migrant Voice) and Judith Vonberg (Migrant Voice Communications Officer and former journalist).

We hope you can join us! Places are limited so please confirm your attendance by no later than Friday 26 April by emailing [email protected].

TOP IMAGE: News, The Open University, Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

Migrant Voice is organising a special Media Lab training workshop in Coventry on Monday 29 April 2019.

Recognised journalists, media and communication professionals will lead MV Media Lab training sessions to help represent migrant voices in the media.
Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants living in Coventry, please join us to learn skills that will make your voices heard.

12:00pm: Welcome and registration
12:30pm - 2:30pm: Session 1 - How to use photo cameras and mobile phones to visually create, edit and share your stories with impact on social media 
(Photography and social media skills workshop with documentary photographer Inès Elsa Dalal)
2:30pm - 3:00pm: Lunch break
3:00pm - 5:00pm: Session 2 - How to use video cameras and mobile phones  to have a voice in a digital world and to have your stories told 
(Video broadcast and interview skills workshop with journalist Vimal Korpal)
 
Venue: Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre, Norton House, Bird St, Coventry CV1 5FX.

The sessions are free. 
Free food & refreshments will also be provided.
For early registration, please contact: 
 [email protected] or text 07467 299 335.

(This Media Lab will be followed by a drop-in session on Tuesday 13th May 2019)

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice March events.

In this session, we'll look at the lessons learned from the 'Nas must stay' campaign. You'll learn how you can advocate for your own rights and build your own successful campaign.

Nas Popalzai spent 10 years fighting to stay in the UK after arriving here from Afghanistan as an unaccompanied child asylum seeker. Last year he decided to collectivize his struggle and get the community involved. He now has his refugee status.

Nas will share his experiences of his successful strategy and we will learn from his campaign and start developing ideas for our new media campaign on the high cost of visa fees and other important issues.

Learn how to start a petition, get community involvement, make a video, produce leaflets and speak to the media about your migration case or issue.

Date: Sunday 28 April 2019, 2pm-4pm
Location: Moseley Exchange, 149-152 Alcester Road, Birmingham, B13 8JP

Register for this event via Eventbrite here.

This event will run in conjunction with the Children in Movement exhibition at the venue.

Migrant Voice is organising Media Lab training in Glasgow on Thursday 21st March, 2019. at 2:30pm

Scots and new Scots from all over the world including asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants living in Glasgow, please join us to learn media skills that will make your voices heard.

Media and communication professionals will lead the sessions on photography, social media and interviewing skills.

Venue: Migrant Voice office first floor (Maryhill Integration Network area), 35 Avenuepark St, Glasgow G20 8TS

Date: Thursday 21st March, 2019. Time: 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm

The workshop sessions are independent of each other and it is possible to attend only one of them.

This is a free training with Free Refreshments & bus passes will be refunded to those unwaged.

Please join us for a Migrant Voice Media Lab in Wolverhampton on Tuesday 26 March to learn media tools for telling your story.

Recognised journalists, media and communication professionals will lead the sessions to help us get more migrant voices heard in the media.
Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers living in Wolverhampton, please join us to learn media skills and tell your stories.

Venue: Refugee and Migrant Centre, 1st floor Roma Parva, 9 Waterloo Road, Wolverhampton, WV1 4NB.

Date: Tuesday 26 March, 2019. Time: 12:00 AM to 5:00PM.

12:00 -12:30 Welcome and registration

12:30 - 14:30 Session 1, "How to make maximum use of the radio to tell your stories" - an introduction to basic radio production and podcasting skills" - Trainer TBC.

14:30 - 15:00 Lunch break

15:00 - 17:00 - Session 2 - "Video training workshop" - Trainer TBC.

The sessions are free and there will be some refreshments.

For early registration please contact [email protected] or 07516399929. 

Migrant Voice is organising a Media Lab training workshop in Birmingham on 25 March

Recognised journalists, media and communication professionals will lead the sessions to help us get more migrant voices heard in the media.
Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers living in Birmingham, please join us to learn media skills and tell your stories.

Venue: Migrant Voice, Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham B6 6HR

Date: Monday 25 March, 2019. Time: 12:00 AM to 5:00PM.

Programme:

12:00 AM: Welcome & Registration

12:30 - 2:30: first session (How to use photo camears and mobile phones to visually create, edit and share your stories with impact on social media.
(Photography and social media skills workshop with photojournalist Paul Stringer

2:30 - 3:00 Lunch break

2:40 - 4:30: second session: How to use video cameras and mobile phones to have a voice in a digital world and have your stories told.
(Video broadcast and interview skills workshop with journalist Vimal Korpal)

The two sessions are independent of each other and it is possible to attend only one of them.

This is a free training with Free Refreshments & bus passes will be refunded to those unwaged.

For more information or early registration please contact [email protected] or 07804 634 85

Our new national project 'Feel at Home' starts in London. Join us for creative, hands-on workshops where we will explore the possibilities of video-making to tell stories of integration from our perspectives.

We are delighted to announce that the wonderful and talented film-maker Elena Sánchez Bellot will be leading the training in London.
 
Elena is a Spanish filmmaker living and working in London. Having lived in various countries as a child cemented a love for stories from all around the world. After studying anthropology, her interest in the relationship between storytelling and moving image drove her to study film courses at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and later on carried out an MA in Ethnographic and Documentary Filmmaking. She has been working collaboratively with documentary production companies using photography and video, mainly on public sector commissions.
  
The creative, hands-on workshops of 'Feel at Home' will explore the possibilities of video-making to tell stories of integration from our perspectives.
 
The seven workshop sessions will:
· Encourage creative expression through video-making
· Develop practical, introductory video-making skills
· Create powerful audio-visual messages
 
The workshops will explore the subject of integration from many angles including our own experiences of what helps and hinders the process and what creates a sense of belonging.
 
Through the workshops, we will create videos with messages around home, integration and belonging as resources for how every one of us can all play a role in making integration happen.
 
The project is open to all – migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, Britons and those from the host and established communities
 
When: The course has 7 sessions starting Thursday 21st of March and the following 6 Thursdays 6-8.30pm.

Where: Migrant Voice, Voluntary Action Islington, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.
 
The course is free of charge, but participants must attend all workshops.

The project is part of the Participate.Integration initiative created by Moneygram.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice March events.

As migrants, many of us translate between languages on a daily basis. But as we try to make ourselves understood in a new place, we find ourselves translating between cultures too.

Often, it’s the stories of our own lives that we want to tell – sometimes traumatic, sometimes ordinary – but we have to navigate the barriers of another language and culture to do so.

In this free workshop, co-hosted by Migrant Voice and the University of East Anglia, we’ll hear from three speakers who navigate these challenges in their life and work and discuss some examples of storytelling across borders.

We’ll then work on planning and creating our own pieces of writing, art or performance that can help us tell our stories – and have the chance to present them to the group at the end of the session.

Here are some of the questions we’ll be working on:

• What happens to a story when you tell it in a new language?
• How can I tell my story to people whose experiences are different to mine?
• Can poetry, music or other art forms help us tell these stories?

Speakers:

• Dr Petra Rau, Senior Lecturer in Modern Literature at University of East Anglia
• Antonia Lloyd-Jones, award-winning translator of Polish literature
• Jacqueline Crooks, Jamaican-born writer who has worked with migrant families for over 20 years

Where? Migrant Voice, 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP

When? Wednesday 20 March, 5:30-8:30pm

More info/to register: [email protected]

Family life applications for permanent residence will take 10 years and cost well over £10k each,!

Come join the discussion at our next Migrant Voice Birmingham and West Midlands Network meeting to hear experiences of how this is effecting our communities:

We will look at the impact of the ever increasing cost of immigration and visa fees on individuals and families - both British and migrants. The meeting will take place on 6 March from 6.00-8.30pm at Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Birmingham B6 6HR.

Speakers include legal and community professionals alongside people effected by home office fees.

While we at Migrant Voice welcome the announcement from the government to make EEA settled status applications free, we are concerned by the level of inflation in immigration charges for all other immigration related applications.

Examples include the increases in the family life applications, the doubling of the immigration health surcharge from £200 to £400 a year on top of the £1000 cost of the application. This having to be renewed 4 times over a 10 year period is at the cost of just over £2000 per applicant every 2.5 years.

As noted by Barrister Colin Yeo, the current fee for an indefinite leave to remain application is £2,389 and a naturalisation application £1,330 whereas the actual cost to the Home Office of processing an ILR application is £243 and a naturalisation application £372.

The application fee for registering a child as British in 2018/19 has now broken through the £1,000 barrier, but the actual cost to the Home Office is again £372.

This is a great burden on many of your local residents as well as other residents and citizens across the country who have to rely on churches, mosques, and family members to meet the cost of the Home Office fees. It not only costs the local authorities millions as families unable to pay become stuck in emergency accommodation, but the human cost is immeasurable.

I hope you can join us on one of the dates above and help us discuss solutions and actions to challenge the excessive fees and reduce the burden on communities.

To confirm your attendance email [email protected] or 

Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/migrant-voice-home-office-fees-increase-tickets-56713517658

Interested in migration? Check out these films, plays, exhibitions, talks and other events happening in and around Glasgow this month. And if you're holding an event or spot something we've missed, let us know and we'll add it to our list. Email [email protected].

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

* The Chatty Cafe Scheme, provides space for anyone and everyone to interact and learn from one another: whether you are seeking to improve your English, or looking to create new connections through a cuppa and a chat, every Tues, 10am, free, St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Castle St, G4.

Saturday 2 February

* Stand Up to Racism Scotland Conference 2019, conference seeking to discuss how we can dismantle, or at the very least challenge, institutional racism, 12-5pm, free, Unison, 84 Bell St, G1.

Tuesday 5 February

* EU citizens & Brexit: info session with immigration lawyer, EU embassies in the UK - European Commission Representation UK, 6-8pm, City Halls & Old Fruitmarket, G1.

Wednesday 6th February

* Glasgow Solidarity Demo for Stansted15 Sentencing, 5.30pm, Buchanan Galleries steps, G1.

Thursday 7 February

* Migration and Social Inclusion in Scotland and Europe, a day of discussion on subjects such as social inclusion and asylum policy, 10.30am-6.30pm, The WiSE Centre for Economic Justice, The Lantern, Glasgow Caledonian University, G4.

Saturday 9 February

* Never Again! Rock Against Racism and the ANL, Glasgow launch of Dave Renton’s new book on racism in the 1970s. Renton is an activist and will be exploring Rock Against Racism and the Anti Nazi League, in turn discussing how to challenge the far right in contemporary times, 2.30pm, free, Scottish Trades Union Congress, 333 Woodlands Rd, G3.

Sunday 10 February

* Faith to Faith, the final discussion in the Faith to Faith series (a collaboration between St Mungo Museum and Interfaith Glasgow) featuring a diverse group of speakers “offering personal insights into topical issues and debates over a cuppa in an informal and friendly environment”, 2pm, free, St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Castle St, G4.

Monday 11 February

* Stories of Greek and Cypriot Migration to Scotland's Largest City, talk by Nicholas Kyriacou of Scottish Hellenic Society (Glasgow) explores the oral history of Greek and Cypriot migrants to Glasgow from the 1940s through to the present day, 6-7pm, free Mitchell Library, G3.

Friday 15th January

* Education, Migration and the Urban, delivered by Research Fellow Carli Rowell, this presentation addresses common knowledge regarding education, the global south and development, whilst exploring core issues applicable to education in urban contexts, 12pm, free, Room 201, St Andrew’s Building, University of Glasgow, G3.

Sunday 17 February

*The SANE Collective: Nitty Gritty of the City, brings together different organisations, communities, individuals and campaigns to discuss a comprehensive city-focus strategy, described as  “a social movement of different social movements”, free event but ticketed on Eventbrite, 1-5pm, Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, 350 Sauchiehall Street, G2.

Monday 18th February

* Refugee and Asylum Seekers Rights to Housing, a seminar of interest to solicitors (and trainees) working in housing law; to housing advisors and staff, charity workers and advice workers, 10am, £65.27-£97.61, 134 Renfrew St, G3.

EXHIBITIONS

* Nelson Mandela: The Centenary Exhibition, a touring exhibition marking the centenary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, and his journey from young freedom fighter to becoming South Africa’s first democratically elected president, free, The Lighthouse (Gallery One), 11 Mitchell Lane, G1.

* Lucy Beech: Reproductive Exile, film following a woman engaging in cross-border, assisted reproduction, 12pm-5pm daily, free, Tramway, 25 Albert Drive, G41, until 9 February.

* The New Scots, launched in June 2018, this exhibition displays objects chosen or donated by refugees and former asylum seekers who have settled in Glasgow over the past 20 years, and features a film documenting the project and stories told by those involved, free, St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Castle St, G4, until 28 February.

Saturday 2nd February

* A Chinese New Year Celebration, child-friendly celebration of the Year of the Pig with seasonal crafts, from 1.30pm, free, St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Castle St, G4.

Thursday 28 February – Saturday 9 March

* Intermedia: Migrating Eye, Lotte Gertz, a new series of work exploring themes of the everyday, typography and personal histories, free, Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), 350 Sauchiehall Street, G2.

PERFORMANCE

Saturday 2 February

* We Stand With the Stansted 15!, a fundraising night to show Glasgow’s unity with the #Stansted15 ahead of their court date, includes four live music acts and a talk delivered by one of the Stansted 15, 7pm, £5-£10, The Rum Shack, 657 Pollokshaws Rd, G41.

Saturday 2 February

* Aba Shanti I, a night of inspirational roots reggae, celebrating Aba’s vibe of unity: ‘all races, all creeds, all genders. We don’t segregate, we integrate’, hosted by Bass Warrior Sound System/Saltire Sound System, 11pm-5am, £10/£12, The African Arts Centre, 228 Edmiston Drive, G51.

Friday 8 – Saturday 9 February

* The Trojans, a new adaptation of Euripides’ anti-war tragedy, written and acted by a cast of Syrian refugees living in Glasgow, performed in Arabic (with subtitles) and English, £0-£8.50, Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Rd, G34.

Friday 15 – Saturday 16 February

* The Dark, explores the journey taken by a four-year old and his mother to escape a war-ridden country, 7.45pm, £13/£17, Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, G1.

FILM

Friday 1 February

* CinemaAttic: Colombian Contemporary Animation, brings together a series of rarely seen, classic and contemporary Colombian animated short films, investigating the influence of Carlos Santos, “the father of experimental animation in Colombia” amongst a whole generation of animators in Latin America, £7 (£6) + £1 booking fee, 8pm, Center for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, 350 Sauchiehall Street, G2.

Wednesday 6 February

* Piripkura, in Mariana Oliva’s documentary, the last two surviving members of the Piripkura people, a nomadic tribe in Brazil, struggle to maintain their indigenous way of life amidst the region's massive deforestation, 6pm, Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA), 350 Sauchiehall Street, G2.

Saturday 9 February

* Les Enfants De Mishwar, a film about life in Lebanese refugee camps for young people, 7pm, tickets by donation, Andalus, 213 New City Road, G4.

Sunday 10 February

* UK Jewish Film: Budapest Noir, revisits film noir classics in a stylish reimagining of Budapest shortly before the Second World War, following a reporter’s investigation into the mysterious death of a Jewish woman, £8 + £1 booking fee, 2:45pm, Center for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, 350 Sauchiehall Street G2.

Monday 18 February

* Women’s support project: The Uncondemned, tells the true story of a group of lawyers, activists and Rwandan women’s fight for justice and the recognition of rape as a war crime in Rwanda, £5 + £1 booking fee, 6pm, Center for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, 350 Sauchiehall Street, G2.

Thursday 21 February

* Film Screening and Q&A: Tony Romano and Corin Sworn's 'The Coat', a contemporary adaptation of a comedy by ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes, which challenges common presentations of the migrant, through the story of a young man and his daughter and the characters they meet on their journey from Albania to Calabria in search for a better life, free, 6-8pm, Andrew Stewart Cinema, Gilmorehill Halls, 9 University Avenue G12.

Thursday 28 February

* Complicity, desperate for a better life, Chinese immigrant Chen Liang (Lu Yulai) is now living illegally in Japan. His phone and fake ID cost him a fortune but when he receives a call and offer of employment intended for someone else, his new life begins in a soba restaurant as the apprentice to an elderly chef, 6pm, Glasgow Film Theatre, G3.

Following up on our successful Media Training in December 2018 in Birmingham, Migrant Voice is organising a special Media Lab training workshop in Coventry on Monday 18 February, 2019.

Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants from all over the world but living in Coventry, please join us to learn skills that will make your voices heard.

Recognised journalists, media and communication professionals will lead the sessions.

Testimony from a Media Lab participant: "I used to ask myself who are all these non-migrants talking on behalf of us, migrants, asylum seekers or refugees? I had a voice, I've always had a voice but I didn't simply know how to make it heard. Thanks to Migrant Voice and the Media Lab Training, now I feel empowered to tell my story and show the true face of our treatment to the whole world".

Venue: Coventry Peace House, 311 Stoney Stanton Road, Coventry, CV6 5DS.

Date: Monday 18 February, 2019. Time: 11:00 AM to 5:00PM.

Programme:

11:00AM: Welcome & Registration

11:30 - 1:30: first session (How to use mobile phones and cameras to have a voice in a digital world and to have your stories told) – Photo journalist TBC

1:30 - 2:30: Lunch break

2:40 - 4:30: second session: Video Training on Techniques of Communication - Almamy

The two sessions are independent of each other and it is possible to attend only one of them.

This is a free training with Free Refreshments & bus passes will be refunded to those unwaged

For more information or early registration, please contact: [email protected] or 07804 634 857

We are delighted to invite you to a special Media Lab training workshop in preparation for International Migrants Day 2018.

The Media Lab session will take place on 11 December at Migrant Voice, VAI, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP

Every year on International Migrants Day, December 18, Migrant Voice joins in the celebrations of the amazing contribution of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees from all over the world but living in the U.K. This year marks the 18^th anniversary of the International Migrant Day and a strong reminder for resilience, unity and togetherness at the eve of Brexit.

MV is gearing up for the launch of this special celebration 2018 by organising a special Media Lab. Join us on the 11^th for one or both of our sessions:

Session 1 from 4.30-6.00 on writing letters to the editor

Learn how to develop a clear message and put it across in a letter to the editor format

(Facilitated by Daniel Nelson, Editor and freelance journalist. He has worked on and edited newspapers, magazines, news services and online operations in Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, The Philippines, Uganda, UK and West Africa; trained journalists in a dozen countries including at City University in London.)

Session 2 from 6.30-8.30 will focus on will focus on making videos using your mobile phone

Learn storytelling using film - including structuring, scripting and planning a film

(Facilitated by Simon Whitlock and Reya El-Salahi. Simon works for BBC and was previously a Video Producer for London Live News working on both features and news stories. Before joining the press he worked for NGO's and community organisations

Reya is a journalist and presenter.)

We will be organising other sessions in Glasgow and Birmingham and our various activities for International Migrants Day across the.

For further queries and to confirm your attendance contact: [email protected] indicating whether you want to attend session 1 or 2 or both.

Special Media Lab training workshop for International Migrants Day 2018

When: 4 December 2018

Time: 3.00-5.30pm and 6-8.30pm

Where: Birmingham

Why: every year on International Migrants Day December 18, Migrant Voice celebrates the amazing contribution of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees from all over the world but living in the U.K. This year marks the 18^th anniversary of the International Migrant Day and a strong reminder for resilience, unity and togetherness at the eve of Brexit.

MV is gearing up for the launch of this special celebration 2018.

Recognised journalist, media and communication professionals will lead the MV Media Lab Training Sessions to help Migrants’ voices heard in the media.

The first Media Lab Training is organised by MV Birmingham Branch and will take place on the 4 December 2018.

Session 1 from 3.00-5.30pm will focus on making videos using your mobile phone

Session 2 from 6.00-8.30 will focus on writing letters to the editor.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”

Migrants from the diaspora, from street cleaners, factory workers, taxi drivers, NHS staff, students, military and police forces, lawyers, teachers, engineers, academics to the entrepreneurs and self-employed, and no matter what your beliefs are, let us be united and celebrate our unsung amazing contributions to the UK.

We will be organising other sessions in London and Glasgow and our various activities for International Migrants Day across the country include Media Lab Training in interview techniques, video making, letters to the editor, testimonies, film and videos.

More information will follow.

For further queries Contact: [email protected]

For early registration (free) please contact: [email protected] or 07804 634 857

Please join us for the launch of a new national integration campaign in the UK: PARTICIPATE. iNTEGRATION.

Migrant Voice, is teaming up with MoneyGram on the national initiative where non-government organisations supporting the integration of migrants and refugees can submit funding applications through the campaign website.

The launch of the initiative will take place on Tuesday 13 November, 6-8pm, at Migrant Voice, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.

Migrant Voice and three other organisations around the country will deliver the first projects funded as part of the new national initiative. Migrant Voice’s project involves the production of a series of videos in cities around the country.

PARTICIPATE. iNTEGRATION is the first time we have worked with business organisations but it is a crucially important moment in Britain. Brexit and political upheavals around the world have put migration in the spotlight and whatever happens politically in the next few months the lives of hundreds of thousands of migrants will be affected – and so will the lives of the British people.

The UK campaign originated in Germany with the support of two German organisations, Kalic Media and IT Hilft, which are also backing the initiative in the UK.

To learn more and to submit applications for integration initiatives go to https://www.participate-integration.eu

Please join us to learn more about the new initiative. To confirm your attendance, please email [email protected]

Please join us at our next Migrant Voice Media Lab training:  Wednesday 24 October 11am till 2pm at the Meena centre, Well street, Birmingham B19 3BG.

This Media Lab session will cover techniques we picked up from the media training run by ITV the week before. It will also be a practical session where we will go online using social media and getting involved in debates around the hostile environment, brexit, and what we as migrants contribute to the UK.

To join, please email or what's app Salman  07758191798 [email protected]

Migrant Voice is offering its members in Birmingham in West Midlands an exciting opportunity:

ITV are looking to run a media training session on Wednesday 17 October in Nottingham 2pm till 5pm.

Women are particularity underrepresented in interviews and the media so to redress the balance ITV are looking for 6 women to train. This is a unique opportunity to develop your media skills.

The session will include mock interviews and how to present your story to a journalist.

The aim is to develop a team of "go to" people so that when ITV (and other news outlets) want a human interest story or viewpoint on immigration in the UK we will have a ready made task force.

As members of Migrant Voice we only know too well that a lot of stories about migration are negative, ITV have given an opportunity to develop some of our members' skills to challenge that.

The pieces of work produced at the training will be presented privately to the Quarterly Diversity meeting at ITV, However we hope that members who participate will be willing to be contacted when needed to speak to the media.

If you are interested in attending please contact Salman either via email [email protected] or whatsapp 07758191798 with a brief outline of why you want to attend including how you hope to apply your new skills to be available to be interviewed in the future by the press on issues around migration.

Our exhibition from the Changing Lenses, London stories of integration project opens on August 29th 7pm and is on until September 21st at the Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. The exhibition is open Monday-Sunday 10am-6pm.

This exhibition of photos and writing is the culmination of our ‘Changing Lenses: London Stories of Integration’ project, which brings communities together to creates better understanding amongst the public of migrants’ experiences of integration.

We explored definitions of integration, our own experiences, what helps and hinders integration and what creates a sense of belonging and community. This exhibition is a reflection of some of our experiences and views.

We have only limited spaces for the exhibition opening night August 29th 7pm. These will be allocated on a first come basis and only by confirming your attendance to [email protected]

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Talks and Discussions 

Monday 2 July
* Anita Rani In Conversation, 7-8.15pm, £7, Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, SW7. Info: 7591 3000/ www.rgs.org/events
* The “People’s War on Terror” in Xinjiang, Adrian Zenz, 5-6.30pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh street, WC1. 
Info: [email protected]/ 78984823
* Ratnaboli Ray and Meenakshi Ganguly, discussion with the founder of Anjali and the South Asia director at Human Rights Watch, 5pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh street, WC1.
 Info: [email protected]
* Decolonial Judaism: Jews, Antisemitism and the Global South, Santiago Slabodsky, 6.30—8pm, Birkbeck, Clore Management Centre, Torrington Square, WC1. 
Info: 7631 6881/ 
pearsinstitute.bbk.ac.uk/

Thursday 5 July
* Improving mental health care in humanitarian crises, Nour Kik, Alison Schafer, Natalya Kostandova, 2-3.30pm, Overseas Development Institute. Blackfriars Road, 203 Blackfriars Road, SE1.
 Info: 7922 0300/ [email protected]
* Inspired by India: An evening of Picture Books and Conversations, book launch & panel discussion with Chitra Soundar, Poonam Mistry, Ranjit Singh, Mehrdokht Amini, 6.30pm, Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, W1. 
Info: 74 913 567/74 932 019/ [email protected]
* A New Politics for an Age of Crisis, George Monbiot, 1pm, Royal Society of Arts, 8 John Adam Street, WC2. 
Info: 7930 5115/ [email protected]
* Canning Paper Presentation: the Latin American Pharmaceutical Industry, Andrew Thompson, 6-7:30pm, £15/£7.50, Canning House,126 Wigmore Street, W1. Info: 7811 5600/ [email protected]/ www.canninghouse.org
* Traditions of Liberation Education, with focus on Palestine, Karma Nabulsi, Hugh Starkey, 6:30-8pm, free, lvin Hall, Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way. 
Info: www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/

Saturday 7 July
* Nigeria: Aspects of Culture and Environment, one-day conference bringing together aspects of the study of Nigerian traditional and modern culture,including film, together with its natural environment, with Graham Furnissand Ini Dele-Adedeji, 10am-5:30pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh street, WC1.
 Info: [email protected]
Tuesday 10 July
* Britain Should Rewild its Uplands, debate with Mark Cocker, George Monbiot, Minette Batters, Rory Stewart, 7pm, £20/£10, Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, SW1. 
Info: www.intelligencesquared.com/

Wednesday 11 July
* Mexico 2018: post-election analysis, Rodrigo Aguilera, Thomas Rath, 6-7:30pm, £15/ £7.50, Canning House, 126 Wigmore Street, W1.
 Info: 7811 5600/ [email protected]/ www.canninghouse.org
* Social Movement Activist Dialogue, panel discussion with Lin Fei-Fan, Wei Yang, Nai-Chia Chen, Dafydd Fell, 6:30pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh street, WC1.
 Info: 7637 2388
Monday 16 July
* Mandela: The Legacy Debate, 7:30pm, free, Southbank Centre, belvedere Road, SE1.
Info: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/ 
* Will Democracy Survive the Age of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, David Wood, Indra Adnan and Lina Dencik, 6.30-8.30pm, £5, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1.
 Info: 7405 1818

Tuesday 17 July
* Celebrating Nelson Mandela: His Letters, His Legacy, Josette Bushell-Mingo, Gary Younge, Jackie Kay,  Zoe Wicomb, Jay Bernard, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Errollyn Wallen, 6:30—9pm, £15-£25, Union Chapel, 19b Compton Terrace, N1. 
Info: 7226 1686/ www.unionchapel.org.uk
Wednesday 18 July
* London 1938: ‘As much as I have an accent in my language, I have an accent in my painting’: Émigré Artists in Britain after 1933, Monica Bohm-Duchen, 6:30-8pm, free, The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust & Genocide, Wiener Library, 29 Russell Square, WC1.
 Info: 7636 7247
* Venezuela Update, Diego Moya-Ocampos, Carlos Bellorin, Alejandro Arenas-Pinto, 6-7.30pm, £15/£7.50pm, Canning House, 126 Wigmore Street, W1. 
Info: www.canninghouse.org/
Thursday 19 July
* Misr and Mosque: Architectural Splendour and Political Authority, illustrated talk by Ruba Kana’an, 6-8pm, £15, Park Gallery. 
Info: www.eventbrite.co.uk/

Thursday 19 Sunday -  22 July
* Africa Utopia, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1.
 Info: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/
Programme includes
20-21 July, WOKE, play that follows two women’s fight for civil rights
21 July, Presidents of Laughrica, diaspora comedians address issues facing Africa. She Called Me Woman, readings exploring what it means to be a queer Nigerian woman United States of Africa: The Future of Pan-Africanism, discussion. 
22 July, Reverse Colonialism, interactive performance set in a new utopian nation. Pan-Africanism and Me, speakers reflect on how they have been affected by various movements. I/Mages of Tomorrow: Sustaining Black Sci-Fi Futures, an anti-conference that envisions black, POC, disabled, queer, trans and feminist future
Saturday 21 July
* Numbi Festival, celebration of heritage, East and British Somali community, featuring storytelling, films, poetry, music and literature on the theme of Repair and Rebellion, £8-£12, Rich Mix. 
Info: www.numbi.org

Friday 27 July
* Heart of the Race, meet the authors of a book about the collective experience of Black women in Britain, and their relationship to the British state, 7-9pm, £3, Black Cultural Archives, 1 Windrush Square, SW2. 
Info: 3757 8500/ [email protected]/ blackculturalarchives.org/

Sunday 29 July
* Turning the Tide on Plastic, Lucy Siegle, 3-4.30pm, £8/£4, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1. Info: 7405 1818

EXHIBITIONS
* Lingering Ghosts, exhibition by Sam Ivin about how the UK migration system treats arrivals seeking safety, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, WC2, until 31 August.

* Windrush: Songs in a Strange Land, why did people come? What did they leave behind? And how did they shape Britain?, British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1, until 28 October. 
Info: (0)1937 546546/ [email protected]

* The Adamah Papers,  exhibition that follows a British-Ghanaian family’s journey in which they rediscover their rich heritage and connection to royalty, and which gives insight into Ghana’s history, British occupation,  resistance to colonialism and many generations of family history, free, Black Archives, Windrush Square, Brixton, SW2. 
Info: blackculturalarchives.org/
+ 12 July, 23 August, Curator's talks, 7-8.30pm
+ Full Black Cultural Archives events programme
 
* No Turning Back: Seven Migration Moments that Changed Britain, art, photography and personal stories,  Migration Museum, 26 Lambeth High Street, SE1, until 9 September + A Polaroid for a Refugee, a project by photographer Giovanna del Sarto depicting points of transition in the lives of individual refugees, until 21 July.
Info: www.migrationmuseum.org
+ Migration moments to remember
* Choose Love, Lakwena’s mural of the Help Refugees slogan, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1, until 4 July.
Info: [email protected]/ 3879 9555
* Hope to Nope: Graphics and Politics 2008-2018, free, Design Museum, W8, until 12 August.
 Info: 3862 5900
* Splendours of the Subcontinent + A Prince's Tour of India 1875/6, £12/£10/£6, The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, until 14 October.
* James Cook: The Voyages, British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1, until 28 August.
 Info: (0)1937 546546/ [email protected]

+ British Library all exhibition events

* Rapid Response Collecting, tiny but fascinating exhibit of new acquisitions that ranges from a Ghanaian "power bank phone" to shoes that show Western designers' belated realisation that the pink colour 'nude' did not apply to all the world's population, free, Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road
+ Burkinis and bullets at the V&A
* London, Sugar & Slavery , permanent gallery at the Museum of Docklands, No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, E14. 
Info: [email protected]
* Atlantic Worlds, transatlantic slave trade gallery, National Maritime Museum, Park Row, SE1.
 Info: 8858 4422/
* Lee Bul: Crashing, painting, sculpture, performance and installation by the South Korean artrist, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1, until 19 August. 
Info: www.southbankcentre.co.uk / 3879 9555    

from 17 July
* Nelson Mandela: The Centenary Exhibition 2018, exhibition about his fight for equality, 10am-11pm daily, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1, until 19 August.
 PERFORMANCE
* The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, scandalous, engrossing tale of sexual politics and family strife in modern-day Nigeria. Lola Shoneyin’s bestselling novel bursts on to the stage in a vivid adaptation by Rotimi Babatunde, directed by Femi Elufowoju Jr, Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, E8, until 21 July. 
Info: 7503 1646
+ Unveiling the secrets of Baba Segi's wives
* The Jungle, originally staged at the Young Vic in 2017, this  is  a powerful dramatic story about life in the former Calais refugee camp, based on the experience in the camp of the production’s two artistic directors who set up the Good Chance Theatre, Playhouse, Northumberland Avenue, WC2, until 3 November. 
Info: 0844 871 7631
* The lore of the Jungle
+ 'We're bringing Calais to the West End'

* Shebeen, a hot, humid summer in Nottingham, 1958. Tempers are flaring and Teddy Boys are on the march. Jamaican couple Pearl and George are helping Caribbean migrants to cut loose at their Shebeen – a forbidden party with drinks, music, food, and carefree attitudes, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, Stratford E15, until 7 July. 
Info: 8534 8310
 * Spun,  Rabiah Hussain's play looks through the eyes of two British Pakistani Muslim girls from East London, as extremes from all sides take hold of the city, Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, E8, until 28 July. 
Info: 7503 1646

Sunday 1 July
* Singing Our Lives (SOL) concert, original music that celebrates the strength and resilience of the refugees and migrants, performed by over 200 singers and instrumentalists including the Royal Opera House Thurrock Community Chorus, Mixed Up Chorus, Sing for Freedom Choir, students from Guildhall School and Woven Gold, plus Zena Edwards and Stile Antico, 6pm, £5 in aid of Freedom From Torture, IOM's Refugee Assistance and Woven Gold, Milton Court, Silk Street, EC2.
Info: www.barbican.org.uk/
Monday 2 July
* Soldiers of The Empire, Annapurna Indian Dance pays homage to the forgotten soldiers from undivided India, who fought for Britain during WWI, Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, W1.
 Info: 74 913 567/74 932 019/ [email protected]

Saturday 7 July
* Palfest in London, Arts Bar and Cafe, day of literature, music, inlcuding contributions from Maan Abu Taleb, Diana Buttu, William Dalrymple, Kassem Eid, Omar Robert Hamilton, Rachel Holmes, Hannah Khalil, Kareem Samara, Kamila Shamsie, Ahdaf Soueif and William Sutcliffe, 2.30-10pm, free, Toynbee Studios, 28 Commercial Street, E1. 
Info:  www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/

Saturday 14 July
* What The River Brings, "brings together performers from across the whole of East London to celebrate the waves of migration that have shaped East London over the centuries, and continue to do so today",  £8/£5 concessions, St John on Bethnal Green, 200 Cambridge Green Road, E2. 
Info: guo.eventbrite.co.uk

FILM
Tuesday 3 July
* Taxi Tehran, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi is banned from making films in his own country, but in this playful documentary he poses as a taxi driver with hidden cameras to talk about the regime that has banned him and to hear about the life stories of the passengers he picks up, 6.30pm, £5-£10.95 - free for refugees and asylum-seekers, Rich Mix

Wednesday 4 July
* Even When I Fall, Sheetal and Saraswoti met as teenager survivors of child trafficking and the film traces their journey over six years as they reclaim their skills as circus artists and begin to build a future against all the odds, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2. 
Info: 7479 8940/ www.frontlineclub.com/
* Onyeka Igwe - No Dance, No Palaver, three films that are the culmination of Onyeka’s research into the Aba Women’s War of 1929, the first anti-colonial uprising in Nigeria as a entry point to experiment with colonial moving images relating to West Africa during the first half of the 20th century+  Onyeka Igwe, Imani Robinson and Rabz Lansiquot,7-9pm, £5/£3, LUX, Dartmouth Park Hill, N19.
Info: www.eventbrite.co.uk/

Friday 6 July
* ‘Avenge but one of my two eyes, shot in the Occupied Territories by Israeli director Avi Mograbi, this controversial documentary draws parallels between the Israeli-Palestinian situation and the enduring myths of Samson and Masada: film will be presented by Palestinian doctor, activist and writer Ghada Karmi, 7pm, £15, London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, WC1. 
Info: 7269 9045

From Thursday 12 July
* Naila and the Uprising, the story of the Palestinian resistance leader Naila Ayesh + Q&A with executive producer Suhad Babaa, 6.30pm, £12.50/£10, Curzon Bloomsbury

Friday 20 July
* Life is Wonderful: Mandela’s Unsung Heroes, former High Court Judge Sir Nick Stadlen tells the story of Nelson Mandela's co-defendants at the Rivonia Trial, the lawyers who saved them from the gallows, and some of the other brave men and women who supported them in their fight for the freedom of South Africa + Q&A with Sir Sydney Kentridge and director Nick Stadlen, 6.30–8.25pm, £5/£3, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1. 
Info: 7323 8000/ [email protected]

Thursday 26 July
* Life is Wonderful: Mandela’s Unsung Heroes, former High Court Judge Sir Nick Stadlen tells the story of Nelson Mandela's co-defendants at the Rivonia Trial, the lawyers who saved them from the gallows, and some of the other brave men and women who supported them in their fight for the freedom of South Africa + Q&A with director Nick Stadlen, 6.30pm, £12.50/£10, Curzon Bloomsbury, 

Friday 27-Sunday 29 July
* Life is Wonderful - Mandela's Unsung Heroes, the story behind Mandela’s trial, various times, free, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1. 
Info: [email protected]/ 3879 9555
* People's Republic of Desire, China's online streaming stars are put under the spotlight in this portrait of a nation in search of human connection, Curzon Bloomsbury  

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s network meeting and summer barbecue in Birmingham on July 19 at 6.00-9.00pm.
 
Agenda items will include:
Post Windrush and discussion of the impact of immigration policies created under the hostile environment – what do we do now?
 
A full agenda and venue details will be sent to you closer to the date.
 
To allow us to plan for the catering, please confirm your attendance to [email protected]

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s network meeting in London on July 11 from 6-8.30pm at VAI, 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. 

This meeting is organised in partnership with Amnesty International UK to look at migrant communities’ experiences of the UK immigration system and what are the biggest concerns.
 
Migrant Voice are working with Amnesty UK on a joint project which will map and analyse the immigration system and look at how migrants’ rights are impeded or harmed in order to call for changes.
 
At this time where the impact of immigration policy is in the political and public debate the links between the experiences of migrants with different immigration paths is becoming increasingly clear. There is an opportunity now to bring to light the various immigration policies, processes and practices and their impact on migrants.
 
This is the first of a series of meetings and interviews across the country.
Please join us to share your experience and your community’s experience with immigration, whether around studying, working, family reunification, asylum, etc. and help us campaign for change.
 
Please confirm your attendance to [email protected]

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s network meeting in Glasgow on June 26th from 6-8.30pm at a venue TBC
 
This meeting is organised in partnership with Amnesty International UK to look at migrant communities’ experiences of the UK immigration system and what are the biggest concerns.
 
Migrant Voice are working with Amnesty UK on a joint project which will map and analyse the immigration system and look at how migrants’ rights are impeded or harmed in order to call for changes.
 
At this time where the impact of immigration policy is in the political and public debate the links between the experiences of migrants with different immigration paths is becoming increasingly clear. There is an opportunity now to bring to light the various immigration policies, processes and practices and their impact on migrants.
 
This is the first of a series of meetings and interviews across the country.
Please join us to share your experience and your community’s experience with immigration, whether around studying, working, family reunification, asylum, etc. and help us campaign for change.
 
For more information and to confirm your attendance e-mail [email protected]

We cordially invite you to the launch of Migrant Voice’s exhibition from our Changing Lenses, Glasgow stories of integration Thursday June 7th at 7pm followed by a reception. The launch and exhibition will take place at: Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3JD 

This exhibition is the culmination of our ‘Changing Lenses, Glasgow stories of integration project’: a selection of outstanding photographs by 27 Glasgow-based participants from 24 countries, charting the newcomers' and host communities' experiences of integration and living together in Glasgow.

Photographs are brought together with writing in this exhibition which features work made as part of the Changing Lenses project which delivered a number of workshops and discussions by the photographers Karen Gordon and Robin Mitchell, the Turner Prize artist Duncan Campbell, the writers Ruskin Gammon and Samina Chaudhry and the filmmaker Amparo Fortuny.

This exhibition is presented at Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Arts and will also feature the publication of a book capturing the stories and imagines of the Changing Lenses: Glasgow Stories of Integration project, designed by Vasileios Sempsis and Barbara Vecchione

More information:
www.cca-glasgow.com/programme/migrant-voice-photography-exhibition-changing-lenses-glasgow-stories-of-integration

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s network meeting and summer barbecue in Birmingham on July 19 at 6.00-9.00pm.
 
Agenda items will include:
Post Windrush and discussion of the impact of immigration policies created under the hostile environment – what do we do now?
 
A full agenda and venue details will be sent to you closer to the date.
 
To allow us to plan for the catering, please confirm your attendance to [email protected]

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s network meeting in London on July 11 from 6-8.30pm at VAI, 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. 

This meeting is organised in partnership with Amnesty International UK to look at migrant communities’ experiences of the UK immigration system and what are the biggest concerns.
 
Migrant Voice are working with Amnesty UK on a joint project which will map and analyse the immigration system and look at how migrants’ rights are impeded or harmed in order to call for changes.
 
At this time where the impact of immigration policy is in the political and public debate the links between the experiences of migrants with different immigration paths is becoming increasingly clear. There is an opportunity now to bring to light the various immigration policies, processes and practices and their impact on migrants.
 
This is the first of a series of meetings and interviews across the country.
Please join us to share your experience and your community’s experience with immigration, whether around studying, working, family reunification, asylum, etc. and help us campaign for change.
 
Please confirm your attendance to [email protected]

Please join us at Migrant Voice’s network meeting in Glasgow on June 26th from 6-8.30pm at a venue TBC
 
This meeting is organised in partnership with Amnesty International UK to look at migrant communities’ experiences of the UK immigration system and what are the biggest concerns.
 
Migrant Voice are working with Amnesty UK on a joint project which will map and analyse the immigration system and look at how migrants’ rights are impeded or harmed in order to call for changes.
 
At this time where the impact of immigration policy is in the political and public debate the links between the experiences of migrants with different immigration paths is becoming increasingly clear. There is an opportunity now to bring to light the various immigration policies, processes and practices and their impact on migrants.
 
This is the first of a series of meetings and interviews across the country.
Please join us to share your experience and your community’s experience with immigration, whether around studying, working, family reunification, asylum, etc. and help us campaign for change.
 
Please confirm your attendance to [email protected]

Tuesday 5th June 2018 -  4pm – 8pm
Coventry Cathedral, Priory St, Coventry, CV1 5FB

Migrant Voice is one of 11 partners on this project.
 
To celebrate the launch of the MiFriendly Cities project and to officially kick off some of our major innovative activities, we would be delighted if you could join us for an evening of information sharing, cultural performances and light refreshments.

The project is a major initiative that adds to the many recent honours for the region, along with Coventry’s successful City of Culture 2021 bid and the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.  This is an exciting time for the West Midlands!

Please RSVP, so that remaining spaces can be re-allocated. You can book your ticket via Eventbrite by clicking on the link below:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mifriendly-cities-launch-event-2018

tests 

TALKS and DISCUSSIONS

Tuesday 1 May

* Panel on Undocumented Caribbean Migrants, 4-5.30pm, House of Commons, Committee Room 10. Info: 7377 9222 

* The Syrian Uprising: Domestic Origins and Early Trajectory, Ferdinand Arslanian, Billie Jeanne Brownlee, Raymond Hinnebusch, Omar Imady, Maria Kastrinou, 5:30-7pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: [email protected] / 7898 4330

* In conversation with Achim Steiner, 4-5.30pm, Overseas Development Institute, Overseas Development Institute, 203 Blackfriars Road, SE1. Info: 7922 0300/ [email protected] 

* How to Rig an Election, Nic Cheeseman, Brian Klaas, 6:30-8pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2. Info: 7405 7686

Wednesday 2 May

* Good vs Bad Nationalism, debate with Zoe Williams and Eric Kaufmann, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2. 

Wednesday 2-Thursday 3 May

* Borders, Racism and Harms, symposium with Shahram Khosravi, Alpa Parmar, Frances Webber, Ben Hayes, Lorenzo Pezzani, Gargi Bhattacharyya, Giorgia Doná, Nuria Targarona Rifa, Isabel Meier, Georgi Wemyss, free, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, WC1. Info: Eventbrite

Thursday 3 May

* Imaging A World Without Borders, Gary Younge, 5.30-6.30pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC1.

* IDMB: The Real Wolves of Wall St, discussion of Malaysian financial scandal, 6.30–8.30pm, Global Witness, Lloyds Chambers, 1 Portsoken Street, E1. Info: Tickets

* 10 Ways to Fix Our Democracy, Dambisa Moyo argues that democratic capitalism needs to reform in order to meet the threats of income inequality and a stagnant economy, 1pm, free, RSA, 8 John Adam Street, WC2.Info: 7451 6868/ [email protected] 

* Commonwealth, Media and Elections, Martin Plaut, Kayode Samuel, Martin Kasirye, 6.30-8pm, The Court Room, First Floor, Senate House, Malet Street, WC1. Info: [email protected] / 7862 8871

* Edge of Chaos: why democracy is failing to deliver economic growth – and how to fix it, Dambisa Moyo, 6:30-8pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2. Info: 7405 7686

* Innovating Climate Governance, book launch with Bruno Turnheim, Paula Kivimaa, Frans Berkhout and Fred Steward, 6.30-8.30pm, King's College, Bush House, Strand Campus, WC2. Info: Tickets

* Migrants and the NHS: should they pay, and how?, Ines Campos-Matos, Jessica Potter, Mark Stevenson, Anna Miller, Sue Collins, 6.15pm, free, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, WC1. Info: 7636 8636  

Tuesday 8 May 

* Creative Climate, Zoë Svendsen, Alan Simpson + Lily Hunter Green’s Bee Composed Live exhibition, 10am—8pm, free, Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre, Birkbeck College. Info:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creative-climate-tickets-41792394176     

Wednesday 9 May 

* Migration and the Media, Liz Gerard, Jakub Krupa, Abdulwahab Tahhan, 6.30–8pm, suggested donation: £5, Migration Museum at The Workshop, 26 Lambeth High Street, SE1.   

* Refugees and Trees: Why tree leaves are not famine food and natural resources matter, 12.45pm, free, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, WC1. Info: [email protected] 

* The Archive and Historical Geographies of the Black Presence, using Elsa James’ project “Forgotten Black Essex” as a starting point, James, Caroline Bressey and Ingrid Pollard explore multicultural Britain before Windrush, 7-8:30pm, £5, Autograph ABP, Rivington Street, EC1. Info: [email protected]/ 7729 9200  

Thursday 10 May 

* Looking at Looking at Chinese Painting, Craig Clunas examines a range of Chinese images, from the 15th to the 21st century to explain the changing audiences for Chinese painting and to look at the ideal types of viewer these pictures were made for, 6.45pm, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1. Info: 7307 5454/ [email protected]  

* The ICC and Israel/Palestine: A Case of Overdetermining the Role of International Criminal Justice?, Valentina Azarova and Triestino Mariniello, 4pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC2. Info: [email protected] / 7898 4330  

Friday 11 May 

* Mobility, Speaking Styles and Group Formation Among Polish-speaking Migrants in the UK, Kinga Kozminska, 6-8pm, free, Birkbeck, Malet Street, WC1. Info: 

Saturday 12 May 

* Conflict Cafe: Life After Terror, drop-in to join guests and eyewitnesses in conversations about terrorism, resilience and how people move past trauma, between 11.30am and 4.30pm, free, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1. Info: 7416 5000   

Monday 14 May 

* Revere or Remove, debate about statues, Peter Frankopan, Afua Hirsch, Tiffany Jenkins, David Olusoga, 7pm, £30/£15, Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, SW1. Info

* The Global Food System - Urgent Problems: Possible Solutions, Tara Garnett, 6.45-8pm, £3/£2, 70/77 Cowcross Street, EC1. Info: https://www.mondediplofriends.org.uk

* Bridging Digital Divides: Pursuing UK-Africa collaboration for inclusive digital trade, Barbara Birungi Mutabazi, ,'Bosun Tijani, 6.30-8.30pm, Portcullis House, Westminster, SW1. Info: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/bridging-digital-divides-pursuing-uk-africa-collaboration-for-inclusive-digital-trade-registration-45647143836 

* China: Art, Power and revolutions: 1950-76, Craig Clunas, 1-2pm, free, Museum of London, 150 London Wall, EC2. Info: 7001 9844/ [email protected]  

* Feast 4 Future Theatre, cocktails, dinner, auction and dance £62.89 in support of "theatre projects that celebrate diversity and give a platform to the voices of people who have been ignored, silenced or marginalized", Ceviche Old Street, 2 Baldwin Street, EC1. Info: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/feast-4-future-theatre-tickets-44104947084?utm_term=eventurl_text   

Tuesday 15 May 

* The Global Goals – Intergenerational and Cross-sector Partnerships, Harriet Marshall hosts an event for people looking for inspiration, opportunity and support to help them disrupt traditional thinking, raise awareness, take action and build cross-sector partnerships, 1.30-5pm, £5, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1. Info: 7405 1818/ https://conwayhall.org.uk  

* Corporate Social Responsibility in Latin America: what potential for new global trends in the region?, Daniela Barones Soares, Cristina Bruce, Anne Lindsey, 6-8pm, £15/ £7.50, Senate House, Malet Street, WC1. Info: 7811 5600/ 7811 5623   

Wednesday 16 May 

* AgTech in Latin America, Andrew Thompson and Horacio Sánchez-Caballero present new report, 6-7.30pm, £7.50, Canning House, 126 Wigmore Street, W1. Info: 7811 5600/ [email protected] / www.canninghouse.org  

* Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, 6-7:30pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2. Info: 7405 7686 

* Humanizing the Inhuman: Photographing Death in Duterte's Drug War, Vicente L. Rafael, Ashley Thompson, Fenella Cannell, John Sidel, Chiara Zambarano, 6-9pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC2. Info: [email protected]  

* Women in the Wake of May 68, conference keynote speakers Margaret Atack and Rakhee Balaram, 9am-6pm, free, King's College, Strand. Info: https://womenaftermay68.wixsite.com/kclconference 

* Africa Tech Summit, 8.30am-6pm, £180-£350, Grange St Paul’s Hotel. Info: / Registration

Thursday 17 May 

* Cuba: post-Castro challenges, Antoni Kapcia, Emily Morris, Jorge Peña Diaz, Ricardo Torres, 6-8pm, Canning House, 126 Wigmore Street, W1. Info: 

* Health Gains in a Mix of Conflict and Development, Ferozzudin Feroz, Ahmad Jan Naeem, Sayed Saeedzai, Stephanie Simmonds, 5.30-7pm, free, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1. Info: [email protected]  

* President Rouhani: One Year On, Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Richard Zaghari-Ratcliffe, Azadeh Moaveni,Kasra Naji, 7pm, Frontline Club, Norfolk Place, W2. Info: 7479 8960 

* Making human rights work for everyone in an age of fear and division, Salil Shetty, 6:30-8:30pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC2. Info: [email protected]  7898 4933  

Friday 18 May 

* Durban Meets London, book launch with Ashwin Singh, Shantal Singh and Cheryl Robson, 6:30pm, Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, W1. Info: 74 913 567 

* From mobile citizens to migrants, Bridget Anderson, Leah Bassel, Michaela Benson, Omar Khan, Nando Sigona and Colin Yeo, 2-5pm, Britih Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1. Info: Registration  

Saturday 19 May 

* Nawal El Saadawi in Conversation, 4pm, £15, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, part of (B)old 

* ICAHD UK annual conference, Amnesty International UK Human Rights Action Centre, 17-25 New Inn Yard. Info: 7700 6192/ [email protected] https://icahd.org   

Sunday 20 May 

* Protest in support of Tran Huynh Duy Thuc and prisoners of conscience, 11-12.30pmoutside Vietnamese Embassy, 12 Victoria Road, W8. Info: [email protected]  

* Right of Return, PSC conference, Ghada Karmi, Hazem Jamjoum, Ruba Salih, Eitan Bronstein, Amjad Iraqi, Mohamad Fahed, Sarona Bedwan, Tareq Baconi, Hugh Lanning, Ben Jamal, 9am-4.30pm, £12/38, RADA Studios, 16 Chenies Street  

Monday 21 May 

* Stories From Europe’s Refugee Crisis, Ziad Ghandour, Marchu Girma, Teresa Thornhill, Daniel Trilling, 7pm, £10, London Review Bookshop, 14 Bury Place, WC1. Info: 7269 9030/ [email protected] 

* Do we need a new approach to support fragile states?, Charles Collyns, David Carew, Beverley Warmington, Marcus Manuel, 5-6.30pm, Overseas Development Institute, 201 Blackfriars Road, SE1. Info: 7922 0300/ [email protected]   

Tuesday 22 May 

* Cracks in the Wall: Beyond Apartheid in Palestine/Israel, Ben White,7-10pm, The Human Rights Action Centre, EC2. Info: 7700 6192/ [email protected]  

* Falling Freetown + Urban Nomads – Cities, Tension and Urban Planning, two short films + discussion on making cities places that leave no one behind and that are a joy to live in, 7pm, £12.50/ £10, Frontline Club, Norfolk Place, W2. Info: 7479 8960  

Wednesday 23 May  

* Chicken Scribbles and the Dove that Looks like a Frog, Samah Hijawi takes a playful look at the art and political histories of 1970s Palestine. Her performance weaves fact and fiction to question this romanticised era with it failures, 7:30pm, free, The Mosaic Rooms, Tower House, 226 Cromwell Road, SW5. Info: 7370 9990 

* A History of Love, Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker examine the treatment of love in three Thai literary classics. 6.45pm, £10/£8, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1. Info: 7307 5454/ [email protected]   

Friday 25 May  

* Christopher Hope in Conversation with Gillian Slovo, exploration of race, politics and people in South Africa today, 7.15pm, British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1. Info: (0)1937 546546/ [email protected]  

*  The Role of Communications in Africa’s Representation, Eliza Anyangwe, Vera Okeyo, Oyin Solebo, Hanna Ali, Patrick Smith, Rama Salla Dieng, 5.30pm, free, The British Library,  96 Euston Road, NW1 . Info:  Event

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Wednesday 30 May 

* The End of Epidemics? Lessons from a century of pandemics, 1918 to 2018, Jonathan D. Quick, 5.30-7pm, free, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1. Info: https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/events/end-epidemics-lessons-century-pandemics-1918-2018   

* Political Violence and Generational Change in Latin America: A Research Update, Guillermo Palleta Perez and Ellen Moodie,  5.30-7.30pm, £5, Senate House, Malet Street, WC1. Info: Institute of Latin American Studies

Wednesday 30-Thursday 31 May 

* Rwandan Perspectives on Post-conflict Reconstruction and Sustainable Peace: Enhancing Research, Influencing Policy, 6pm, King's College, Strand Campus, WC2. Info: [email protected] / 7848 2682    

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PERFORMANCE   

* The Encounter, Simon McBurney’s solo performance of the true story of photographer Loren McIntyre who, lost in a remote area of Brazil in 1969, has a life-changing encounter, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, until 5 May. Info: 7638 8891/ www.barbican.org.uk 

 * Faceless, a suburban Chicago teenager lives her life on the internet but she meets someone online who convinces her to convert from Christianity to Islam and leave home for Syria and she is arrested for conspiring to commit terrorist acts, Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, N4, until 12 May. Info: 7870 6876 + free post-show talks with speakers including playwright Selina Fillinger, John Cameron of the NSPCC, barrister Tunde Okewale and journalist James Fergusson. Info: Park theatre

* Bismillah! An ISIS Tragi-Comedy, hilarious, heart-breaking and compassionate contribution to the vital discussion around the experiences of disenfranchised young people in modern Britain", Pleasance Theatre, Caraenter's Mews, North Road, N7, until 13 May. Info: 7609 1800/ [email protected] 

* Rasheeda Speaking, office politics and racism, Trafalgar Studios, 4 Whitehall, SW1, until 12 May. Info: 0844 871 7615  

Saturday 5 May

* Listen to the Conversation, the power of the spoken word with leading British Asian writers and poets, 4:15pm, free; Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth: South Asian Feminist Writing, 7:45pm, Southbank Centre, part of Alchemy

Monday 7 May

* Tez Ilyas: Teztify, slick, smart, subversive stand-up, 7.30pm, £15, Southbank Centre, part of https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/festivals-series/alchemy  Alchemy

Tuesday 8 May 

* War Plays Season, to mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a staged reading of seven new plays inspired by women’s experiences of global conflict spanning Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Tibet, Bangladesh and occupied France, Tristan Bates Theatre, 1A Tower St, WC2, until 19 May. Info: #WARPlays/ http://www.kalitheatre.co.uk/whats-on/War%20Plays%20Season.html?dm_i=1FX5,5JTKR,C2GK5U,LK3OL,1   

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from Thursday 17 May 

* Palmyra, a reflection on Syria and the breakdown of relationships, Shoreditch Town Hall, 380 Old Street, EC1, until 28 May. Info: 7739 6176/ [email protected]

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Friday 18 May 

* Rise Like Lions, Ben Okri presents a new collection for which he has selected 100 poems from around the world that celebrate the many voices of politics, from polemics to meditations, from Shakespeare to grime, 6.30-8pm, £10/£7, British Library, Euston Road, NW1. Info: (0)1937 546546/ [email protected]   

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Monday 21 May 

* A Change Is Gonna Come: Music for Human Rights, soul singer Carleen Anderson and jazz pianist Nikki Yeoh explore the power of protest songs, 7:30pm, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road

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Wednesday 23 May 

* Chicken Scribbles and the Dove that Looks like a Frog, Samah Hijawi takes a playful look at the art and political histories of 1970s Palestine. Her performance weaves fact and fiction to question this romanticised era with it failures, 7:30pm, free, The Mosaic Rooms, Tower House, 226 Cromwell Road, SW5. Info: 7370 9990

* The People vs Democracy,  Yascha Mounk,  1pm, free, RSA,8 John Adam Street, WC2. Info: 7930 5115/ [email protected]

•

Wednesday 23-Thursday 24 May 

* Solo for Two, explore cross-cultural identity in production by British-Brazilian choreographer Jean Abreu, various times, £20, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road 

From Wednesday 23 May

* I Am Yusuf and This Is My Brother, Palestinian writer and director Amir Nizar Zuabi tackles the aftermath of the British mandate in Palestine in 1948, recalling the loss and separation of his forebears, £10/£6, Tristan Bates Theatre, 1a Tower Street, WC2, until 26 May. Info: 3841 66000/ [email protected]

from Thursday 24 May 

* Leave Taking, play by Winsome Pinnock, “the godmother of Black British playwrights", about a Caribbean mother in UK who calls on the local ‘obeah’ woman for some traditional soul healing and unveils some awkward family secrets - "a moving account of a second generation immigrant family navigating the familial conflicts between generations and cultures", Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, W12, until 30 June. Info: 8743 5050

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Tuesday 29 May 

* Half-Breed, Jazmin feels different. She doesn’t want to stay in the village: “I am that mixed raced kid, like 50/50, on the fence, luke warm, in-between maybe. Trust me, around here I’m about as black as it goes…”, 7.30pm, £15.50, Tara Theatre, 356 Garratt Lane, SW18. Info: 8333 4457

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EXHIBITIONS

* Forensic Architecture, the independent research agency based at Goldsmiths explores their creatively original and deadly serious work tracking human rights crimes in places from Gaza to Germany, ICA, The Mall, SW1, until 13 May. Info: http://www.icaa.org.uk 

* Maqdala 1868, on 13 April 1868 the fortress of Emperor Tewodros II at Maqdala was besieged by British troops. 150 years later this display presents a selection of Ethiopian objects, Victoria and Albert Museum, until 30 June.

* Water Matters, large-scale photos of water taken by Edward Burtynsky around the world, Arup, 8 Fitzroy Street, W1, until 8 June. Info: 7636 1531/ [email protected] 

* The Adamah Papers, exhibition that follows a British-Ghanaian family’s journey in which they rediscover their rich heritage and connection to royalty, and which gives insight into Ghana’s history, British occupation,  resistance to colonialism and many generations of family history, free, Black Archives, Windrush Square, Brixton, SW2. Info: https://blackculturalarchives.org 

* Agadir, Yto Barrada's installation includes a mural, a film, several sculptures, and live and recorded performances, to consider how a city and its people might address the process of reinvention following disaster, like the 1967 earthquake, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, until 20 May. Info: 0845 120 7511/ www.barbican.org.uk

* Made in North Korea: Everyday Graphics from the DPRK, collection accumulated by documentary-maker Nicholas Bonner, House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, N1, until 13 May. Info: 3696 2020/ houseofillustration.org.uk   

* Deutsche Bose Photography Foundation Prize, the work of one of the four finalists, Mathieu Asselin, is "an investigation into the long history of the global biotechnology corporation Monsanto [which] brings together hundreds of documents and photographs depicting the devastating human, ecological and economical impact of the company’s long and reckless story of growth, and their cynical efforts to change their negative public image", Photographers' Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, W1, until 3 June. Info: [email protected]/ 7087 9300

* Retracing A Disappearing Landscape, interdisciplinary art exhibition and events relating to modern-day Libya, Najat Abeed, Mohammed Abumies, Huda Abuzeid, Mohamed Al Kharrubi, Takwa Barnosa, Mohamed Ben Khalifa, Najwa Benshatwan, Alla Budabbus, Malak Elghwel, Elham Ferjani, Yousef Fetis, Hadia Gana, Ghazi Gheblawi, Reem Gibriel, Jihan Kikhia, Marcella Mameli-Badi, Guy Martin, Arwa Massaoudi, Khaled Mattawa, Tawfik Naas, Laila Sharif, Najla Shawket Fitouri, Barbara Spadaro and Adam Styp-Rekowski, 21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton Street, NW1, until 15 May. Info: Exhibition

* Repetition is Truth - Via Dolorosa, Rachell Howard's abstraction based on the torture of Abu Ghraib prisoners, free, Newport Street Gallery, Newport Street, SE11, until 27 May. Info: 3141 9320

*  Age of Terror: Art Since 9/11, exhibition showcasing over 40 contemporary artists’ responses to war and conflict since the terrorist attacks, from artists including Ai Weiwei, Grayson Perry, Gerhard Richter, Jenny Holzer, Mona Hatoum, Alfredo Jaar, Coco Fusco and Jake & Dinos Chapman, £15/ £10.50/child £7.50/ National Art Pass £7.50, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1, until 28 May. Info: 7416 5000

+ Art in an age of terror

+ 1 May, Facebook Live discussion about the exhibition with Rebecca Newell and Deter Dalwood 

* John Akomfrah: Purple, immersive six-channel video installation addressing climate change, human communities and the wilderness, free, Barbican, Silk Street, until 7 June. Info: 7638 8891/ Purple

* No Turning Back: Seven Migration Moments that Changed Britain, art, photography and personal stories,  Migration Museum, 26 Lambeth High Street, SE1, until 9 September. Info: http://www.migrationmuseum.org 

+ Migration moments to remember

* Wildlife Photographer of the Year, £13.50/ £12.50/ £8/ £7, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7, until 28 May. Info: 7942 5000

* Theatre of the Natural World, US artist Mark Dion uses specimens – natural and manmade – from his travels through rainforests and rubbish dumps to reveal the wonder and fragility of life on earth, £12.95/£9.50, Whitechapel Gallery, 77-82 Whitechapel High Street, E1, until 13 May. Info: 7522 7888/ [email protected]

* Another Kind of Life: Photography on the Margins, 20 photographers on life on the margins, including the Delhi eunuch, the hyena men of Lagos and transexual Mexican sex-workers, £13.50/ £911/£9, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2, until 28 May. Info: 7638 8891/ [email protected] 

* Carlos Garaicoa, solo show on the city by the Cuban multi-disciplinary artist who works across painting, photography and architecture, Parasol Unit Gallery, 14 Wharf Road, N1, until 3 June. Info: Parasol

* Foreign Nationals, Aldo Brincat's photos of MaRock, a heavy metal subculture i Botswana and parts of southern Africa, Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: 7898 4915

* Adapt to Survive: Notes from the Future, seven artists imagine how our world might look and feel in the future, including Julian Charrière’s exploration minerals extracted for use in consumer goods; Rainer Ganahl’s film about a world in which China is the dominant political and economic power, most countries are communist and everyone speaks Chinese; and Youmna Chlala’s evocation of a city in a world of rising sea-levels, where seasons have ceased to exist and the remaining inhabitants have forged new ways to live; free, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1, until 11 June. Info: Hayward

* Rapid Response Collecting, tiny but fascinating exhibit of new acquisitions that ranges from a Ghanaian "power bank phone" to shoes that show Western designers' belated realisation that the pink colour 'nude' did not apply to all the world's population, free, Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road

+ Burkinis and bullets at the V&A

* London, Sugar & Slavery, permanent gallery at the Museum of Docklands, No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, E14. Info: [email protected]

* atmosphere: exploring climate science, free, Science Museum, South Kensington. Info: Museum

* Atlantic Worlds, transatlantic slave trade gallery, National Maritime Museum, Park Row, SE1. Info: 8858 4422/

from Wednesday 16 May 

* The Trap, Lizzie Sadin's photographs on the trafficking of women and girls from Nepal, free, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York's HQ, King's Road, SW3, until 15 June. Info: 7834 502582  

•

from Wednesday 30 May 

* Lee Bul: Crashing, painting, sculpture, performance and installation by the South Korean artrist, Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1, until 19 August. Info: www.southbankcentre.co.uk/ 3879 9555    

•

•

FILM

* The Deminer, the story of Major Fakhir, an Iraqi Kurd who, with just wire cutters and a knife, disarms the thousands of mines plaguing Mosul, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 6 May, Picturehouse Central

+ The life and death story of a one-man minesweeper

* The Wound, striking South African tale about love and rivalry during a traditional Xhosa circumcision camp, Barbican, ICA, and Clapham, Crouch End, Curzon, East Dulwich, Greenwich, Hackney, Ritzy, Stratford East Picturehouses and Picturehouse Central, until 3 May. 

+ Wounds too deep to heal

* Another News Story, turns the camera on the caravan of journalists following the refugee crisis, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 3 May.

Tuesday 1 May

* Land of Mine, millions of people continue to suffer from landmines planted 40 years ago + Q&A with Mikael Christian Rieks and James Cowan, 7pm, 13 Frontline Club, Norfolk Place, W2. Info: 7479 8960

Wednesday 2 May

* Sambizanga, on the eve of the Angolan independence war, a desperate wife hunts for her missing husband across villages and prisons to learn of his fate, 8.30pm, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1

Thursday 3 May

* Raise the Umbrellas, documentary about the Hong Kong protest movement, 7-9:30pm, free, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info; Umbrellas

* Time and Judgement, overview of the African Liberation Movement over 400 years, with a special focus on 20th century struggles, 7pm, £8.50, Bernie Grant Arts Centre

* Vibrations, traces the steps of Zahed Sultan, Kuwaiti multimedia artist and social entrepreneur, whose work in social causes and music are the inspiration for a recording project that takes him to Jamaica + discussion and short performance, 8-10pm, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1. Info: 7832 1310/ [email protected] 

+ The life and death story of a one-man minesweeper

from Thursday 3 May 

* Chinese Visual Festival, films include 3 May, Old Beast, an elderly man rides around his hometown lying, stealing and cheating his way into trouble; 6 May, Mrs Fang, powerful and provocative study of a dying woman; Alifu, the Prince/ss, a tale of love, equality and acceptance within the LGBTQ+ community in Taipei, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1 

•

Saturday 5 May

* The Revolutionary’s Guide to Cinema, afternoon of screenings, talks, debates, practical workshops and more, 11am, £11.50/£9.20/ £6, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1

* African Odysseys Presents New Wave, 12-1pm, cross-diaspora collaboration and introducing Shola Amoo, whose feature, A Moving Image, received international recognition, £5 per session, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1

* Hong Kong Fresh Wave, selection of the best new shorts + discussion, mid-day, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1

Monday 7 May

* Sambizanga, on the eve of the Angolan independence war, a desperate wife hunts for her missing husband across villages and prisons, 6.15pm, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1

•

• FILM

•

• Tuesday 8 May

• * The Migrumpies (Die Migrantigen), two unemployed friends pretend to be petty criminals and hard-nosed migrants ofr a TV documentary, creating a second identity for themselves made up of clichés and prejudices + director's Q&A, 7pm, Austrian Cultural Forum, 28 Rutland Gate, SW7

Wednesday 9 May 

* Blue Orchids, portrait of two people on different sides of the global arms trade, the doc reveals the duplicity and corruption that keep the industry of war alive + director Q&A, 6.30pm, £12.50/ £10, Curzon Bloomsbury  

Thursday 10 May 

* A Petal, the tragedy of South Korea's The Gwangju Massare, taken from the pages of Ch’oe Yun’s short story, There a Petal Falls, 7pm, Korean Cultural Centre, 1-3 The Strand, WC2.  

•

from Friday 11 May 

* The Poetess, religious extremism and patriarchal structures are confronted through reality television in this documentary  following Saudi poetess Hissa Hilal, a contestant in a televised poetry competition, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 13 May  

* Entebbe, drama based on the story of the hijack of an airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Paris in June 1976, which was forced to land in Uganda, Reel Borehamwood, until 24 May.  

•

Sunday 13 May 

* The Battle of Algiers, electric portrayal of the Algerian struggle for independence in the 1950s, made in the '60s and still terrific, 2.30pm, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1   

•

Tuesday 15 May 

* A Cambodian Spring, portrait of three people caught up in the chaotic and often violent development shaping modern-day Cambodia + Q&A with director Chris Kelly and Buddhist monk Venerable Sovath, featured in the film, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Clu, 13 Norfolk Place, W2. Info: 7479 8960; 6.20pm, Curzon Soho  

+ http://oneworld.org/2018/03/03/a-bitter-charge-this-generation-is-no-different-from-pol-pot/  A bitter charge: 'This generation is no different from Pol Pot' 

* The Deminer, Picturehouses Clapham, East Dulwich, Greenwich, Hackney, Picturehouse Central, Crouch End, Stratford and Brixton Ritzy  

+ http://oneworld.org/2018/04/22/the-life-and-death-story-of-a-one-man-minesweeper/  The life and death story of a one-man minesweeper  

•

from Thursday 17 May 

* A Cambodian Spring, portrait of three people caught up in the chaotic and often violent development that is shaping Cambodia. The film charts the growing wave of land-rights protests that led to the ‘Cambodian Spring’ and the tragic events that followed + Q&A with director Kelly and Buddhist monk Venerable Sovath, featured in the film, 6.20pm, Curzon Soho 

+ http://oneworld.org/2018/03/03/a-bitter-charge-this-generation-is-no-different-from-pol-pot/  A bitter charge: 'This generation is no different from Pol Pot'  

•

Wednesday 23 May 

* Memories of Underdevelopment, 1968 classic in which fiction, photography and documentary footage help tell Cuba’s story in the aftermath of the revolution + discussion, seniors’ free matinee 2pm, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1  

•

from Friday 25 May 

* Entebbe, drama based on the story of the hijack of an airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Paris in June 1976, which was forced to land in Uganda, JW3, until 25 May  

•

from Friday25 May

* The Breadwinner, animation drama in which 11-year-old Parvana’s father is taken by the Taliban and she cuts her hair and passes herself off as a boy in order to help the family survive, Rich Mix, until 1 June.

•

Sunday 27 May 

* The Battle of Algiers, electric portrayal of the Algerian struggle for independence in the 1950s; made in the '60s and still terrific, 5.35pm, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1

from Sunday 27 May

* Koudelka: Shooting Holy Land, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 29 May.

We are looking for families affected by Brexit to share their views, experiences and feelings. Migrant Voice and the University of Birmingham are organising a focus group on Wednesday April 25th in Birmingham on the impact of the EU referendum on EU families and their children.

If you would like to take part, please let me know asap if you can join us on Wednesday April 25, from 6-8.30pm at a venue centrally in Birmingham TBC.

This small focus group is part of our research into the impact of the EU referendum on EU families and their children. The project is a partnership project led by the University of Birmingham.

The focus group is for: 

• Parents, UK-based, born in the EU or in a relationship with someone from one of those countries
• Children over 16 Born and resident in the UK, where one of the parents is from an EU27 country
• We can also interview parents who were born outside the EU but hold an EU passport 
• We are particularly looking to make sure we also hear from those over 60 and from countries that joined the EU after 2004 (Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania)

We are trying to get as broad as possible a mix of individuals from all different EU countries and a mix of age, gender, income, etc.

Please circulate this to your colleagues and friends to help us find a wide range of participants.

Please get in touch with Anne at [email protected] or 0207 832 5824 for more information.

More info about the project:
This research project  is being undertaken by Migrant Voice in partnership with the University of Birmingham. The project is called: ‘EU families and ‘Eurochildren’ in Brexiting Britain’ (www.eurochildren.info) and is particularly interested in gaining the perspectives and experiences of EU families and their offspring in light of the vote to leave the European Union.  The study is led by Dr Nando Sigona ([email protected], University of Birmingham) and it is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as part of The UK in a Changing Europe initiative.

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Thursday 5 April
* Costa Rican Election Analysis, Victor Bulmer-Thomas, Giancarlo Morelli, 6-7.30pm, Canning House, 126 Wigmore Street, W1. Info: 7811 5600/ [email protected] / www.canninghouse.org

Monday 9 April
* Innovation for Social Change: A View from Africa, Gerald Abila, Alloysius Attah, Tonee Ndungu, 5.30pm, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1. Info: [email protected]

Monday 9-Tuesday 10 April
* Race, Mental Health and State Violence, Birkbeck, Clore Management Centre, Torrington Square, WC1. Info: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/law

Tuesday 10 April
* The Open Futures of the Middle East, Lord Green, 6-8pm, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1. Info: 7307 5454/ [email protected] / http://asiahouse.org / [email protected]

Wednesday 11 April
* Post-Brexit and the European Union’s Duty to Protect EU Citizens, Dora Kostakopoulou explores the advantages and disadvantages of possible citizenship templates and proposes an ‘EU protected citizen’ status for EU citizens, 1pm, City University, Northampton Square, EC1. Info: 7040 3410
* China: A Nation of Readers, Wang Ruoxu and Li Weichang discuss China's literary scene and how they are helping to develop young authors, 6.45-9pm, £5, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1. Info: 7307 5454/ [email protected]

Thursday 12 April
* Journey into sub-Saharan Africa HIV co-infections, TB and CMV, Matthew Bates, 12.45pm, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, WC1. Info: [email protected]
* Resurgent Indonesia – From Crisis to Confidence, book launch, 6-8pm, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1. Info: 7307 5454/ [email protected] / [email protected] / http://asiahouse.org /

Friday 13 April
* Monetising Human Rights, Veroniuca Fikfak, Somerset House, East Wing, The Strand, WC2. Info:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/monetising-human-rights-dr-veronika-fikfak-tickets-42567765332 Registration
* Asian Development Outlook 2018, report launch, 9am-noon, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1. Info: 7307 5454/ [email protected] / [email protected] / http://asiahouse.org /

Monday 16 April
* The Big Picture on Small States, 1-2pm, Chatham House, 10 Saint James's Square, SW1. Info: 7664 4860/ [email protected] / [email protected]
* The Freedom of Expression Awards Curtainraiser, Wendy Funes, Zaina Erhaim on the challenges for local journalists reporting from challenging environments, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, Norfolk Place, W2.
* Choke Point, Immanuel Ness on his new book about the precarious state of global capitalism that explores case studies, from South China dockworkers to dock and logistical workers in Chile, 6:30pm, £2, Bookmarks, 1 Bloomsbury Street, WC1. Info: 7637 1848
* The Fate of Women in Iraq, Haifa Zangana, 6.45pm, £3/£2, Friends of Le Monde, 70/77 Cowcross Street, EC1. Info: https://www.mondediplofriends.org.uk
* Re-engaging with the Commonwealth? Gambia, and Zimbabwe, Alieu Ceesay, Sue Onslow, Knox Chitiyo, Winston Mano, 6-8pm, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, Senate House, Malet Street, WC1. Info: [email protected] k/ 78628871

Tuesday 17 April
* Freedom of expression and the protection of journalists and human rights activists in Egypt,  representative of Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, Jodie Ginsberg, Jeremy Dear, 8.15-9.45am, free, Doughty Street Chambers, 54 Doughty Street, WC1. Info:https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2018/03/freedom-of-expression-and-the-protection-of-journalists-and-human-rights-activists-in-egypt/
* A Handful of Dust: a Photography Exhibition by Nish Nalbandian, the photographer talks to Diana Darke about documenting life and war in northern Syria, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, Norfolk Place, W2. Info: 7479 8940/ [email protected]/

Wednesday 18 April
* Being accountable to people affected by armed conflicts, Jacobo Quintanilla, Christina Bennett, Rachel Hastie, Anahi Ayala Iacucci, David Loquercio, 2-3.30pm, Overseas Development Institute, 203 Blackfriars Road, SE1. Info: 7922 0300/ [email protected]

Friday 20 April
* Independence, Partition and the South Asian diaspora, drop-in gallery talk, 1.15–2pm, free, British Museum. Info: http://www.britishmuseum.org/default.aspx / [email protected]

Saturday 21 April
* Israel and the Question of Apartheid, Christabel Gurney, Salma Karmi-Ayyoub, Ronnie Barkan, Ben Jama, 10am-3:30pm, £5/£1, Rivercourt Methodist Church, King Street, Hammersmith, W6. Info: 7700 6192/ [email protected]

Monday 23 April
* Delhi Waters from Mughal to British Rule, Matt Birkinshaw, 5.30-7pm, free, British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1. Info: (0)1937 546546/ [email protected]
* From Transitional To Transformative: justice for conflict-related violence against women, Christine Bell, Aisling Swaine, 6:30-8pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2. Info: 7405 7686

Tuesday 24 April
* Regional and Grassroots Justice in Africa: Hissène Habré and beyond, Celeste Hicks, Thierry Cruvellier and Gaëtan Mootoo on the trial of Habré, the role of grassroots activists, and the future of the fight against impunity in Africa, 7.15–8.45pm, followed by reception, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/regional-and-grassroots-justice-in-africa-hissene-habre-and-beyond-tickets-43695094203 Booking
* Human Rights in Egypt and Tunisia after the Arab Spring, Maha Azzam, Ian Pattel, Melek Saral, 6-8pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, EC1. Info: [email protected]
* The Struggle for the Arab World, Fawaz Gerges, 6.30pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2. Info: 7405 7686
* The Sustainable Development Goals: ambition or fantasy?, Linden Edgell, 7-8.15pm. The Clothworkers' Hall, Dunster Court, Mincing Lane, EC3. Info: 7591 3000

Wednesday 25 April
* Paraguay Elections Analysis, Gunther Baumgarten and Andrew Nickson, 6-7:30pm, £15/£7.50, Canning House, 126 Wigmore Street. W1. Info: 7811 5600/ [email protected] / www.canninghouse.org

Thursday 26 April
* The more things change? Labour protection and labour migration under trade agreements in a post-Brexit and Trump era, 12.30-1.30pm, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, 17 Russell Square, WC1. Info: [email protected] / 7862 5800
* How Sustainable is the Chinese Model?, panel discussion, 6-8.30pm, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: [email protected] / 7898 4823
* Lost Libraries, Abigail Reynolds looks at the sites of 15 libraries lost in conflict and natural catastrophe across two millennia, in China, Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Italy, 7.15-8.30pm, £8/£5, British Library, Euston Road, NW1. Info: (0)1937 546546/ [email protected]

Thursday 26-Friday 27 April
* Sight-Unseen Drama Conference, explore the plays of writers from Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, South Korea and the British East Asian community, £25/£15 for entire event, £15/8 for 1 day; £5 for reading of The Prodigal Daughter of Korea, Goldsmiths University, New Cross, SE14 (day one) and Tara Theatre, Earlsfield, W18 (day two). Info: https://www.tara-arts.com/whats-on/sight-unseen-drama-conference

Saturday 27-Monday 29 April
* M Fest, the UK’s first ever festival of Muslim literature, cultures and ideas, British Library, Euston Road. Info: http://mfest.org/ http://www.reemkelani.com/page_calendar.asp

Saturday 28 April
* An Evening with Raymond Ijabla – Atheist in Boko Haram Islamic Terrorist Zone, 6.30-9pm, £10, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1. Info: 7405 1818/ https://conwayhall.org.uk/organiser/london-black-atheists /
Monday 30 April
* North Korea: Dangerous, isolated & ready for war? The reality behind the caricature, Hazel Smith, 6.45pm, £3/£2, Friends of Le Monde, 70/77 Cowcross Street, EC1. Info: https://www.mondediplofriends.org.uk /

PERFORMANCE

* Black, Nikki doesn’t think that her Dad is a racist, he just cares deeply about his community: a play that.digs into the heart of racial tensions in the UK, Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, SW11, until 7 April. Info: 7223 2223

* The Great Wave, Japanese sIsters are caught in a storm: one is saved and their mother cannot believe the other isn't alive "and soon family tragedy takes on a global political dimension", National Theatre, Upper Ground, SE1, until 14 April. Info: 7452 3000/ nationaltheatre.org.uk 
+http://oneworld.org/2018/03/21/a-wave-of-the-dear-leaders-hand/  A wave of the Dear Leader's hand
+  https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/mar/14/north-korea-great-wave-francis-turnly 'I didn't fancy being stuck in North Korea'
+ 9 April, The Lovers and the Despot, screening, 5.30pm, Cottesloe room, £5/£3
+ 10 April, Inside the world's most secretive nation, 6-7pm, Cottesloe room, £7/£5. Info: nationaltheatre.org.uk/talks

* Sankara, the rise and fall of Thomas Sankara, President of Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987, £16/£13, The Cockpit, Gateforth Street, NW8, until 14 April. Info: 7258 2925,

* Buggy Baby, Jaden, Nur and Aya didn’t always live here. They needed to escape another country and they’ve ended up in a rotting room in London, The Yard Theatre, Unit 2A,  Queen's Yard, White Post Lane, E9, until 6 April. Info:  3111 0570

* Black Men Walking, three men walk through 500 years of Black British history, Royal Court, Sloane Square, SW1, until 7 April. Info: 7565 5000

from Tuesday 10 April
* Mark Thomas: Showtime from the Frontline, dodging cultural and literal bullets, Israeli incursions and religion, Thomas and his team set out to run a comedy club and put on two nights in the Palestinian city of Jenin - only to find that it is not so simple to celebrate freedom of speech in a place with so little freedom, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, E5, until 21 April. Info: stratfordeast.com / 8534 0310/ [email protected]
• + 12, 16 April, post-show talks, free with a ticket
•
• * A Brief History of Humankind, echoes from across six million years of human history, told from the perspective of a century in which every year is a revolutionary year, New Diorama Theatre, 15-16 Triton Street, Regent's Place, NW1, until 5 May. Info: 7383 9034
• * Gauhar Jaan - The Datia Incident, new play fusing music and dance, inspired by the story of Gauhar Jaan, India’s first recording artist, £15/£12, Omnibus Theatre, 1 Clapham Common Northside, SW4, until 29 April. Info: 7498 4699
• + exhibition in Omnibus Theatre café, free

* Palmyra, a reflection on Syria and the breakdown of relationships,£12.50,  Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, SW11, until 14 April. Info: 7223 2223 (and at at Shoreditch Town Hall  on 17-28 May)

from Wednesday 11 April
* Coconut, Rumi is a British Pakistani woman who spends more time enjoying wine and bacon than attending mosque - until she meets Simon, a white guy who decides to convert, £15/£10/£9, Ovalhouse, 52-54 Kennington Oval, SE11, until 28 April. Info: 7582 7680

Thursday 12 April
* European Poetry Festival, contemporary cutting edge poetry, 7pm, Austrian Cultural Forum, 28 Rutland Gate, SW7. Info: http://www.europeanpoetryfestival.com/austria

Friday 13 April
* Sticks and Stones, Welsh-Egyptian satirist Omar Hamdi takes aim at prejudice, racism, Islamophobia, and social and political misdeeds wherever he finds them, 7.30pm, £10-£12, Rich Mix. Info: http://www.artscanteen.com

Friday 13-Sunday 15 April
* Sarab: Palestinian Circus School was set up 12 years ago to bring circus to young people in Palestine. Their new show uses Chinese pole, juggling and acrobatics to reflect on their own history and the plight of refugees worldwide, Jacksons Lane, 269a Archway Road, N6, part of https://www.jacksonslane.org.uk/festivals/circusfest-2018 Circusfest 2018 . Info: 8341 4421

from Saturday 14 April
* The Encounter, Simon McBurney’s solo performance of the true story of National Geographic photographer Loren McIntyre who, lost in a remote area of Brazil in 1969, has a life-changing encounter, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, until 5 May. Info: 7638 8891/ www.barbican.org.uk

Sunday 15 April
* Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart, Chibundu Onuzo, Lucian Msamati, Olu Jacobs, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi celebrate the 60th anniversary Achebe's novel at a live reading event, 2pm, £20, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1. Info: 3879 9555/ [email protected]

from Monday 16 April
* Half Breed, Jazmin feels different. She doesn’t want to stay in the village. She’s got to get out, Soho Theatre, 2 Dean Street, W1, until 21 April. Info: Info: 7478 0100
from Tuesday 17 April
* Faceless, a suburban Chicago teenager lives her life on the internet. However, when she meets someone online who convinces her to convert from Christianity to Islam and leave home for Syria, she finds herself arrested for conspiring to commit acts of terrorism, Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, N4, until 12 May. Info: 7870 6876
+ free post-show talks with speakers including playwright Selina Fillinger, John Cameron of the NSPCC, barrister Tunde Okewale and journalist James Fergusson. Info: https://www.parktheatre.co.uk/whats-on/faceless

Wednesday 18 April
* Mountains: The Dreams of Lily Kwok, Helen has grown up in the UK, but visiting her mother's birthplace of Hong Kong for the first time she is determined to find out who she really is and where she belongs - and discovers shocking family secrets, from £13, Stratford Circus Arts Centre, Theatre Square, E15, until 21 April. Info: [email protected]/ 8279 1080/ www.stratford-circus.com

from Wednesday 18 April
*  Moormaid, Berlin art teacher Melissa is about to do something drastic: ex-pupil Mehdi is seeking a place to hide. A new play looks at our own alienated youth to probe the fears of contemporary Europe, Arcola, 24 Ashwin Street, E9, until 19 May. Info: 7503 1646/ www.arcolathetre.com 

Thursday 19 April
* Border Tales, a satirical and poignant exploration of the stereotypes about multicultural life in Britain, based on personal experiences, 7.30pm, £14/£10, The Albany, Douglas Way, SE8. Info: www.thealbany.org.uk / 8692 4446
Thursday 26-Friday 27 April
* Sight-Unseen Drama Conference, Southeast Asia and the British East Asian community, see Talks and discussions.

from Thursday 26 April
* Coat, Yomi Sode's play tackles immigration, identity and displacement in a humorous and moving response to the mistakes made by elders that leave the next generation uncertain of what is expected of them, 8pm, £12.50/£10, Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, SW11, until 28 April. Info: 7223 2223 

EXHIBITIONS

* The Adamah Papers,  exhibition that follows a British-Ghanaian family’s journey in which they rediscover their rich heritage and connection to royalty, and which gives insight into Ghana’s history, British occupation,  resistance to colonialism and many generations of family history, free, Black Archives, Windrush Square, Brixton, SW2. Info: https://blackculturalarchives.org /

* Agadir, Yto Barrada's installation includes a mural, a film, several sculptures, and live and recorded performances, to consider how a city and its people might address the process of reinvention following disaster, like the 1967 earthquake, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, until 20 May. Info: 0845 120 7511/ www.barbican.org.uk

* Made in North Korea: Everyday Graphics from the DPRK, collection accumulated by documentary-maker Nicholas Bonner, House of Illustration, 2 Granary Square, N1, until 13 May. Info: 3696 2020/ houseofillustration.org.uk

* Repetition is Truth - Via Dolorosa, Rachell Howard's abstraction based on the torture of Abu Ghraib prisoners, free, Newport Street Gallery, Newport Street, SE11, until 27 May. Info: 3141 9320

*  Age of Terror: Art Since 9/11, exhibition showcasing over 40 contemporary artists’ responses to war and conflict since the terrorist attacks, from artists including Ai Weiwei, Grayson Perry, Gerhard Richter, Jenny Holzer, Mona Hatoum, Alfredo Jaar, Coco Fusco and Jake & Dinos Chapman, £15/ £10.50/child £7.50/ National Art Pass £7.50, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1, until 28 May. Info: 7416 5000
+ http://oneworld.org/2017/11/02/art-in-an-age-of-terror/ Art in an age of terror

* No Turning Back: Seven Migration Moments that Changed Britain, art, photography and personal stories,until 29 April, Migration Museum, 26 Lambeth High Street, SE1. Info: http://www.migrationmuseum.org
+http://oneworld.org/2017/09/20/migration-moments-if-not-to-savour-at-least-to-think-about  Migration moments to remember

* Ayurvedic Man: Encounters With Indian Medicine, mapping encounters between medical practitioners, cultures, and continents - across India and beyond, Wellcome Foundation, 183 Euston Road, NW1, until 8 April. Info: 7611 2222/ [email protected]

* African Scribes: Manuscript Culture of Ethiopia, free, British Library, Euston Road, NW1, until 29 April. Info: 0843 208 1144

* Another Kind of Life: Photography on the Margins, 20  photographers on life on the margins, including the Delhi eunuch, the hyena men of Lagos and transexual Mexican sex-workers, £13.50, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2, until 28 May. Info: 7638 8891/ [email protected]

* Rapid Response Collecting, tiny but fascinating exhibit of new acquisitions that ranges from a Ghanaian "power bank phone" to shoes that show Western designers' belated realisation that the pink colour 'nude' did not apply to all the world's population, free, Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Road
+ http://oneworld.org/2017/01/08/burkinis-and-bullets-at-the-va/ Burkinis and bullets at the V&A

* London, Sugar & Slavery , permanent gallery at the Museum of Docklands, No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, E14. Info: [email protected]

* Atlantic Worlds, transatlantic slave trade gallery, National Maritime Museum, Park Row, SE1. Info: 8858 4422/ 

* A revolutionary legacy: Haiti and Toussaint Louverture, small display of objects associated with Louverture and Haiti from the 18th century to the present day, that looks at the ripples caused by the revolution that spread across the world, British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1

* Retracing A Disappearing Landscape, interdisciplinary art exhibition and events relating to modern-day Libya, Najat Abeed, Mohammed Abumies, Huda Abuzeid, Mohamed Al Kharrubi, Takwa Barnosa, Mohamed Ben Khalifa, Najwa Benshatwan, Alla Budabbus, Malak Elghwel, Elham Ferjani, Yousef Fetis, Hadia Gana, Ghazi Gheblawi, Reem Gibriel, Jihan Kikhia, Marcella Mameli-Badi, Guy Martin, Arwa Massaoudi, Khaled Mattawa, Tawfik Naas, Laila Sharif, Najla Shawket Fitouri, Barbara Spadaro and Adam Styp-Rekowski, 21 Gallery, 21-27 Chalton Street, NW1, until 15 May. Info:  http://www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/whatson/retracing-a-disappearing-landscape-interdisciplinary-art-exhibition/#ArJ605hUPQ9IPg2F.99 Exhibition

from Thursday 5 April
* Maqdala 1868, On 13 April 1868 the fortress of Emperor Tewodros II at Maqdala was besieged by British troops; 150 years later this display presents a selection of Ethiopian objects, Victoria and Albert Museum, until 30 June.

from Friday 13 April
* Carlos Garaicoa, solo show on the city by the Cuban multi-disciplinary artist who works across painting, photography and architecture, Parasol Unit Gallery, 14 Wharf Road, N1, until 3 June. Info: http://parasol-unit.org/whats-on/carlos-garaicoa /

from Friday 20 April
* Sony World Photography Awards, Somerset House, The Strand, until 6 May.

FILM

Wednesday 4 April
* Even When I Fall, the fascinating story behind Nepal’s first and only circus, started by Sheetal and Saraswoti and 11 other young trafficking survivors + Q&A with directors Kate McLarnon and Sky Neal and producer Elhum Shakerifar, 6.30pm, £15/£12, BFI, Southbank
* Another News Story, doc that films migrants fleeing Syria and Turkey but which simultaneously turns the camera on the journalists and the role they play in representing the crisis to the world + Q&A with director/producer Orban Wallace, producer Verity Wislocki, forced migration researcher Ahmad al-Rashid, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2. Info: [email protected] / 7479 8940

from Friday 6 April
* Devil's Freedom, the true horror of Mexico’s drug war through the masked first-hand testimonies of both victims and perpetrators, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 8 April.
* The Island and the Whales, as wildlife populations plummet and mercury levels rise, Faroe islanders must reconsider their tradition of eating whalemeat and seabirds, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 7 April.

Sunday 8 April
* Manila: In the Claws of Light, a young man from the country arrives in Manila in search of work and his missing girlfriend in this raw slice of life during the Ferdinand Marcos era, 3.20, BFI Southbank

from 8 April
* Bye Bye Germany, heartwarming and humorous look at what motivated thousands of Jewish survivors to stay put after the war, JW3, 341-351 Finchley Road, NW3, until 19 April. Info: https://www.jw3.org.uk/events

Monday 9 April
* Even When I Fall, the story of Saraswoti and Sheetal, who were child slaves in Indian circuses and when freed formed Nepal's first circus + talk with directors Sky Neal and Kate McLarnon and producer Elhum Shakerifar, 6.30pm, Barbican Cinema, Silk Street. Info: 7638 8891/ www.barbican.org.uk

Tuesday 10 April
* Through Our Eyes, UK premiere of director and Bosnian refugee Samir Mehanovic's documentary, which offers personal insight into the human catastrophe of the Syrian conflict + director Q&A, 6.30pm, £12.50/£10, Curzon Bloomsbury

from Wednesday 11 April
* East End Film Festival, until 19 April. Programme includes 12 Apr, Murlina the Murderer in Four Acts, "the best Indonesian feminist Western you'll see"; 13 Apr, Pili, 65 per cent of the cast are Tanzanian women taking part in a tale about a mother-of-two struggling to keep her HIV positive status secret as she tries to raise money for a market stall; 15 Apr, Tehran Taboo, animation about transgressive slice of life tale featuring prostitutes, mutes, drug addicts, musicians and mullahs that holds a mirror up to Iranian society; House Without Roof, four German Iraqi Kurds run into difficulties as they visit their homeland; 20 Apr, The Outsider, a shipping magnate with a multi-billion dollar empire is convinced he has been ripped off and is on a mission to bring those responsible to justice; 21 Apr, Sand And Blood, visceral and personal account of the recent history of Iraq and Syria; 22 Apr, One or The Other, visual essay probing the relationship between homeland and creation of a nation state that asks if the Western diaspora's long-distance nationalism has had more influence than responsibility over Israel and Palestine; Another News Story, refugees in Europe - and the media that follows them; Balekempa, subtle Indian family drama; Excavator, ex-paratrooper Kim sets out on his mechanical digger to find why officers sent them to suppress a demonstration in Gwangju; 26 Apr, Brasilia - Life After Design, individual stories amidst the architecture; 28 Apr, London Unplugged, 11 short female-led films by emerging London filmmakers made in conjunction with community groups such as the Migrant Resource Centre. Info: http://www.eastendfilmfestival.com /

Thursday 12 April
* Manila: In the Claws of Light, a young man from the country arrives in Manila in search of work and his missing girlfriend in this raw slice of life during the Ferdinand Marcos era, 8.40, BFI Southbank

Friday 13 April
* Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts, "the best Indonesian Western you'll see this year" + Q&A with director Mouly Surya, 8.25pm, BFI Southbank

Saturday 14, Tuesday 17 April
* Xala, Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène’s mischievous satire about a wealthy man who believes he’s cursed, 5.30pm, BFI Southbank Centre

from Wednesday 18 April
* Nevertheless, She Persisted: Suffrage, cinema and beyond, a season of features and documentaries looking at women’s efforts to gain equality, until 24 April, Barbican Centre, Silk Street. Programme incudes 19 Apr, Rakhshan Bani Etemad’s Our Times portraying the stories of Iranian women campaigning and standing for change in their country’s 2001 elections; 20 Apr, The Divine Order, housewife Nora joins with the women of a sleepy Swiss town to campaign for the vote in 1971; 21 Apr, Heiny Srour’s Leila and the Wolves, a feminist Arab story; 23 Apr, Enemies of Happiness, a portrait of Afghan activist and former politician Malalai Joya. Info: 7638 8891/ www.barbican.org.uk

from Sunday 20 April
* Frames of Representation: Landscape, films include 20 Apr, Black Mother, a film-poem to Jamaica, conjuring up the island in a polyphony of voices, textures and tales; 21 Apr,picaresque story of a man travelling to Cape Verde in search of his father; 24 Apr, Dragonfly Eyes, fictional narrative about a young woman who leaves a Buddhist monastery, which raises issues about surveillance; 27 Apr, Orione, insight into a society, Argentina, filled with contradictions, in which people have their own truths and mores and often live on the boundary of the law; 28 Apr, Cocote, Dominican Republic through a family feud; all films followed by Q&As; ICA, The Mall, SW1, until 28 April. Info: 7930 3647/ www.ica.org.uk

Saturday 21 April
* Africa Goes West: The Black Cowboy, panellists and clips illustrate an exploration of the African diaspora’s take on the classic genre, 4pm, £6.50, BFI Southbank

Monday 23 April
* Machines, with rare access to the guarded world of sweatshops, Rahul Jain brings us into one of the thousands of textile mills in heavily industrialised Sachin, India + Q&A, part of https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/residents/dartmouth-films?utm_source=Somerset+House&utm_campaign=8c02002788-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_03_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9504c32e89-8c02002788-15021617Unorthodox . 7pm, £10/£8, Somerset House, The Strand.
+ http://oneworld.org/2017/04/29/god-gave-us-hands-to-work-so-we-have-to-work / 'God gave us hands to work so we have to work'
* Manila: In the Claws of Light, a young man from the country arrives in Manila in search of work and his missing girlfriend in this raw slice of life during the Ferdinand Marcos era, 8.10pm, BFI Southbank

Wednesday 25 April
* The Wound, striking South African tale about love and rivalry during a traditional Xhosa circumcision camp, 8.40pm, BFI Southbank
+ http://oneworld.org/2017/10/13/wounds-too-deep-to-heal Wounds too deep to heal
from Friday 27 April
* The Deminer, documentary about Major Fakhir who, with just wire cutters and a knife, disarms thousands of mines in Mosul
* The Wound, striking South African tale about love and rivalry during a traditional Xhosa circumcision camp
+ http://oneworld.org/2017/10/13/wounds-too-deep-to-heal Wounds too deep to heal

I am writing to invite you to join me and other colleagues on Thursday March 22thfrom 11am – 2pm for a working lunch to learn more about the work we do at Migrant Voice and to discuss how we can work with you to get migrant and refugee communities’ issues covered in the media.
 
This is very important at a time where we’re facing increasing challenges as migrant and refugee communities: from the hostile environment to Brexit, while migrant voices are still unheard in 85-90% of stories covering migration.
 
This working lunch is an opportunity for us to share with you what Migrant Voice does, some of our learning from recent work with the media, and to explore with you what are the issues migrant and refugee communities in the West Midlands want to bring to the public attention and in the media.
 
Come along to find out what we can offer in terms of media training, contacts with journalists, etc., and to create a plan together to bring prominence to our communities’ issues so we can take a lead in the conversation about migration.
 
This invitation is only sent to a selected number of organisations and is open to up to two representatives per organisation. Some of you may already have been involved in our Birmingham network over the past eight years, but we feel it is time we meet again to explore how we can step up our efforts in order to face the current challenges.
 
The working lunch will take place on Thursday March 22th from 11am – 2pm, at Unison, 46 The Priory Queensway, Birmingham B4 7LR

On Tuesday March 20th from 12 noon – 3 pm Migrant Voice is organising a working lunch to learn more about the work we do at Migrant Voice and to discuss how we can work with you to get migrant and refugee communities’ issues covered in the media.
 
This is very important at a time where we’re facing increasing challenges as migrant and refugee communities: from the hostile environment to Brexit, while migrant voices are still unheard in 85-90% of stories covering migration.
 
This working lunch is an opportunity for us to share with you what Migrant Voice does, some of our learning from recent work with the media, and to explore with you what are the issues migrant and refugee communities in Scotland want to bring to the public attention and in the media.
 
Come along to find out what we can offer in terms of media training, contacts with journalists, etc., and to create a plan together to bring prominence to our communities’ issues so we can take a lead in the conversation about migration.
 
This invitation is only sent to a selected number of organisations and is open to up to two representatives per organisation. Some of you may already have been involved in our Glasgow network over the past eight years, but we feel it is time we meet again to explore how we can step up our efforts in order to face the current challenges.
 
The working lunch will take place on Tuesday March 20th from 12 noon – 3 pm, at The Poverty Alliance, 3rd Floor, 94 Hope Street, Glasgow, G2 6PH

This article is the first of an occasional series by Migrant Voice in which migrants and those interested in migration issues comment on TV and radio programmes about migrants.





The set-up is simple: What happens to four unemployed Brits when an immigrant millionaire becomes their boss?


It seems like a positive approach. For a change, it features a successful migrant - Marwan Koukash, a Palestinian who arrived in the UK in 1976 with £200 in his pocket and is now reportedly a multi-millionaire. He worked as a bouncer, waiter and market trader before getting a PhD in electrical engineering, loves Britain, has a 26-year marriage to a British woman, and is hard-working.


Secondly, the focus is less on him and more on the unpreparedness for work of the four Britons who are given a two-week try-out in his hotel and at his racing stable.


In addition, more than half the hotel staff are migrants, who are portrayed as determinedly and uncomplainingly willing to put in long-hours and to work to the highest standards.


All these points contrast with the British media's often negative image of migrants.


And, indeed, most tabloid coverage of the programme has concentrated on one of the four triallists, 18-year-old Georgia from Merseyside who repeatedly arrives late for work. Put to work cleaning rooms, she half-heartedly wipes a mirror with a lavatory brush and mocks the insistence on tucking in sheets in a particular way. She's the only one of the four who Marwan fires. Some viewers claimed the editing of the programme exaggerated her weaknesses.


It's as though, when faced with two of their favourite targets - migrants and the unemployed - the tabloids chose to lambaste the latter (which doesn't mean that on another day they won't pick on migrants).


Watching the four Brits agonisingly struggling to come to terms with the tasks presented by Marwan is entertaining, but raises the question of how they were selected. Did they get through a proper job interview, or were they handpicked for the programme in order to highlight various weaknesses and attitudes that contrasted vividly with those of Marwan? It looks like the latter, which is a reminder of the many ways that media can keep control of a story, magnify stereotypes and create and influence public images of issues such as migration.


Marwan has benefitted from a hatful of publicity for his hotel and his businesses in general and has been the subject of positive profiles in the Coventry Telegraph, Liverpool Echo and Daily Mail. The only criticism I've seen was that it was crude to invite the four low-paid workers to a meal in his palatial home to lecture them on his rags-to-riches story. He, of course, argues that he was trying to motivate them and underline his message that success is possible if you work frenetically hard.


Like many self-made men, Marwan is confident in his views, assumes success comes from his character and abilities, and that his wealth validates his prescriptions for others. It's easy to see how some bolshie young Brits might not react well. The four Brits selected for this programme have apparently never met anyone like him, and maybe the same goes for most viewers. So there's an element of broadening horizons here, and overall, though the programme set out to make a point and is shallow entertainment rather than solid information, it offers an hour of prime time television that puts a job-creating migrant in the lens.

This article is the first of an occasional series by Migrant Voice in which migrants and those interested in migration issues comment on TV and radio programmes about migrants.





The set-up is simple: What happens to four unemployed Brits when an immigrant millionaire becomes their boss?


It seems like a positive approach. For a change, it features a successful migrant - Marwan Koukash, a Palestinian who arrived in the UK in 1976 with £200 in his pocket and is now reportedly a multi-millionaire. He worked as a bouncer, waiter and market trader before getting a PhD in electrical engineering, loves Britain, has a 26-year marriage to a British woman, and is hard-working.


Secondly, the focus is less on him and more on the unpreparedness for work of the four Britons who are given a two-week try-out in his hotel and at his racing stable.


In addition, more than half the hotel staff are migrants, who are portrayed as determinedly and uncomplainingly willing to put in long-hours and to work to the highest standards.


All these points contrast with the British media's often negative image of migrants.


And, indeed, most tabloid coverage of the programme has concentrated on one of the four triallists, 18-year-old Georgia from Merseyside who repeatedly arrives late for work. Put to work cleaning rooms, she half-heartedly wipes a mirror with a lavatory brush and mocks the insistence on tucking in sheets in a particular way. She's the only one of the four who Marwan fires. Some viewers claimed the editing of the programme exaggerated her weaknesses.


It's as though, when faced with two of their favourite targets - migrants and the unemployed - the tabloids chose to lambaste the latter (which doesn't mean that on another day they won't pick on migrants).


Watching the four Brits agonisingly struggling to come to terms with the tasks presented by Marwan is entertaining, but raises the question of how they were selected. Did they get through a proper job interview, or were they handpicked for the programme in order to highlight various weaknesses and attitudes that contrasted vividly with those of Marwan? It looks like the latter, which is a reminder of the many ways that media can keep control of a story, magnify stereotypes and create and influence public images of issues such as migration.


Marwan has benefitted from a hatful of publicity for his hotel and his businesses in general and has been the subject of positive profiles in the Coventry Telegraph, Liverpool Echo and Daily Mail. The only criticism I've seen was that it was crude to invite the four low-paid workers to a meal in his palatial home to lecture them on his rags-to-riches story. He, of course, argues that he was trying to motivate them and underline his message that success is possible if you work frenetically hard.


Like many self-made men, Marwan is confident in his views, assumes success comes from his character and abilities, and that his wealth validates his prescriptions for others. It's easy to see how some bolshie young Brits might not react well. The four Brits selected for this programme have apparently never met anyone like him, and maybe the same goes for most viewers. So there's an element of broadening horizons here, and overall, though the programme set out to make a point and is shallow entertainment rather than solid information, it offers an hour of prime time television that puts a job-creating migrant in the lens.

We will run a special storytelling workshop with a performance of the show ‘Stand by Your Nan’, on February 13 2018.

The workshop will be run by Rachel Sambrooks and Sameena Zehra. Rachel is a spoken word performer, stand-up comic, poet and storyteller and Sameena is a comedian, storyteller, actor, writer and director.

The workshop will cover how to turn memories into stories. The focus of the workshop will be on telling stories that recognise the unforgettable and unsung women in our lives and keeping their stories alive, exploring where we came from, and how those women contributed to who we are today.

Attendance is free, but it is essential to book in advance as spaces are limited.

The New Year has seen us hold regular Media Lab sessions for Birmingham members at a local community junk food cafe, stories were discussed and members encouraged to go online challenging the negative narrative around migration.

Every Wednesday we over food and a cuppa we will use the time to discuss issues of concern, listen to and then go on the radio to comment. We will also go on Facebook/Twitter feeds to promote campaigns and challenge discrimination highlighting our issues from housing to immigration to integration.

Email [email protected] to find out more.

Photography project unites migrant and Scottish-born Glaswegians

A ground-breaking new project exploring social integration and community through the lens of a camera will launch in Scotland on January 29 2018. Changing Lenses will provide free professional workshops to migrants and citizens in which they will learn valuable skills while exploring their connections and identities.

The project is organised by Migrant Voice, who supports migrants to speak in the media and public life and is hosted by the Centre for Contemporary Art. It follows the All Party Parliamentary Group on Social Integration sounding the alarm on cohesion in August, pointing out that the hostile tone of debate and lack of support for community organisations is throwing up barriers to successful settlement and integration.

Changing Lenses was piloted in London over the autumn and funded by Big Lottery - Awards for All England. Previous Migrant Voice-led arts projects include, A Story in a Poem, where Glaswegians of all backgrounds produced an original poetry anthology together over several months.

Changing Lenses will be led Migrant Voice’s Glasgow Network Community Officer Amparo Fortuny, who is also a film director and producer with Photographer Karen Gordon. It will run from the end of January through to March, and close with an exhibition of participants’ work.

Please join us for a special radio training with David Friend, Assistant Editor BBC Radio London.
The training will take place on Wednesday December 13th At the Guardian, Kings Place, 90 York Way, N1 9GU.
 
This two hour training session with senior journalist David Friend will cover how to prepare clear, concise ways to tell our messages or our experiences in order to prepare for speaking on a radio programme.
 
This session is to help us prepare for a media activity which will take place in December for International Migrants Day. To celebrate this day we will be calling into the radio with a positive message.
 
This training is for people who will also be willing to call a radio station as part of our International Migrants Day media activities.
 
Spaces are limited and it is necessary to attend the whole session.

Migrant Voice held a network meeting on Wednesday November 29 at our London office to look at migrant experiences in the workplace. (e.g. exploitation, low pay, discrimination, recognition of right to work, etc.)

Guest speakers included Barbara Drozdowicz, Chief Executive Officer, East European Resource Centre, Nahir de la Silva, Policy & communications Coordinator on Employment Rights, Latin American Women’s Rights Service, Bridie France, Communications and Networks Officer, FLEX (Focus on Labour Exploitation) and author of the report ‘Lost in Transition: Brexit and Labour Exploitation'.

We launched our new campaign, to tackle rogue immigration solicitors and call on regulators for practical measures to make lawyers more accountable, on October 19th, in Birmingham. 

The event was attended by Shabana Mahmood MP, activists, lawyers and migrants from a range of backgrounds to discuss the issue of rogue migration solicitors and the impact they have had on people's lives. 

Following lengthy discussions, key campaign actions were determined to address the problems faced by many migrants that include, working with the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC), campaigning for the restoration of legal aid, campaigning for regional public bodies to take the issue seriously.

Our new project in London 'Changing Lenses - London stories of integration' is now well underway since its start on September 19, 2017.
 
The project will consist of 9 hands-on workshops where we will explore the possibilities of photography, writing and podcasts to tell stories of integration from our perspectives. The 9 sessions will:
 
·         Encourage creative expression through photography;
·         Develop practical introductory photography and writing skills;
·         Work on how to put words and images together to create a powerful message.
 
The workshops will explore the subject of integration from many angles including: what it means to us, what helps and hinders the process, the impact of negative debate and hate crime, and what creates a sense of belonging. The project culminates with an exhibit of the produced work open to the public. 
The project is funded by The Big Lottery Awards for All England

Migrant Voice and the Polish Expats Association held a joint event for Refugee Week on June 24th at Centrala in Birmingham. The vibrant event, which was also held in the spirit of ‘the Great Get Together’, a national series of events to promote unity and shared values in memory of the late Jo Cox MP, brought communities together on the last day of Ramadan. It was an evening of solidarity as refugees and settled migrants shared space to discuss their connected histories, but also how to help one another. Participants came from many countries including the UK, the Ivory Coast, Pakistan, Albania, and across the Middle East. 

The event began with a screening of ‘Children of Men’, Alfonso Cuaron’s dystopian film about a future Britain with extreme, repressive anti-migrant laws, then followed with a conversation and reflection on the themes of the film. Afterwards participants joined together in iftar, the Muslim evening fast-breaking meal that is traditionally shared as a community. This particular iftar was open to people from all backgrounds as an opportunity to unite across all communities and cultures to show that Birmingham is stronger together.

Community members were appreciative of the evening with one guest stating, “I never knew this world existed”. Another participant, Jonida Hasa, said “There I settled into my chair, completely unprepared for what was to come. I was left emotionally engulfed, as the movie depicted parts of my own history, as a previous asylum seeker. The whole room was in tears and moved by what we’d seen in Children of Men, as it revealed the reality of today’s refugee crisis. A crisis in which people are leaving behind everything to flee from death and destruction. When the movie ended, Agnes, an inspirational woman – was brave enough to speak out about her own difficulties as a refugee. The whole room was choked up; we all knew what needs to happen. Love and humanity should not have borders and legislation preventing those from peace. We need to do more to help our fellow humans in these times of crisis. I was so honoured to be part of this event in support of refugee week #refugeeswelcome.”

As part of the Great Get Together and in the spirit of sharing in the ‘Common Goal’; Migrant Voice will be holding a friendly migrant/refugee/asylum seekers football match in collaboration with Show Racism the Red Card on Sunday the 18th of June at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stratford, London between 11:00 – 4:00pm.
 
The sporting event aims to bring together a footballing community with migrants and refugees from all backgrounds to showcase the power of sport in bringing people together getting people talking.
 
The day’s activities will open with a brief reception before kick-off, where we would hear a few inspirational stories of integration/ communities coming together.

Subsequently, a series of 5-a-side matches will follow throughout the afternoon, guided by professional footballers and coaches from Show Racism the Red Card and West Ham Foundation.  
 
We are looking for migrants/refugees/ asylum seekers, who are eager to play a game of football and talk to the media, (TV, print and radio) about their journey to the UK or talk about work they are doing or have done in their communities, and talk about the role of football in integration.
 
The invitation is also open to anyone who wants to come and support and cheer everyone on for the day.
 
If any of your migrants/refugees/asylum seekers members would be interested in taking part and speaking to media please contact [email protected] or [email protected] as soon as possible. 

Migrant Voice and Migrants' Rights Network would like to invite you to an evening discussion on the General Election 2017 political party manifestos and immigration. The event will be on Thursday 1st of June May 2017 from 6.00-8.30 pm at Ernst & Young, 1 More London Place, London Bridge, SE1 2AF

It will be an evening of discussion with migration experts, migrant and refugee communities to digest the content of all the major parties’ pledges. As well as understanding the impact they will all have on the landscape for refugees, migrants and communities in Britain. We believe it is vital that people have accurate and considered information on how political decisions may affect one of the most critical issues of our times.

We would also like to ask you to disseminate this wider to your networks, and particularly encourage those from migrant and refugee communities to attend.

“Making our voices heard during the election time” 

Our next Media Lab session focuses on ‘Making our voices heard during the election time’ and takes place on May 17^th 2017.

Many commentators have said this election is about hard brexit vs a more progressive brexit, with immigration being the centre of this vote.

There is much misinformation about migration in the UK but with a little information from us we can build understanding and solidarity.

This will be a practical workshop where we will work in teams to get our message across on a number of platforms including the MPs and to the general public.

At the end of the session we will have sent out letters and posted our views online.

We will have a group of grass roots activists who have a wide experience of election/campaigning work to lead each group. 

Where: Centrala, Unit 4 Minerva Works, 158 Fazeley Street, B5 5RT

When: Wednesday 17th of May. Session 1 runs from 11am-2pm Session 2 runs from 5.30-8pm. Both sessions are identical.

To book: please write to [email protected] and indicate whether you would like to attend session 1 or 2.

Migrant Voice organised an 'election special' network meeting in Glasgow on May 9th, similar to the ones organised earlier in London and Birmingham to explore the challenges and opportunities for migrants in the current environment. This is also to ensure we develop key messages and have clear asks for politicians on the doorsteps following the call for a snap election.

It is important that we come together as migrants from different background and Britons to build support for the rights of all. We all have a say and a voice and we need to come up with and share our ideas for what a fairer immigration policies would look like based on our own experiences.

The meeting explored opportunities to engage in the democratic process making our voices heard and our views and demands clear with recommendations for fairer policies. The meeting is another opportunity to get more prepared to engage with and present our asks to candidates at the doorsteps.  

Participants also discussed the importance of fighting for the rights of EU nationals as we need to call for everybody’s rights, preserve people’s existing rights and aspire to lift the rights of others to the same level rather than reducing the rights of all in a race to the bottom.

The meeting  looked at the situation for the participating migrants, their fears, concerns, impact of certain policies on them, their hopes as well as what actions they are planning to take in order to defend their rights in the place they now call home.

Participants came up with specific calls/asks for Scottish and UK governments and a number of practical actions.

Our next Media Lab session in London will be on Tuesday May 2nd, 3.00 – 8.00 pm at Unite the Union, Ron Todd House, 33 - 37 Moreland St, London EC1V 8BB

With a snap general election coming it is more important than ever to make our voices heard, and ensure that whoever is in Downing Street on June 8th treats migrants’ issues with respect.

This Media Lab offers a special session on commenting online run by the Guardian’s Moderation Manager, a session on writing letters to the Editor, as well as a 3-part General Election-themed session.

General Election 2017 – how to make our voices heard (it is advised to take part in all 3 sessions. The timing of Session C is flexible)

3-4pm Session A) Discussion on the General Election and Immigration – what are we calling for? We will generate clear suggestions for policy which will be fed to all the main political parties for consideration. (Led by the MV team)

4-4.30pm Session B) How do we engage with parliamentary processes and make our voices heard during the election? (Led by the MV team)

4.30- 7pm Session C) How to write to your MP: This is a practical session where you will get one-one advice on how to write and send letters to your MPs raising your concerns or campaigning on rights issues. You can join this session at any time from 4.30-7pm. (Led by TBC)

5-7pm Commenting on online media:  Much of the media around migration takes place online. This is a practical session where you will learn how to write informed commentary and give them the right tone to challenge untruths, highlight good coverage and build solidarity.

(Mentor: Ed Hadfield is the moderation manager at the Guardian where he has worked as part of the communities team for almost 7 years. The session will run 5-7pm starting with a group introduction at 5 followed by one-one support.)

6-8pm Writing a letter to the editor:  This practical session will cover how to prepare a clear, concise letters to a newspaper that tells your story and/or campaigns on an issue close to you. There will be time to write and get feedback on your letter.

(Mentor: Journalist and Editor Daniel Nelson has worked on newspapers, magazines, news agencies and websites across the world and has trained journalists in a dozen countries, including at City University London. The session will run 6-8pm)

With a snap general election hitting us by surprise, many European nationals in Britain are concerned and confused. 

So far the rights of EU nationals have not been guaranteed, xenophobic rhetoric and intolerance is on the rise, and people face unanswered questions about their futures. 

With six weeks to go it’s vital to make our voices heard, and to ensure that whoever is in Downing Street on June 8th treats migrants’ issues seriously and with respect.

We are having a roundtable discussion involving a diverse group of Europeans, to discuss our thoughts, feelings and hopes for the future, and how we can work with each other and with different communities to campaign for fair, decent treatment. We will discuss what concrete things migrants and their supporters can call for from politicians over the next six weeks. 

We have invited a selection of journalists to attend and watch the discussion in order to understand the issues facing Europeans as the election approaches, and build closer links with the press.

We are organising a Media Lab session on Thursday April 20th 3.00 – 8.00 pm at the Terrence Higgins Trust, 314-320 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8DP.

With a snap general election announced yesterday and only six weeks to go it makes it all the more important to make our voices heard, and to ensure that whoever is in Downing Street on June 8th treats migrants’ issues seriously and with respect.

We are running the following sessions on the day:

• How to write to your MP – on the rights of EU migrants, or any other migration issue that affects you or on which you want your MP to take action (The session will run 6-8pm, mentor TBC)

• How to write an article for the Migrant Voice website: the article will be about an experience of your own or a real-life story of another migrant. Guidance on developing the story idea and how to write it.  Time to write will be built into the session. Mentor: Journalist and Editor Daniel Nelson has worked on newspapers, magazines, news agencies and websites in Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Nigeria, The Philippines, Uganda and UK, and has trained journalists in a dozen countries, including at City University in London. (The session will run 3-8pm within this time you can book a shorter session with Daniel, have time to write and come back for feedback)

• Commenting online on news stories and opinion columns:  Not a day goes by without a negative story about migrants and it is important to counter them with informed comment. Learn how to use memes, facts and humour and to give your comments the right tone. (4-7pm, Mentor TBC)

• Using photos/graphics to get your message across: learn how to make effective visual statements using free images and software in order to campaign and increase the impact of messages on social media. (3-5pm, Mentor TBC)

At this Media Lab session we will focus on making our views heard on the following topics:

• Brexit: Are you an EU migrant worried about the future? Are you doing something to fight for migrants’ rights?

• Refugee week: which will take place June 19-25. Are you a refugee or do you work with refugees? Do you have a story to tell that celebrates refugees’ lives in the UK? Are you calling for change to unfair policies that prevent refugees from finding safety?

• Integration, celebrating diversity: Are you doing something in your community that contributes to fighting hate crime or building better cohesion? Do you have an interesting story of integration?

Migrant Voice held a network meeting on March 30th focused on the situation for EU migrants. The meeting was hosted at the University of Westminster. 

The meeting heard the experiences of EU migrants, looked at the situation after the triggering of Article 50, offered practical advice regarding the permanent residency application process, looked at what actions can be taken to fight for EU migrants rights, and how we can build support for migrants rights more broadly.

Guest speaker: Barrister Colin Yeo, who specialises in immigration law and runs the blog freemovement.org.uk. Colin Yeo spoke about his guide for EU nationals on the permanent residency process, offered some practical advice and answered questions from the meeting.

Guest speaker: Samia Badani, from New Europeans, informed us of the work of New Euopeans and their latest activities and the work we can get involved in.

Guest speakers: Monique Hawkins and Gudrun Parasie from the3million updated us on their meeting with Michel Barnier (European Chief negotiator for Brexit), to advocate for the rights of EU migrants and the latest from the3million and how we can get involved.

We will also gathered evidence at the meeting to feed into the ongoing inquiry of the Committee on Exiting the EU.

Migrant Voice held a network meeting focused on the situation for EU migrants on March 29th from 6.00-8.30pm at Centrala, Polish Expats Association, Unit 4, Minerva Works, 158 Fazeley Street, Birmingham, B5 5RT
The meeting heard the experiences of EU migrants, looked at the current situation after the triggering of Article 50, offered practical advice regarding the permanent residency application process, looked at what actions could be taken to fight for EU migrants rights, and how we can build support for migrants rights more broadly. 

Guest speaker: Katie Fennell National Coordinator Kids in Need of Defense UK (KND). Katie will offer some practical advice on the permanent residency process and answer questions from the meeting.

Katie has been practicing immigration and asylum law for over 8 years working at Refugee and Migrant Justice and Coventry Law Centre, covering all areas of EU, asylum and UK immigration law and at Blakemore Solicitors. She is now the National Coordinator of Kids in Need of Defense UK, an innovative new project aimed at increasing capacity in the sector by training and supervising corporate lawyers so that they can provide end to end representation to migrant and UK born children in their immigration and citizenship matters.

Guest speaker: TBC from New Europeans will update us on the latest from their campaigns for the rights for EU nationals and let us know how we can get involved.

We will also gather evidence at the meeting to feed into the ongoing inquiry of the Committee on Exiting the EU.
All are welcome - this meeting is not only for EU nationals - we need to work together to fight for all our rights and make our voices heard.

The in depth training session involved 'Telling your Story'. How to use your voice effectively. The training was delivered by Jenny Mitchell, BBC change manager and executive coach and Marya Burgess, documentaries producer and series producer for The Listening Project at BBC Radio.

Jenny and Mary focused on how to tell your story in a powerful and impactful way and how to speak with confidence in an interview.

MV provided a special training session on January 26th with Delia Lloyd, Head of Policy and Research Insight and Theo Hannides, Humanitarian Media Trainer. Both Delia and Theo work at BBC Media Action, the BBC’s international development charity.

 
This all-day, in depth training session was a unique opportunity to learn from two senior BBC staff members about story-telling in order to create change. Delia and Theo focused on how to tell an engaging, focused story, the importance of knowing your audience and choosing the right media platforms and formats to engage your audience.

The training provided lots of practical exercises and a chance to work and develop it into a story.

The Launch of the podcasts and documentary from the ‘Story in a Poem’ project took place on 21st January at the Glasgow Caledonian University addressed by Scotland’s Makar Jackie Kay.

Jackie listened to the poems before she shared some of her own work. She commended the project for using poetry as a powerful tooling of telling stories and encouraged everyone to write more.

The poetry reading was followed by performances from Iran and Latin America by Maryhill Integration Network, food from the Middle East and ceilidh with the ‘Science Ceilidh Band’ as part of ‘Celtic Connections’ celebrations in the city.

Over 55 enjoyed the beautiful evening and connected over poetry, music and dance. Guests came from Scotland, Brazil, Italy, Africa, England, Iran, Syria, Poland, Lebanon, Bangladesh, etc.

To give the project more prominence and to put it in a wider context, we organised alongside it a conference in Scotland, where we engaged policy makers, academics, journalists, community activists, artists and migrants in a constructive dialogue around migration.  The event, ‘Migrants and Migration Post-Brexit; finding our voice to influence the new landscape’ saw the Scottish Minister for Europe and Communities, Dr Alasdair Allan, address the plenary and speak of Scotland as a welcoming place for those who want to make it their home.

Migrant Voice is delighted to invite you to our Glasgow conference ‘Migrants and Migration Post Brexit; finding our voice to influence the new landscape’ on January 23, 2017/

This event brings together migrant communities in Scotland with experts on migration, equality, activists, artists, academics, the media and others. The Minister for International Development and Europe- Dr Alasdair Allan will be our key speaker. 

This will be an action oriented event, with workshops with journalists which focus on how to get migration stories told; opportunities to experience mock up interviews in radio and tv studios; opportunities to understand the process of filming, reporting and challenging hate crime and xenophobia; opportunities to explore the challenges for migrants’ rights and influencing this new landscape.​

This is the first Migrant Voice Conference in Scotland - this event will go to the heart of these issues and explore ways forward and most importantly seek to build alliances and share understanding. 

Recent migrants, those from within long established communities with a migratory history in Scotland and those simply seek to engage and support are all welcome to this free event.

After the conference, there will be an early evening family focused schedule where we will the launch ‘A Story in a Poem’ project, there will be dance performances by Maryhill integration Network and a multicultural ceilidh and delicious food. The poetry launch and evening schedule will take place in the Students Association building.

Sign up for some of the day, come along to all of it - you will be made welcome!

Campaign for positive action against all forms of racism

A network of organisations concerned about the recent surge in hate crimes has launched the #StandTogether campaign.

On International Migrants Day (18 December), we launched a week of positive action, the #StandTogether campaign (12-18 December), to invite people across the nation to stand together against hate crime and send a message that our communities are welcoming and inclusive and our migrant and ethnic minority neighbours are welcome in our streets. 

We invited individuals and organisations who are concerned about the increase in xenophobia and all forms of racism, intolerance and discrimination including antisemitism and islamophobia to take positive action in their local community. 

We invite everyone to take action, which ever way they voted in the referendum. 

Many migrants and ethnic minorities are anxious about their safety and worried about their future. They are part of our community and should not be subjected to hate crime.

Our message

We are here today to #StandTogether with many people around the country against hate crime and all forms of discrimination and racism, and to stand in solidarity with migrants and ethnic minorities. 

These are some of the ways you can take part:

•    Simply take a photo with our message and share it on social media
•    Share our message of solidarity at an existing event or organise a new one to celebrate inclusive and welcoming communities and to stand up to hate crime and intolerance
•    Invite your local MP, Community Police, councillor and others to support your message of solidarity 
•    Let us know at https://www.facebook.com/StandTogethercampaign/ if you are planning to organise a #StandTogether event, and whether you are happy for the media to be informed 
•    Message us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/StandTogethercampaign/
•    Tweet at us name and send us photos from your event.

Use these hashtags: 
#StandTogether
#AgainstHateCrime
#StandUpAgainstHateCrime
#MigrantsWelcome
#NoToHateCrime

This campaign is initiated by Collaboration House, a hub for like-minded organisations – including interfaith and non-faith organisations - collaborating to strengthen their work to build bridges and understanding between different communities, for a more cohesive and just society. 

Collaboration House member organisations:
Migrant Voice; Faiths Forum for London; Women’s Interfaith Network; Christian Muslim Forum; Council of Christians and Jews; Faith Based Regeneration Network; Integrity UK; International Debate Education Association; London Borough Faiths Network; Islamic Society of Britain; Nisa-Nashim; Sadaqa Day; European Network on Religion & Belief UK

You are invited to join us for a training session on December 13^th with Yvonne Brissett BBC WM News & Current Affairs Journalist and award-winning writer.

This all-day in depth training session is a unique opportunity to learn from a BBC journalist what makes a story and how to get it across to your audience. Yvonne will be focusing on teaching us what makes an interesting story, how to put together a pitch, and we will have lots of practical exercises.

You will also have a chance to develop a clear concise idea on the day, and pitch it, for instance as a story idea or letter for International Migrants Day.

The spaces are limited, so please contact me asap if you are interested in taking part at [email protected]

When: December 13, 2016

Time: 11am-5pm (it is necessary to attend the full session)

Venue: Centrala, Unit 4 Minerva Works, 158 Fazeley Street, Birmingham B5 5RT. 

Our London autumn event ‘Migrants and Migration Post Brexit; finding our voice to influence the new landscape’ will take place place on Friday November 25th from 09.30am – 4.00pm hosted at Unite the Union, London & Eastern Region, North London District Office, Ron Todd House, 33-37 Moreland Street, Islington, London, EC1V 8BB

Following the surge in hate crimes against migrants after the EU referendum vote and the new developments and challenges facing the UK, this event will go to the heart of these issues and explore ways forward. It will bring together migrant communities with experts on migration, equality, academics, the media and other stakeholders to take action.

Join us for a lively panel discussion chaired by Ronke Phillips, Senior Correspondent, ITV London News with panellists Barbara Drozdowicz, Director, Eastern European Advice centre, Nicholas Hatton, Founding co-chair of the3million, Saira Grant, Chief Executive, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, Peter Kavanagh, London & Eastern regional secretary, Unite the Union and John Page, Head of Organising, Hope not Hate.

This will be a very action oriented event with a number of workshops focusing on reporting and challenging hate crime and xenophobia, building alliances, how we can work with journalists to get stories of migration and hate crime told, and the challenges for migrants’ rights and engagement in influencing the new landscape. Workshops will be led by Simon Israel, Channel 4 News, Stop Hate UK, The New Europeans, and John Page, Hope not Hate.

Media Lab masterclass -15 November 2016-London

We are delighted to invite you to a special Masterclass session of our Media Lab on November 15^th, 2016 at Migrant Voice, Collaboration House, 77-79 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4PW. 

Session 1 will take place from 3-5.30 pm and session 2 from 6-8.30 pm. The sessions are identical.

This session will offer training in how to prepare clear, concise ways to tell our messages or our experiences in order to speak on a radio programme or write letters to a newspaper.

The training, by journalist and editor, Daniel Nelson will last one hour and is followed by us writing our letters and preparing for how to be on the radio, with support in this from our mentors. 

This session is to help us prepare for a media activity which will take place in December for International Migrants Day. To celebrate this day we will be sending letters to newspapers in London as well as calling into the radio.

For this Media Lab session we are looking for participants who will also be willing to either write a letter to a newspaper or call a radio station as part of our December media activities. It is necessary to attend all of session 1 or 2.

Migrants and Migration Post Brexit; finding our voice to influence the new landscape

Migrant Voice Network West Midlands Autumn Event, hosted by The Institute for Research into Super diversity (IRiS) at the University of Birmingham will take place on October 24^th, 2016.

Programme:

09.30 - 10.00        Arrival and registration – tea and coffee - sign up for sessions

10.00 - 10.10    Opening remarks from Migrant Voice

10.10 – 10.30    Keynote speech, welcome to the University, Nando Sigona, Senior Lecturer and Deputy Director of IRiS, School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham 

10.30 – 12.00     Panel discussion – Migration: opportunities in the new landscape
This panellists will look at the situation around the surge in hate crimes; what are the challenges in terms of migrants’ rights and what are the opportunities for us; how can we respond as communities, build new alliances, create positivity;
 

Chair: 
Nazek Ramadan, Director of Migrant Voice

Panellists:

Joy Warmington, CEO of BRAP
Don Flynn, Director of Migrants Rights Network
Kenneth Rodney, CEO, Centre for Equality and Diversity
Sabir Zazai, Centre Director at Coventry Refugee and Migrant Centre

12.00 – 12.45    Networking Lunch

12.45 – 1.45    Workshops – developing the messages and agreeing actions (choose one) (3 running concurrently and repeated twice)
The workshops will explore how we address and respond to these issues, and come up with concrete actions and messages. Participants will chose between one of the workshops:

Workshop 1: Dealing with hate crime and xenophobia. (Facilitated by Ghiyas Somra, BRAP) 

Hate crimes have increased, but have previously gone unreported. How can we respond as communities? How do we gather the data and use it strategically to hold people to account. How do we help people report? How do we work with schools, the police, and other stakeholders?

Workshop 2: What are the challenges for migrants’ rights / what can we do about it to engage? (Facilitated by Don Flynn, Migrants Rights Network) 

What are the opportunities in the coming years for migrants to take part in shaping the post Brexit landscape; how do we build new alliances; what are the platforms and opportunities for migrants to push for their rights?

Workshop 3: Working with the Media – how do we make our voices heard? (TBC)
The interactive workshop will look at how best to get our stories and messages from the event into the media using different tools and media platforms.

1.45 – 2.45        Workshops – developing the messages and agreeing actions (the 3 workshops from above are repeated and run concurrently)

2.45 – 3.30        Feedback from the workshop, evaluation and closing remarks

3.30                  End of event – let the work begin

This is a follow up from our earlier emergency meeting to take actions forward and engage a wider group of stakeholders in combating post referendum hate crime. 

Wednesday July 20th from 4-6 pm at Migrant Voice, Collaboration House, 77-79 Charlotte Street, London W1T 4PW.

This is one of a series of meetings Migrant Voice is organising with migrant groups and organisations in London, Birmingham and Glasgow, to examine the implications for migrant communities of the surge in racial attacks and hate crimes against migrants, and to agree joint actions. We will also draw on the years of experience of migrant communities in reducing tensions to come up with actions to move forward.

We are extremely concerned about the sudden increase in hate crimes and racism targeted at European nationals in different parts of the UK, as well as against other minorities such as Muslims, and its impact on our communities and on social cohesion.

It is vital that we work together and engage a wider group of stakeholders in facing the challenges, especially since the debate about migration will inevitably intensify still further as politicians negotiate the new relationship with the EU in the coming months and years.

I hope you are able to join us. Please rsvp to anne[at]migrantvoice.org

Migrant Voice is organising a series of meetings, media labs and discussions for migrants to make their views heard on the upcoming UK referendum on the EU and how it would impact on our lives.

The Migrant Voices for Change network in Birmingham held a meeting and discussion on April 7th from 6-8.30pm at the Birmingham and Midland Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham B3 3BS.

Roger Casale, founder and executive director of New Europeans, shared with us the perspective of his organisation on the UK EU referendum debate and the impact and challenges for communities at this time.

 
This was followed by a discussion on the impact of the referendum debate, in particular the following topics.

• How do you feel about the way the debate is taking place at the moment?
• What may be the impact on EU migrants of staying in/out – and what are our concerns?
• EU migrants won’t be allowed to vote in the referendum – how do you feel about this, and how can we make our voices heard in other ways? 
• How do we use this debate as an opportunity to strengthen solidarity between EU migrants?
• Agreeing activities and action plans

A number of actions were agreed at the meeting. This meeting will be followed by Migrant Media Labs on April 20th and 27th from 3-8pm with opportunities to follow up on actions from the meeting and to produce videos, letters to the editor, blogs, etc.

FILM

from Thursday 1 February
 

* Makala, documentary that follows a Congolese charcoal seller as he takes the arduous journey to town to sell his product + Q&A with director  Emmanuel Gras, Zoe Marriage and Franc Kunda, £12.50/ £10, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 4 February.

+ A charcoal seller's Herculean pushbike journey

from Saturday 3 February

* Around India with a Movie Camera, archive footage tells the emotionally-resonant story of life across India pre-1947 + Q&A with director Sandhya Suri, £8.80-£25, BFI Southbank.

Info: 7928 3232

Tuesday 6 February
 

* In Another Life, a refugee from Syria finds himself trapped in the Calais Jungle faced by the corruption of ruthless people smugglers and discrimination, 7.30pm, Regent Street Cinema

Wednesday 7 February
 

* In Another Life, a refugee from Syria finds himself trapped in the Calais Jungle faced by the corruption of ruthless people smugglers and discrimination + Q&A with director Jason Wingard, 6.45pm, £16/ £13.50, Curzon Soho.

Thursday 8 February
 

* Habaneros, an eclectic history of the Cuban capital + Q&A with director Julien Temple, 6.30pm, 12.50/£10, Curzon Bloomsbury

Friday 9 February
 

* Stacey Dooley - Face to Face with ISIS, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2.
Info: 7479 8940 / [email protected]  

from Friday 9 February
 

* Winnie, portrait of Winnie Mandela exploring her role in the troubled history of South Africa, £9/£7/£5, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 11 February.

Saturday 10 February
 

* Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask + sumptuous exploration of the life of the renowned psychoanalyst + discussion with Kunle Olulode, 2pm, National Film Theatre, Southbank.

Info: 7928 3232

Monday 12 February
 

* Tawai: A Voice From The Forest, exploring the forests of Borneo + Q&A with Bruce Parry, 7.30pm, Regent Street Cinema

* Forgotten Faces of the Great War: The Chinese Labour Corps, screening of documentary + discussion around the little-known Chinese Labour Corp, 11am, free for over-60s, National Film Theatre.
Info: 7928 3232

* Song of the Phoenix, captivating drama about a young musician and his teacher fight to keep tradition alive + intro by Yixi Sun, 2pm, free for seniors, National Film Theatre.
Info: 7928 3232

Thursday 15 February
 

* TV Preview: Civilisations, BBC2’s modern take on the classic art-anthropology series Civilisation + Q&A with Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga, 6.15pm, National Film Theatre.
Info: 7928 3232

Saturday 24 February

* China’s Van Goghs, heart-warming and inspirational portrait of a Chinese peasant-turned-copyist painter, National Film Theatre.
Info: 7928 3232

PERFORMANCE

* So Many Reasons, a story about the unique influence our mothers have on how we understand the world, from the perspective of a first generation British Ghanaian woman, Camden Peoples Theatre, 58-60 Hampstead Road, NW1,until 16 February.
Info: 7419 4841

+ Clever and candid coming of age tale

* The Brothers Size, reinterpretation of West African myths, Young Vic, 66 The Cut, SE1, until 14 February.
Info: www.youngvic.org / 7922 2922

*There or Here, poignant comedy follows the journey of Robyn and Ajay who return to India – the country of Ajay’s birth – to outsource their pregnancy. But their increasing inability to be each other’s comfort drives them to seek solace from strangers on the other end of their phone lines in the unlikeliest of places - call centres, drive-throughs and even sex lines, Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, Finsbury Park, N4, until 17 February.
Info: 7870 6876/ [email protected]

* The Brothers Are Believers, explores the radicalisation of young Muslim men and the limits of legal freedom freedom of expression, Bush Theatre, until 10 February.
Info: 8743 5050/  www.bushtheatre.co.uk /

+ The brothers Are Believers bucks the trend

from Wednesday 14 February
 

* Angry, George Henley and Tyrone Huntley alternate in delivering a series of five gender-neutral monologues on a variety of subjects including refugees, £20/£16/£12, Southwark Playhouse, until 10 March.

Info: 7407 0234/ www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/

Friday 23 February
 

* Arabs Are Not Funny!, Sarah Agha, Mohamed Omar, Zahra Barri, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Marouen Mraihi, 9:30-11pm, £15, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, SW7.
Info: www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/

from Tuesday 27 February
 

* Returning to Haifa, English-language adaptation of the classic novella by Ghassan Kanafani, it's a story of two families – one Palestinian, one Israeli – forced by history into an intimacy they didn’t choose, £6/£14, Finborough Theatre, 118 Finborough Road, SW10, until 24 March.
Info: www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/  www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk/  

FILM

from Thursday 1 February

* Makala, documentary that follows a Congolese charcoal seller as he takes the arduous journey to town to sell his product + Q&A with director  Emmanuel Gras, Zoe Marriage and Franc Kunda, £12.50/ £10, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 4 February.

+ A charcoal seller's Herculean pushbike journey

from Saturday 3 February

* Around India with a Movie Camera, archive footage tells the emotionally-resonant story of life across India pre-1947 + Q&A with director Sandhya Suri, £8.80-£25, BFI Southbank.

Info: 7928 3232

Tuesday 6 February
 

* In Another Life, a refugee from Syria finds himself trapped in the Calais Jungle faced by the corruption of ruthless people smugglers and discrimination, 7.30pm, Regent Street Cinema

Wednesday 7 February
 

* In Another Life, a refugee from Syria finds himself trapped in the Calais Jungle faced by the corruption of ruthless people smugglers and discrimination + Q&A with director Jason Wingard, 6.45pm, £16/ £13.50, Curzon Soho.

Thursday 8 February
 

* Habaneros, an eclectic history of the Cuban capital + Q&A with director Julien Temple, 6.30pm, 12.50/£10, Curzon Bloomsbury

Friday 9 February
 

* Stacey Dooley - Face to Face with ISIS, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, W2.
Info: 7479 8940 / [email protected]  

from Friday 9 February
 

* Winnie, portrait of Winnie Mandela exploring her role in the troubled history of South Africa, £9/£7/£5, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 11 February.

Saturday 10 February
 

* Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Mask + sumptuous exploration of the life of the renowned psychoanalyst + discussion with Kunle Olulode, 2pm, National Film Theatre, Southbank.

Info: 7928 3232

Monday 12 February
 

* Tawai: A Voice From The Forest, exploring the forests of Borneo + Q&A with Bruce Parry, 7.30pm, Regent Street Cinema

* Forgotten Faces of the Great War: The Chinese Labour Corps, screening of documentary + discussion around the little-known Chinese Labour Corp, 11am, free for over-60s, National Film Theatre.
Info: 7928 3232

* Song of the Phoenix, captivating drama about a young musician and his teacher fight to keep tradition alive + intro by Yixi Sun, 2pm, free for seniors, National Film Theatre.
Info: 7928 3232

Thursday 15 February
 

* TV Preview: Civilisations, BBC2’s modern take on the classic art-anthropology series Civilisation + Q&A with Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga, 6.15pm, National Film Theatre.
Info: 7928 3232

Saturday 24 February

* China’s Van Goghs, heart-warming and inspirational portrait of a Chinese peasant-turned-copyist painter, National Film Theatre.
Info: 7928 3232

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice February events coming soon

Migrant Voice two

Migrant Voice two

Migrant Voice one

The Gap Between Us, first UK solo exhibition by the artist and film-maker, a US-based artist of Palestinian descent, for whom Palestine is a predominant theme, free, The Mosaic Rooms, Tower House, 226 Cromwell Road, SW5, until 31 March.

Info: 73709990 / mosaicrooms.org/event/exhibition-preview-gap-us/

Behind the Indian boom - Inequality and resistance at the heart of economic growth, looks at low caste and tribal communities, Atrium Gallery, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2, until 15 February. 
Info: 7405 7686 

The Chapel, Michael Armitage's large-scale paintings explore the ambiguous boundaries between religion, folklore and social consensus, particularly in relation to issues of mental health in East Africa, South London Gallery, 65-67 Peckham Road, SE5, until 23 February.

Migration is a fact of life, and brings a wealth of benefits to Britain. But public and media debate routinely leaves out migrant voices, and can be toxic, misleading, and damaging to community cohesion. We believe the best antidote to divisive rhetoric is real stories, told by real people. 
 
These can be stories like that of Irene, forced away from her British family by Home Office bureaucracy, or Dawoud, who found sanctuary here only to be sent back to a country that tortured him, or Sabrina, who like other Europeans in the UK, faces a question mark over her future. Or they can be positive stories about the contributions made by the migrants who keep our schools and hospitals running, or give up their time to help those in need. 

Migrant Voice is a migrant-led organisation established to develop the skills, capacity and confidence of members of migrant communities, including asylum seekers and refugees. We work to amplify migrant voices and secure representation in the media and public life.

Keep checking back for the latest Migrant Voice events coming soon 

Wishing you all a joyful Christmas and a prosperous 2018. 

To all our Migrant Voice friends and family,

May the closeness of friends, the comfort of home, and the unity of our nation, renew your spirits this festive season. 

Hope we see you all in the new year for new exciting Migrant Voice events. 

Dear colleagues,  

Please join our next network meeting on Wednesday, November 29th from 6-8.30 at Migrant Voice, Voluntary Action Islington, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP.   

This meeting will particularly be looking at migrant experiences in the workplace (e.g. exploitation, low pay, discrimination, recognition of right to work, etc)  

Guest speakers include:

  Barbara Drozdowicz, Chief Executive Officer, East European Resource Centre

  Nahir de la Silva, Policy & Communications Coordinator on Employment Rights, Latin American Women’s Rights Service  

Bridie France, Communications and Networks Officer, FLEX (Focus on Labour Exploitation) and author of the report ‘Lost in Transition: Brexit and Labour Exploitation'.

  Please join us to discuss this important issue and share your own experiences as a migrant in the workplace.  

Please circulate the invitation to others you know who may have struggled in their workplace and has a story to share.  

There will also be an opportunity at the meeting to raise other issues of concern, sharing information and networking.

  Please confirm your attendance to [email protected]

Date: November 22nd, 2017

Time: 5.30 pm arrival and entertainment for a 6.30pm start

Address: Migrant Voice, Voluntary Action Islington, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP

Agenda

Arrival and registration, refreshments

Entertainment

Welcome and minutes of last AGM 

Celebrating our major achievements of the year

Annual accounts prepared by the Independent Examiner

Elections

From 7 pm board meeting for MV trustees.

We hope that you will be able to join us and celebrate our achievements in the past year.

Please confirm your attendance on 07467 299 335 or at [email protected]

Dear colleagues,

Please join us for our next migrant Media Lab training on Thursday November 30th 10am till 2pm (venue TBC)

Speaking out has never been more important for migrants.

We have seen cuts in legal aid where people have to represent themselves in court. Negative coverage in the media continues, where the word “problem” is always attached to migration.

As an action from our last Network meeting in Birmingham - participants asked for training in how to speak out more confidently in public.

Come take part in our Media Lab workshop where we will be developing our skills and confidence in speaking out. 

Trainers include migrant campaigners/ activists who have experience in this field.

Covered in the training will includes developing ways to speak:

• in court
• with your solicitors 
• radio
• TV
• online

Training will include role play and speaking in front of others

Refreshments will be provided.   Please text or whats app Salman on 07758191798 to book a place or email [email protected]  

Date: November 22nd, 2017

Time: 5.30 pm arrival and entertainment for a 6.30pm start

Address: Migrant Voice, Voluntary Action Islington, 200A Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP

Agenda

1. Arrival and registration, refreshments
2. Entertainment
3. Welcome and minutes of last AGM 
4. Celebrating our major achievements of the year
5. Annual accounts prepared by the Independent Examiner
6. Elections

From 7pm board meeting for MV trustees.

We hope that you will be able to join us and celebrate our achievements in the past year.

Please confirm your attendance on 07467 299 335 or at [email protected]

Migrant Voice works towards empowering migrants to get their voices heard across different media platforms through many events, workshops, media labs and conferences. 

Stay tuned for upcoming Migrant Voice events. 

Common Goals – Friendly Football Match
 
As part of the Great Get Together and in the spirit of sharing in the ‘Common Goal’; Migrant Voice will be holding a friendly migrant/refugee/asylum seekers football match in collaboration with Show Racism the Red Card on Sunday the 18th of June at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stratford, London between 11:00 – 4:00pm.
 
The sporting event aims to bring together a footballing community with migrants and refugees from all backgrounds to showcase the power of sport in bringing people together getting people talking.
 
The day’s activities will open with a brief reception before kick-off, where we would hear a few inspirational stories of integration/ communities coming together.

Subsequently, a series of 5-a-side matches will follow throughout the afternoon, guided by professional footballers and coaches from Show Racism the Red Card and West Ham Foundation.  
 
We are looking for migrants/refugees/ asylum seekers, who are eager to play a game of football and talk to the media, (TV, print and radio) about their journey to the UK or talk about work they are doing or have done in their communities, and talk about the role of football in integration.
 
The invitation is also open to anyone who wants to come and support and cheer everyone on for the day.
 
If any of your migrants/refugees/asylum seekers members would be interested in taking part and speaking to media please contact mira[at]migrantvoice.org or Nathan[at]migrantvoice.org as soon as possible. 

As part of the Great Get Together and in the spirit of sharing in the ‘Common Goal’; Migrant Voice is inviting you to participate in friendly migrant/refugee/asylum seekers football match in collaboration with Show Racism the Red Card on Saturday the 17th of June at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stratford, London between 11:00 – 4:00pm. 

The sporting event aims to bring together a footballing community with migrants and refugees from all backgrounds. Showcasing the power of sport in bringing people together getting people talking.

The day’s activities will open with a brief reception before kick-off, where we would hear a few inspirational stories of integration/ communities coming together.

Subsequently, a series of 5-a-side matches will follow throughout the afternoon, guided by professional coaches from, Show Racism the Red Card and West Ham Foundation. 

The game is open to migrants/refugees/ asylum seekers, who are eager to play a game of football and talk to the media, (TV, print and radio) about their journey to the UK or talk about work they are doing or have done in their communities, and talk about the role of football in integration. 

The invitation is also open to anyone who wants to come and support and cheer everyone on for the day.

If you are interested in taking part and speaking to media please contact [email protected] or [email protected] by mid-day Thursday 8th June.

Migrant Voice  and Migrants' Rights Network would like to invite you to an evening discussion on the General Election 2017 political party manifestos and immigration. The event will be on 23 May 2017 from 6.30-8pm at Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London, NW1 2BJ.

It will be an evening of discussion with migration experts, migrant and refugee communities to digest the content of all the major parties’ pledges. As well as understanding the impact they will all have on the landscape for refugees, migrants and communities in Britain. We believe it is vital that people have accurate and considered information on how political decisions may affect one of the most critical issues of our times.

We would also like to ask you to disseminate this wider to your networks, and particularly encourage those from migrant and refugee communities to attend.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP through our Eventbrite link: http://immigrationmanifesto.eventbrite.co.uk?s=76228263

We look forward to seeing you next week.

All the best

Migrant Voice  and Migrants’ Rights Network

Migrant Voice works towards empowering migrants to get their voices heard across different media platforms through many events, workshops, media labs and conferences. 

Stay tuned for upcoming Migrant Voice events. 

FILMS

* Tickling Giants, in the midst of the Egyptian Arab Spring, heart surgeon Bassem Youssef decides to become a full-time comedian and his weekly programme quickly becomes the most viewed television program in the Middle East. His problems are just beginning, 6.30pm, £9/£7, Curzon Bloomsbury, until 6 April.
Review: oneworld.org/egyptian-comedy-straight-from-the-heart 

* Fear Eats the Soul, superb early Fassbinder feature about an elderly woman who walks into an immigrants bar in Germany and starts a relationship with a handsome young Moroccan, Brtish Film Institute, Belvedere Road, SE1, until 13 April.
Info: 7 928 3232 

Saturday 1 April

* Jean Rouch: West African Rituals + introduced by Travis Miles, 6.15pm, £8.80-£12.10, BFI, Belvedere Road, SE1.
Info. 7 928 3232

Sunday 2 April

* Sembene, fascinating documentary about “the father of African cinema”, 4pm, 7.30pm, £7.88, Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, Tottenham Green, N15.
Info: www.eventbrite.co.uk
Review: oneworld.org/moving-portrait-of-the-father-of-african-film

* Moi, un Noir (Me, a Black Man), ‘ethnofiction’ documenting a week in the lives of immigrants in an Ivorian slum, 3.50pm, £8.80-£12.10, BFI, Belvedere Road, SE1.
Info: 7 928 3232

* Black Girl, Ousmane Sembène’s film adopts an African perspective as a young Senegalese woman takes a job with a French family, 5.50pm, £8.80-£12.10, BFI, Belvedere Road, SE1.
Info: 7 928 3232

from Monday 3 April

* India on film: Bollywood 2.0, celebration of Indian filmmaking and films about India – from Bollywood to Tollywood (home of Telugu and Bengali cinema) – in cinemas and online. Programme includes previews of new films, independent cinema, restorations of classic titles, and opportunities to meet stars and filmmakers, BFI, Belvedere Road, SE1.
Info: whatson.bfi.org.uk/

* Neruda, biopic mixing fact and fiction, on the Chilean poet who was pursued by a detective for his communist leanings, 6.15pm, £12-£16.50, BFI, Belvedere Road, SE1.
Info: 7 928 3232
Review: oneworld.org/nerudas-escape-pits-poetry-against-authority

Tuesday 4 April

* Those Who Jump + a Malian refugee documents his experiences of attempting to scale the barriers separating Morocco and Spain + Q&A, 6.20, £3-£6, ICA, The Mall, SW1.
Info: www.ica.org.uk

Wednesday 5 April

* Neruda, biopic mixing fact and faction as the Chilean poet fleeing into exile is pursued by a detective for his communist leanings, 6.20pm, Curzon Soho
Review: oneworld.org/nerudas-escape-pits-poetry-against-authority 

* Those Who Jump, Malian refugee Abou is given a camera to film life in the makeshift camp on a sparse Moroccan hillside looking out at the tiny Spanish enclave of Melilla + Q&A with director Moritz Siebert, 6.30pm, £9/£7, Curzon Bloomsbury

Thursday 6 April

* Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu, the South African ANC freedom fighter’s life from ghetto street trader to political awakening and transformation into an activist, 6pm, £6.50, BFI, Southbank. Belvedere Road, SE1.
Info: 7 928 3232
 
from Friday 7 April

* Those Who Jump, Malian refugee Abou is given a camera to film life in the makeshift camp on a sparse Moroccan hillside looking out at the tiny Spanish enclave of Melilla, Curzon Bloomsbury

Monday 10 April 

* Letters From Baghdad, the story of British spy, explorer and political powerhouse Gertrude Bell who travelled in Arabia before being recruited by British military intelligence during WWI to help draw the borders of Iraq + Q&A with the directors, 7pm, £10/£6, Frontline Club, 12 Norfolk Place, W2.
Info: 7 479 8960

Thursday 20 April

* India in a Day, India as seen through its citizens’ eyes over a 24-hour period + Q&A with director Richie Mehta, editor Beverley Mills and producer Cassandra Sigsgaard, 6.10, £8.80-£12.10, BFI, Belvedere Road, SE1.
Info: 7 928 3232

Friday 21 April

* Letters From Baghdad, the story of British spy, explorer and political powerhouse Gertrude Bell who travelled in Arabia before being recruited by British military intelligence during WWI to help draw the borders of Iraq + discussion, 6.20pm, Curzon Bloomsbury

from Friday 21 April

* Nowhere to Hide, as US and Coalition troops retreated from Iraq in 2011, male nurse Nori Sharif was given a camera by director Zaradasht Ahmed who documents his country over six years as patients, colleagues and neighbours are forced to flee, Curzon B

Friday 21-Saturday 29 April

* Frames of Representation, documentary festival with 11 docs and eight supporting events. Programme includes 21 Apr, A Dialogue on Labour, a vast factory in Gujarat; 22 Apr, Mogadishu Soldier, two Somali soldiers record their lives on cameras’ who are given cameras; 23 Apr, Docile Bodies and The Future `Perfect from Argentina; 26 Apr, Eldorado XX1, a study of Peruvian miners who work without pay in return for the chance to explore the mine for four hours every 30 days; 27 Apr, Gulistan, Land of Roses, on female Kurdish guerrillas; 29 Apr, The Solitude, exploration of a demolition-threatened Venezuelan house and its inhabitants; ICA, The Mall, SW1.
Info: www.ica.org.uk
 
Thursday 27 April

* Letters From Baghdad, the story of British spy, explorer and political powerhouse Gertrude Bell who travelled in Arabia before being recruited by British military intelligence during WWI to help draw the borders of Iraq + discussion, 6.25pm, Curzon Soho
* Photo Farag, documentary that follows the Farag family who emigrated from Baghdad to Israel in the 1950s, built a hugely influential photography business but gradually disintegrated + Q&A with director Kobi Farag, 8.30pm, Phoenix Cinema

PERFORMANCES

from Tuesday 4 April

* Expensive Shit, an all-female Black cast star in Afrobeat-filled exploration of female empowerment, moving from modern day Glasgow to Fela Kuti’s Shrine club in 1980s Nigeria, Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, W1, until 22 April.
Info:  7 478 0100

Friday 7 April

* Arabs Are Not Funny!, Karim Duval, Nabil Abdulrashid, Ella Pigeon Al-Shamahi, 7.30-11pm, £15, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, SW7.
Info: www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events

from 7 April

* Guards at the Taj, it’s Agra, India, 1648 and two men keep watch as the final touches are put to the Taj Mahal behind them, having been warned that no-one will turn to look at the building until it is complete, Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush, W1, until 20 May.
Info: 7 743 5050 / www.bushtheatre.co.uk

Saturday 8 April

* Songs for Syria, the Al Firdaus Ensemble, fundraiser for Al Khair Foundation, 7.30-10.30pm, £21.83, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1.
Info: 7 405 1818

Sunday 9 April

* A Strange New Space, one woman show melds physical theatre with puppetry and original music which takes you on an imagined voyage into space paralleled with a real-life journey as a refugee, for ages 3-7, 11am & 2.30pm, £9/£7, Omnibus, 1 Clapham Common Northside, SW4.
Info: 7 498 4699/ enquiries[at]omnibus-clapham.org

from Friday 28 April

* Occupational Hazards, based on the memoir by Rory Stewart about the time when, as a 30-year-old former British diplomat, he is posted to serve as governor in a province of the newly liberated Iraq, Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, NW3, until 3 June.
Info: 7 722 9301/ boxoffice[at]hampsteadtheatre.com

EXHIBITIONS

* Incoming, using an advanced thermographic weapons and border imaging technology that can see beyond 30 kilometres, registering a heat signature of relative temperature difference, Richard Mosse’s artwork is about the refugee crisis unfolding in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Libya, in Syria, the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, and elsewhere, free, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2, until 23 April.
Info: 7 638 4141
Review: oneworld.org weapon-turned-into-a-witness-to-highlight-the-plight-of-migrants

* Refugees: German Contribution to 20th Century British Art, free, Ben Uri Gallery, 108A Boundary Road, NW8, until 4 June.
Info: www.benuri.org.uk
 
* Selected Works by Eva Frankfurther (1930–1959), ‘West Indian, Irish, Cypriot and Pakistani immigrants, English whom the Welfare State had passed by, these were the people amongst whom I lived and made some of my best friends”, free, Ben Uri Gallery, 108A Boundary Road, NW8, until 18 June.
Info: www.benuri.org.uk
 
* Making Jamaica: Photography from the 1890s, the history of how the images of modern Jamaica as a tourist destination – and tropical commodity – was created through photography, Autograph ABNP, Rivington Street, until 18 April.
nfo: 7 739 7855
Review: oneworld.org/jamaicas-19th-century-photographic-makeover

* Child's Play, Mark Neville's photographs about the right to play includes images from refugeecamps and war zones, The Foundling Museum, WC1, until 30 April
 
* Afghanistan: Reflections on Helmand, examines the British arrival in 2006 and the decisions that shaped the way the conflict escalated, exploring the impact on those who were there and the lessons learned, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1, until 26 November.
Info: 7 416 5000
 
* Edmund Clark: War of Terror, the artist-photographer's work on hidden aspects of state control during the "Global War on Terror", free, Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, SE1, until 28 August.
Info: 7 416 5000
 
* London, Sugar & Slavery, permanent gallery at the Museum of Docklands, No 1 Warehouse, West India Quay, E14.
Info: info[at]museumoflondon.org.uk
 
* Atlantic Worlds, transatlantic slave trade gallery, National Maritime Museum, Park Row, SE1.
Info: 8 858 4422/ 8 312 656

* Morgenland, Elger Esser's large format photos taken while travelling in Egypt, Israel and Lebanon, Parasol Unit, 14 Wharf Road, N1 until 21 May.
Info:  7 490 7373 / info[at]parasol-unit.org

* Double Take, Lebanese artist Akram Zaatari presents portraits from the studio of Hashem el Madani in which two people of the same sex kiss or embrace, exploring their specific cultural and political histories, free, National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, WC2, until 3 September.
Info: 7 306 0055

* Bright Young Tings, photographs by Michael Mayhew and a new artwork by Cherelle Sappleton, "a rare snapshot of the work developed by black theatre practitioners between 1979 and 1982", Lyttelton Lounge, National Theatre, until 15 April.
Info: nationaltheatre.org.uk

from Thursday 13 April
* Far from the Western Front, photo exhibition exploring some of the untold stories of the more than one million South Asian men who served during the First World War, Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, W1, until 13 April.
Info: 7 491 3567/ 7 493 2019

TALKS AND DISCUSSIONS

Saturday 1 April

* English PEN Modern Literature Festival 2017, writers perform new works created in solidarity with some of the people supported by PEN’s Writers at Risk Programme, 2pm, 4pm, 7.30pm, free, Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1.
Info: www.englishpen.org/event/english-pen-modern-literature-festival

Monday 3 April

* Mapping Colonialism: The Work of ‘De-Colonizer’ in Israel, 7.30pm, Duke Street Church, Duke Street, Richmond.
Info: 7 700 6192/ info[at]palestinecampaign.org

Wednesday 5 April

* Kleptoscope: Nigeria, London and the Dirty Cash Trail, Chibundu Onuzo, Eva Anderson, Matthew Page, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, Norfolk Place, W2.
Info: 7 479 8950

* Defeat is an Orphan; How Pakistan Lost the Great South Asian War, Myra MacDonald, 6pm, Kings Colllege, The Strand, WC2.
Info: edward.burrell[at]kcl.ac.uk

Thursday 6 April

* From Children of Europe to Lesbos: What have we learnt in 70 years?, David Kogan, 6pm, Palace House, 3 Cathedral Street, SE1. Info: www.irr.org.uk/events/from-children-of-europe-to-lesbos

* Unaccompanied Child refugees: 1939 and the present, Lord Dubbs, 6.30pm, St Mary-At-Hill, Lovat Lane, Eastcheap, EC3.
Info: www.migrantsrights.org.uk/events/

* Endangered languages – Why do they matter?, Mandana Seyfeddinipur, 6.45-8pm, £10/£8/£5, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1.
Info: 7 307 5454/ enquiries[at]asiahouse.co.uk

Monday 10 April

* State of Rebellion: Violence and Intervention in the Central African Republic, Louisa Lombard, 6pm, Kings Colllege, The Strand, WC2. Info: 7 836 5454

Tuesday 11 April

* Meeting Global Challenges, Jim Yong Kim, 6.30pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2.
Info: 7 955 6043/ events[at]lse.ac.uk

Wednesday 19 April

* Asia in Realignment: The Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, Paul French, John Everard, Celia Hatton, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, 12 Norfolk Place, W2. 

Thursday 20 April

* Sin Cities: Away in Mumbai & Kolkata, Sangeeta Bandyopadhyay, 6.45-8pm, £10/£8/£5, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1. Info: 7 307 5454/ enquiries[at]asiahouse.co.uk

Friday 21 April 

* 2017 Legacies of Biafra Conference, explores the on-going impact of the war locally and globally, iots influence on international perceptions and on the political and social structures within Nigeria, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC1. Info: le7[at]soas.ac.uk/  cas[at]soas.ac.uk
Reservations www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/legacies-of-biafra-reflections-on-the-nigeria-biafra-war- 

Monday 24 April

* Cuba At the Crossroads: What Does the Future Hold?, Stephen Wilkinson, 6.45pm, £3/£2, Friends of Le Monde, The Gallery, 77 Cowcross Street, near Farrington Underground.
Info:www.mondediplofriends.org.uk

* Aleppo Like You’ve Never Known It, Philip Mansel, 12.30-1.30, £8/£6/£4, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1.
Info: 7 307 5454/ enquiries[at]asiahouse.co.uk

* The Kingdom of Women, Choo Waihong, 6.45-8pm, £10-/£8/£5, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1.
Info: 7 307 5454/ enquiries[at]asiahouse.co.uk

Tuesday 25 April

* The War is in the Mountains: Judith Matloff in Conversation, Judith Matloff and Nawal al-Maghafi discuss the links between geography and conflict, and reflect on the writer’s discoveries from the world’s most remote regions, 7pm, £12.50/£10, Frontline Club, 12 Norfolk Place, W2.
 
*  Sharing Sovereignty: peacebuilding and the UN’s joint efforts in Timor-Leste and Cambodia, John Ciorciari, 6.30pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2.
Info: 7 955 6043/ events[at]lse.ac.uk

* Trump and China in the Asian century, Arne Westad, 6.30pm, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, WC2.
Info: 7 955 6043/ events[at]lse.ac.uk

Wednesday 26 April

* How To Be An Active Citizen, Roman Krznaric, 1pm, RSA, 6 John Adam Street, WC2.
Info: 7 451 6868/ rsa.events[at]rsa.org.uk
Supporting Refugee Children in Education

* Growing up in a Changing China, Xiaolu Guo, 6.45- 8pm, £10/£8/£5, Asia House, 63 New Cavendish Street, W1.
Info: 7 307 5454/ enquiries[at]asiahouse.co.uk

Thursday 27 April

* East West Street: Philippe Sands in conversation with Daniel Finkelstein, 6:30p-8pm, £5, The Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust & Genocide, 29 Russell Square, WC1.
Info: 7 636 7247

Friday 28 April

* Peace-building in Guinea-Bissau, 2pm, Historical Pluralisms and the Prospects for Peace, Jose Lingna Nafafe,  Nayanka Perdigao, Ibrahima Galissa; 3.45, Musical Pluralisms and the Prospects for Peace, Manecas Costa, Tony Dudu, 5.30pm, screening, Identities in Greater Senegambia and Beyond: Perspectives Through History and Music in Dialogue’ + discussion with Lucy Duran and Toby Green; 7.30pm, concert with Manecas Costa, Tony Dudu, Ibrahima Galissa, free, King's College, Strand Campus, WC2.
Info: peacebuildingguineabissau.eventbrite.co.uk 

* Migrahts Organise AGM, 6pm, Hamilton House Conference Centre, Mabeldon Place, WC1.
Info: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/migrants-organise

29 Saturday-Sunday 30 April

* The Camel Conference – Camel cultures: historical traditions; Present threats, and future prospects, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, WC1.
Info: ed.emery[at]soas.ac.uk

Join us for Migrant Voice's network meeting focused on the situation for EU migrants. The meeting will take place on March 29th from 6.00-8.30pm at Centrala, Polish Expats Association, Unit 4, Minerva Works, 158 Fazeley Street, Birmingham, B5 5RT

The meeting will hear the experiences of EU migrants, look at the situation after the triggering of Article 50, offer practical advice regarding the permanent residency application process, look at what actions can be taken to fight for EU migrants rights, and how we can build support for migrants rights more broadly.

Guest speaker: Katie Fennell National Coordinator Kids in Need of Defense UK (KND). Katie will offer some practical advice on the permanent residency process and answer questions from the meeting.

Katie has been practicing immigration and asylum law for over 8 years working at Refugee and Migrant Justice and Coventry Law Centre, covering all areas of EU, asylum and UK immigration law and at Blakemore Solicitors. She is now the National Coordinator of Kids in Need of Defense UK, an innovative new project aimed at increasing capacity in the sector by training and supervising corporate lawyers so that they can provide end to end representation to migrant and UK born children in their immigration and citizenship matters. 

Guest speaker: TBC from New Europeans will update us on the latest from their campaigns for the rights for EU nationals and let us know how we can get involved.

We will also gather evidence at the meeting to feed into the ongoing inquiry of the Committee on Exiting the EU.
All are welcome - this meeting is not only for EU nationals - we need to work together to fight for all our rights and make our voices heard.

To reserve a place, please email salman[at]migrantvoice.org