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Respecting the Craft: The Importance of Avoiding Cultural Appropriation in Ceramic Art

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Respecting the Craft: The Importance of Avoiding Cultural Appropriation in Ceramic Art

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In the world of ceramic art, where the hands of artists mold clay into intricate forms, there exists a delicate balance between inspiration and imitation. As a ceramic artist myself, I believe it is crucial to acknowledge and address the importance of not culturally appropriating or stealing the work of other artists. The world of art is a vast and diverse landscape, rich with influences from various cultures, and it is our responsibility as artists to navigate this terrain with respect, sensitivity, and originality.

Ceramic art has a long and storied history, dating back thousands of years across different cultures and civilizations. It has been a medium through which people have expressed their creativity, beliefs, and traditions. From the exquisite porcelain of ancient China to the intricate pottery of Indigenous tribes, each tradition and culture has contributed unique techniques, styles, and stories to the ceramic art world. It is these cultural contributions that make ceramic art so rich and fascinating.

However, the line between appreciating and appropriating these traditions can be thin, and it's essential for artists to tread carefully. Cultural appropriation occurs when elements of one culture are borrowed or copied by members of another culture, often without proper understanding or respect for the source culture. This can lead to the erasure of the original culture's significance and a commodification of its symbols and practices.

In the realm of ceramic art, cultural appropriation can manifest in various ways. Artists may be tempted to replicate traditional designs, names, words, language, symbols, or techniques from cultures they are not part of, without understanding the deeper cultural significance behind these elements, and the repercussions of using these in their practice. While it's natural to be inspired by different cultures and artistic traditions, it is crucial to do so with sensitivity and respect.

One of the primary reasons we must avoid cultural appropriation is to preserve the authenticity and integrity of ceramic art. Artistic traditions are a reflection of a culture's history, values, and identity. When we appropriate these traditions without proper knowledge and respect, we risk diluting their meaning and significance. This can lead to a loss of cultural heritage and a shallow understanding of the art form itself.

As ceramic artists, we have a responsibility to educate ourselves about the cultural contexts of the art we create. While incorporating elements from another culture into our work should be completely avoided, if we decide to include our inspiration of other cultures in our practise, we should take the time to learn about the history, symbolism, and significance of those elements. This not only enriches our artistic practice but also ensures that we treat these cultural contributions with the respect they deserve.

Moreover, cultural appropriation can have real-world consequences for the communities from which these traditions originate. It can perpetuate harmful stereotypes, commodify sacred symbols, and lead to the commercialization of cultural practices. In the case of ceramic art, it may result in mass-produced imitations of traditional pottery, undermining the livelihoods of indigenous or traditional artisans who rely on their craft to sustain their communities.
Understanding Cultural Appropriation
1. Educate Yourself: Avoid incorporating elements from another culture into your ceramic art. Take the time to learn about the history, symbolism, and significance of the things that inspire you. Ask questions! Why do I like this? What about this inspires me? What themes are present here that I feel are in line with my personal life and motivations?

2. Seek Permission and Collaboration: It's best to avoid incorporating elements completely, but if you have ideas for a special project consider it heavily before moving forward. What is the weight you will bear for reaching out? What might you trigger for others if you move forward? If you are inspired by a particular cultural tradition or technique, consider reaching out to artists or artisans from that culture for collaboration. Use your practice to make their voices heard: amplify their voice. Pay them for their time.

3. Offer Proper Attribution: If you do work in collaboration, make it clear where your inspiration comes from. Give credit to the artist and source culture and acknowledge the traditions that you are amplifying. C onsider giving them all proceeds if items created are sold.

4. Seek Inspiration Rather Than Duplication: Do not use cultural elements purely for aesthetics or as a trend. Instead, strive to integrate themes meaningfully into your work, respecting their cultural context and significance. Use these influences as a starting point for creating something new and unique. Themes are sometimes similar throughout many different cultures and religions, if this is the case it is generally more acceptable to incorporate this into your work. Identify the concept that inspires you, and develop your own story. Tread carefully, and be authentic and honest. E nsure that your ceramic art reflects your unique experiences, perspectives, and creative voice.

5. Avoid Stereotypes and Caricatures: Be mindful not to perpetuate stereotypes or caricatures of other cultures in your ceramic art. Stereotyping reduces complex and diverse cultures to simplistic and often offensive representations.

In conclusion, the importance of not culturally appropriating or stealing the work of other artists cannot be overstated in the world of ceramic art. We must approach our craft with sensitivity, respect, and a deep understanding of the cultural contexts that influence our work. By doing so, we can preserve the authenticity and integrity of ceramic art, support the communities that contribute to its richness, and foster a culture of creativity and originality within our artistic community. As ceramic artists, we have the power to shape the future of our craft, and with that power comes the responsibility to do so with integrity and empathy.

Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
Understanding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its impact from an Indigenous perspective is crucial. The TRC aimed to shed light on the dark history of residential schools in Canada, where Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families and cultures, tortured and murdered. Here are some resources:

1. National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR):The NCTR is a resource for survivors, families, and communities dealing with the legacy of residential schools. It offers extensive information about the TRC and its findings.

2. Legacy of Hope Foundation:This organization provides educational resources and initiatives aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of the history and legacy of residential schools.

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Respecting the Craft: The Importance of Avoiding Cultural Appropriation in Ceramic Art

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In the world of ceramic art, where the hands of artists mold clay into intricate forms, there exists a delicate balance between inspiration and imitation. As a ceramic artist myself, I believe it is crucial to acknowledge and address the importance of not culturally appropriating or stealing the work of other artists.

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Design activism: what good can graphic design do?

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Design activism: what good can graphic design do?

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Design Activism Projects | Photos, videos, logos, illustrations and branding on Behance

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Behance is the world's largest creative network for showcasing and discovering creative work

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This was interesting when you read the text!

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This was interesting when you read the text!

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Free, Not Free is a photography project that foregrounds queer refugees

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Jack Owen's work showcases a technical skill that mirrors the care embedded in his work

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Humanising Refugees Instead of Clubbing them into a General Mass- Photo exhibition

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Humanising Refugees Instead of Clubbing them into a General Mass- Photo exhibition

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While Europe has historically been a common destination for refugees, the year 2015 saw a sharp surge in the arrival of migrants on European shores, a large proportion of them fleeing escalating conflicts in Syria and across the Middle East. During this time, the media played an instrumental role in shaping attitudes towards migration. Rarely did the coverage focus on the wider context of the refugees' plight or represent them as individuals; instead, they were framed as a threat. Deeply unhappy with the way the refugee crisis was represented in the news, Italian documentary photographer Giovanna del Sarto felt compelled to do something. For her, being a photographer was simply not enough.

During a volunteer trip to Preševo, Serbia in 2015, she began working on her project A Polaroid for a Refugee. With her Polaroid Land camera, she captures portraits of the refugees she encounters. After the interaction, she keeps one for herself and gives the other to her subjects as a gift to carry on their journey-something to look back at in later years.

When she first arrived in Serbia in 2015, del Sarto recalls making a very clear choice. "There are so many skilled photojournalists out there taking amazing pictures with digital," she says, "and for me, I felt that there was nothing I could add. The moment I decided to use my Polaroid camera, though, everything changed. It feels completely different than digital photography-you slow down time. You have to take a minute to ask your subject for permission, then you take the picture, and then immediately you have something to give back to them. So that became the project-it was born out of a desire to give something back."

Del Sarto explains that this process of giving happened naturally. By offering the individuals something tangible that they could take away, they engaged more deeply with the work. But the project does not end there. To encourage a continuation of her relationship with her subjects, del Sarto asks each individual to let her know once they have reached a safe place. "This is a message of hope," she explains, "which, sadly, for some, may never be fulfilled."

Nevertheless, there is something in del Sarto's engagement that seems to rub off on us, the viewers. The "family portrait" style of the images-as well as her long-running follow-up with each of these photographic subjects-invites us to see a more personal and human side to the story. We view the people in the photographs not as anonymous swarms typically shown in the media, but as individuals-reminding us that under different circumstances, the people in the images could be you or me. In approaching the situation from this unique viewpoint, del Sarto offers a refreshing perspective on the largest refugee crisis since World War ll.

"While the main ambition is to raise awareness of the situation," says del Sarto, "I'd also like to be able to reach communities. Eventually I'd like to explore side stories, and ideally I'd like to speak again with the people who have reached out to me since I photographed them. So far, around 4-5 people have contacted me to say they've reached a safe destination; I'm still waiting (hoping) to hear from the others."

-Eva Clifford

If you're interested in seeing more work on this and similar topics, we'd recommend the following previous features: Let Me Tell You, Sara Furlanetto's project that recounts the personal stories of refugees through notes written directly on the photographs; Lost Family Portraits, a series that gives center stage to Syrian refugees in Lebanon who have come forward to share their stories; and Lingering Ghosts, striking portraits by Sam Ivin that chronicle the excruciatingly long wait for asylum in Britain.

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A Polaroid for a Refugee - Photographs and text by Giovanna del Sarto | LensCulture

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When is documenting a crisis not enough? Stymied by the volume of digital images produced by photojournalists, this photographer returned to the material medium in order to literally give something back to her subjects

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This is what we NEED to move AWAY from!!

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This is what we NEED to move AWAY from!!

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Magnum's coverage of the movement of displaced people stretches back to the post-war Europe captured by Magnum founders Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David 'Chim' Seymour, and goes right up to the present day. The world is currently experiencing the largest movement of people since World War II, with recent figures from the UN stating that 65.3 million people, or one person in 113, were displaced from their homes by conflict and persecution in 2015. These kinds of figures and the myriad individuals with stories that make them up have spurred Magnum to once again explore migration.

This recent work includes Paolo Pellegrin's 'Desperate Crossings' series, Jérôme Sessini's studies of the Calais Jungle, Alex Majoli's documenting of the refugee crisis in Greece and Africa, Mark Power's explorations of refugee camps, and Matt Black 's tracing of aid from depot to drop-off point. "We have a responsibility to think not just about what's going in one particular place at one particular time; it is very important to capture as many ends of this story as possible," says Magnum's Executive Director David Kogan.

In the first of a series of talks spanning Magnum's 70th year, The Barbican, London hosted a panel where key players in the documentation of migration photography discussed issues affecting them, from the motivation to shoot migration to the practical and ethical concerns that come with capturing it. Here, we present some of the thinking that surrounds the documentation of the migrant crisis.

A Duty to Record

In the face of human suffering, being equipped with nothing but a camera can leave a photographer feeling "helpless" - the word of Magnum's Mark Power, who photographed the Azraq and Zaatari refugee camps in Jordan in 2015. But Power, photographers like him, and the agencies who commission them, are driven by a sense of duty, not only to tell the human story but to create an historical record. "I believe strongly in photography as a mark of history to carry forward to future generations to learn from," says Power. "Marking history for the future is very much part of my agenda so I try to be as objective as one can be in a situation like that."

The Power of the Single, Still Image

While footage from European borders or inside refugee camps is beamed into television screens with such regularity that there is a danger of it inducing compassion fatigue, the still photograph is a pause point. It presents a moment to stop and consider. The people in the photograph cannot walk out of shot, out of focus and out of the viewers mind, but are preserved in a visual document. "The images later become artefacts; they come to hold some sort of power," says David Kogan.

Dignity and Consent

Amnesty's Steve Symonds says that respect for the individual depicted in the image should be a key concern for both the photographer at the point of taking the photograph and for the editors and media companies who might eventually make use of it: "We're very cautious at Amnesty to avoid the use of images where we think people - dead or alive - are robbed of their agency and presented merely as victims. It becomes extremely difficult to engage with someone about what the consequences of giving their image or story might be before they have got to a destination, before they have resolved the circumstance that has driven them to be on the move."

Safety of the Subject

While the benefits of telling the stories of migrants through photography may be to enhance public understanding, empathy and perhaps even effect policy change, the publication of the images can carry a risk for those depicted. For instance, many of the people Amnesty International talks to have families elsewhere, often back in the countries from which they have fled, facing the same risks from which they are fleeing. Using images of these people in campaigns or press may put these family members in danger.

The organizations publishing this material must also be aware of the particular message their use of it gives. For Amnesty, this puts images published by them within the context of their prominent position as a campaigner of human rights. "We are heavily associated with countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Eritrea. We are strong advocates against human rights abuses and therefore being too publically associated with individual people who may have family back home is potentially is a risk for family members," explains Amnesty's Steve Symonds.

Read about more discussions from the Magnum Photos Now events here.

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Photographing a Crisis | Magnum Photos Magnum Photos

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Ethics and considerations of documenting the migrant crisis using photography, with Magnum's David Kogan, Magnum Photographer Mark Power and Amnesty

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This was REALLY POWERFUL! -Photo Exhibition 

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This was REALLY POWERFUL! -Photo Exhibition 

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Refugees and Migrants Tell Their Own Stories Through Photographs (Published 2018)

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The 25th annual exhibition by the Open Society Documentary Photography Project elevates the voices of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.

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Storytelling is a powerful tool for helping us understand and empathise across difference, but asking people to 'share their story' also comes with risks.

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7 videos guaranteed to change the way you see refugees

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7 videos guaranteed to change the way you see refugees

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Utilising a Traveling Obj As a Tool for Storytelling

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Utilising a Traveling Obj As a Tool for Storytelling

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Best Ads That Represent Refugees 2016 & 2017

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Best Ads That Represent Refugees 2016 & 2017

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For World Refugee Day we collected the best ads of 2016 & 2017 that show the hardships refugees go through.

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Refugees’ Stories: Empathy, Agency, Solidarity

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Refugees’ Stories: Empathy, Agency, Solidarity

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Stories for justice: redefining the migrant ‘crisis’

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Stories for justice: redefining the migrant ‘crisis’

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Stories for justice: redefining the migrant 'crisis'

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by International Relations and Development student Maozya Murray * The views in the following article are the personal views of the author and are not an official position of the School.* Whether fictional, biographical or mythical, stories wrap and encapsulate our entire lives.

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7 free short films about refugees recommended by human rights educators

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7 free short films about refugees recommended by human rights educators

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Short films and videos can be useful conversation starters for teachers, educators, facilitators or anyone wishing to learn more about human rights. Here are seven freely available videos on the reality of life as a refugee, ranging from one to 16 minutes in length recommended by Amnesty International's human rights education network.

1. People of nowhere

In the short clip People of nowhere, Lior Sperandeo, who previously directed the series People of Mumbai, People of Nepal and People of Senegal looks at the human consequences of the Syrian conflict and the resulting populations' displacements. The video compiles images of the people he met and the scenes he shot on the Greek island of Lesbos.

Director: Lior Sperandeo

2015 / 1:58

2. A journey from Afghanistan (Seeking Refuge)

The award-winning Seeking Refuge series is composed of short animated documentaries, each focusing on the plight of refugee children and their adaptation to a new country. Told in the words of a 10 year old, Ali's story focuses on the case of a young boy separated from his family after he escapes war.

Watch the full Seeking Refuge series of real life stories of young people fleeing their homelands.

Director: Andy Glynne and Salvador Maldonado (BBC)

2012 / 3:25

3. Then I came by boat

In the award-winning short documentary Then I came by boat, Tri Nguyen shares his memories of when he left war-torn Vietnam as a child to cross the ocean on a wooden boat, and the way he was received as a refugee in Australia.

Director: Marleena Forward

2014 / 10:18

4. Malak and the boat

The first animation of the Unfairy Tales series Malak and the boat, released for the launch of UNICEF's global campaign on the Syrian refugee crisis, brings attention to the stories of the youngest victims of the Syrian conflict as they flee war. Aboard a light boat, 7 year old Malak explains her journey as she crosses the Mediterranean.

Director: Andre Holzmeister (UNICEF)

2016 / 1:16

5. Life on hold

The short film Life on hold tells the everyday life of Omar, a 17 year old Somali living in a refugee camp situated at the Tunisian border. Since the 2011 war broke out, thousands of refugees from Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea who were living or transiting through Libya have been forced to find refuge in neighboring countries. They're now awaiting in refugee camps at the Tunisian and Egyptian borders, unable to either leave or stay.

Director: Nick Francis and Marc Silver (Amnesty International)

2012 / 6:53

6. Rain is beautiful

Rain is beautiful is the second episode of Omar's journey as told in the video Life on hold. He's about to leave the Choucha refugee camp at the Tunisian border and fly to a new life in Sweden. The short documentary films the young man's arrival at the airport and the first steps of his resettlement in the country.

Director: Nick Francis and Marc Silver (Amnesty International)

2012 / 7:53

7. When you don't exist

The short film When you don't exist imagines a scenario where migration flows would be reversed from those commonly perceived in Europe: as violent unrest causes people to flee Europe in mass and reach Africa, they are forcibly taken by authorities and jailed in refugee camps.

When you don't exist is Amnesty International's campaign for the human rights of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers in Europe and at its borders.

Director: Jon Drever (Amnesty International)

2013 / 2:10

Subscribe to the Human Rights Education Blog Series
Further Reading

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7 free short films about refugees recommended by human rights educators

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Short films and videos can be useful conversation starters for teachers, educators, facilitators or anyone wishing to learn more about human rights. Here are seven freely available videos on the reality of life as a refugee, ranging from one to 16 minutes in length recommended by Amnesty International's human rights education network.

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This Web page is a good Digital Example of Story Telling 

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This Web page is a good Digital Example of Story Telling 

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Syrian refugees tell their stories through the camera lens

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Syrian refugees living in Za'atari refugee camp have documented their daily lives through an exclusive photography project, as part of Save the Children and The Arsenal Foundation's Coaching for Life programme.

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Narratives of Change: The Role of Storytelling, Artefacts and Children’s Literature in Building Communities of Inquiry that Care

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Narratives of Change: The Role of Storytelling, Artefacts and Children’s Literature in Building Communities of Inquiry that Care

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Three White Women are Colonizing Mahjong with $325 Luxury Sets

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Three White Women are Colonizing Mahjong with $325 Luxury Sets

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Three White Women are Colonizing Mahjong with $325 Luxury Sets — DIET PRADA

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It never ceases to amaze how white people can find new ways to colonize BIPOC’s cultural heritage. The Mahjong Line was founded after Kate LeGere’s quest to purchase her first mahjong set led to disappointment. “Nothing came close to mirroring her style and personality,” says their site. LeGere en

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Narrative and ethical (in)action: creating spaces of resistance with refugee- storytellers in the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp

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Narrative and ethical (in)action: creating spaces of resistance with refugee- storytellers in the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp

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Faces of refugees and locals to be pasted on Geneva building as part of JR photography project

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Faces of refugees and locals to be pasted on Geneva building as part of JR photography project

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The Art Newspaper - International art news and events

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Faces of refugees and locals to be pasted on Geneva building as part of JR photography project

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As number of displaced people reaches record high, French artist’s Inside Out initiative aims to bring Geneva community together

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Body, Nature, Language: Artisans to Artists in the Commodification of Authenticity

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Body, Nature, Language: Artisans to Artists in the Commodification of Authenticity

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Body, Nature, Language: Artisans to Artists in the Commodification of Authenticity on JSTOR

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Monica Heller, Sari Pietikäinen, Emanuel da Silva, Body, Nature, Language: Artisans to Artists in the Commodification of Authenticity, Anthropologica, Vol. 59, No. 1 (2017), pp. 114-129

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From Craft to Industry - 2 - On commoditization

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From Craft to Industry - 2 - On commoditization

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Summary

Human society has evolved in our epoch to an unprecedented level of economic integration. The central feature of this development is a division of labour which embraces ever-widening circles of humanity in a single nexus of commodity production and exchange. Almost all modern social theory is an attempt to grasp the implications of this fact. At the heart of the issue lies the definition of a process identified variously as the growth of capitalism, market economy, industrialism, etc. The elementary concept in this process is the commodity. The limited objective of what follows is to clarify the meaning of this term and to define the evolutionary tendency which, for want of a better expression, I will call commoditization.

It is usually not difficult to find a word for something distinctive. But, once we have found it, certain logical consequences normally ensue. The most important of these is that phenomena excluded by the term form a single category opposed to it in a dualistic negation. Moreover, language has the effect of reducing the infinite variations of matter in time and space to ideal abstractions (i.e. words) whose principal virtue as vehicles of communication is that the meanings they convey are presumably static. It is thus not an idiosyncratic quirk of modern social science that it be obsessed with polarized dualities. It is very hard for us to think in any other way. If we label something V, our discourse depends on supposing that its meaning will stay the same long enough for a linguistic community to come to share it.

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On commoditization (Chapter 2) - From Craft to Industry

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Designers should stop proposing gimmicky solutions to the refugee crisis such as shelters, apps and emergency clothing, according to speakers at our Good Design for a Bad World talk at Dutch Design Week.

Instead, efforts should be made to the shift the negative narrative around population movements and to help make cities better able to absorb incomers, the panellists said.

"Don't design yet another shelter for refugees," said humanitarian expert Kilian Kleinschmidt. "They're not a species. So, there is no need for tech for refugees. Or design for refugees, or architecture for refugees."

Architecture critic Rene Boer described some designers' efforts to help refugees as "more of a gimmick than a structural solution".

Boer, who has worked with refugee communities in Amsterdam and elsewhere, said that "micro solutions" such as backpacks fabricated from life jackets were unhelpful. Instead, designers should focus on removing the physical and non-physical barriers that prevent refugees from travelling and integrating.

"How can we un-design some structures or systems that are actually making things worse for refugees?" asked Boer, who is managing editor of urban research platform Failed Architecture.
The "refugee crisis" is not a new phenomenon
The conversation was one of five hosted by Dezeen during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven in October, as part of our Good Design for a Bad World series. The panel was convened to discuss how architecture and design could help tackle issues arising from population movement.

Architecture historian Michelle Provoost of Crimson pointed out that population movements have taken place throughout human history and are impossible to prevent.

"To stop migration I think would be a very non-historical position to take, since it has never happened," she said, arguing instead that integrating refugees should be seen as a planning issue.

"It is a permanent phenomenon, it happens all the time," she continued, to the agreement of Klienschmidt, who started his presentation with images of Venice, a city that was founded by refugees fleeing invaders from northern Europe.

"So how is this possible that we are sort of surprised by it all the time and that we have to make these makeshift solutions every time again?" continued Provoost, who co-authored City of Comings and Goings, a research project looking at how cities deal with fluid populations.

"Why are we not prepared to deal with these flows of people coming in and out?"

This is an issue directly related to spatial design and urbanism, she added. "Look at the places where asylum-seekers or newcomers are actually housed in our country: on the borders of the Netherlands and Germany and completely outside of the areas where the work and economic possibilities are."

The way to integrate refugees is to give them housing and jobs so they help create economic prosperity, she said. "But spatially they are prevented to do so. So there is absolutely a spatial question connected to this refugee problem."
Climate change will dramatically increase population movements
Europe's ongoing refugee crisis, which has seen millions of people try to enter the continent by land and sea, has triggered a wide response from the creative community.

Yet refugees are a global phenomena: 2016 saw a record 65.6 million people forced to leave their homes. Population movements are predicted to increase still further in future, with climate change expected to become a major driver as rising seas, failing crops and extreme weather force tens of millions of people to move.

Eight designs that aim to alleviate the ongoing refugee crisis

Boer revealed that Amsterdam is actively preparing for this scenario. "The municipality of Amsterdam is already now preparing for the influx of climate refugees in 10, 20 years from now," he said.

"The main question I would say that interests us is how can architecture and design make our cities more adaptive to migration?" Provoost said.

The panel were united in calling for more intelligent, joined-up solutions and fewer token gestures.

Kleinschmidt said that over 6,000 apps had been created to help refugees navigate, find help, learn languages and so on - but none of them were being widely used or had been of significant help. "This is again because the community sort of thought, well, we need to design something special for those poor little things," he said.
Refugee camps are the wrong response to the problem
Kleinschidt, who spent 25 years working for the United Nations and managed refugee camps in Africa and Asia, said the humanitarian sector was still building "storage facilities" for displaced people in the false expectation that they would one day return to where they came from.

"The logic that displacement is something temporary has created these camps," he said. "The logic that only a refugee returning home as fast as possible is a good refugee."

Boer described how instead of waiting for others to help them, asylum seekers in Amsterdam are finding creative ways to turn their temporary status into something more permanent.

Refugees whose asylum applications have been rejected find themselves in limbo, he said. "They can't go back, but they also can't access housing or any work opportunities," said Boer. "They roam the streets with basically no way to operate in society here."

He described how they formed an action group that occupied empty properties, which they refurbished and turned into living and working spaces. They would usually get evicted from these properties eventually but in one case they managed to strike a deal with the landlord.
Refugees can solve problems themselves, given the chance
"They made an agreement with the owner to rent it for four or five years," Boer said. "They redesigned the building on the inside; they transformed it. But in this case, they made an agreement with the owner to actually rent it for four or five years. And what is particularly interesting is that they redesigned the building on the inside; they transformed it."

The refugees' activism and self-generated employment helped to convince the authorities to review their asylum status, with 40 per cent of them earning the right to stay.

Klienschmidt argued that efforts need to be redirected to encourage refugees to form viable communities in other parts of the world, where population movements are even more pronounced that in Europe.
The design for refugees debate was the second of five Good Design for a Bad World talks that Dezeen hosted during Dutch Design Week
"There are new population centres growing, and they're totally left alone," he said. "And that's where planners, that's where designers, that's where all the knowledge we have has to come in.
Vibrant refugee cities could be established in Africa
"What if we would create major population centres together as a community in Somalia, at the Horn of Africa? There is plenty of space to actually develop new living and working and economic opportunities. All that is being left aside. All we're concentrating on is trying to prevent migration instead of managing it."

European cities are less adaptable to the influx of refugees today than in the past due to changing patterns of home ownership, Provoost claimed.

"In the Netherlands, we used to have a tradition in which social housing, affordable housing, was abundant and was a state policy," she said. "And, of course, this had diminished greatly the last 20 years."

In 1999, when refugees flooded out of Kosovo, the Netherlands was able to absorb large numbers, she said. "During the Kosovo crisis we didn't have any housing problems. But now we have. Because the social housing stock has been sold off. This is one of the results of the neoliberalisation of our country."
The education system has failed to respond to the refugee challenge
All three speakers called for schools and universities to recognise the shortage of expertise and the lack of adequate thinking about refugees and offer new courses to train a new generation of architects, designers and planned equipped to deal with the growing phenomenon of population movements.

"The design community and the planning community, especially in Western Europe, are largely overlooking this whole topic of the need of thinking about how to plan cities, how to organise, how to manage cities and urban areas in the quickly-growing parts of our world," Provoost argued.

"And this is, I think, partly because we had an era of planning in the 60s and 70s, and we've grown weary of it. And now we are talking about self-organisation and small scale things. So the need to think and conceptualise and design for this issue is not realised enough at our universities.

"Because I think the university systems have become so rigid that they have become incapable of dealing with the immediate and actual questions that are out there. They don't deal with reality."

Dezeen hosted five talks during this year's edition of Dutch Design Week, covering a range of global issues including politics and refugees.

Movies of all of the talks, including this one, are available to watch in full via our Good Design for a Bad World page. An edited version of the climate-change talk is also available, and the remaining three will be published soon.

Dezeen and Dutch Design Week launch Good Design for a Bad World initiative

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"Don't design yet another shelter" for refugees, say experts

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Designers should stop proposing gimmicky solutions to the refugee crisis, according to panellists at our Good Design for a Bad World talk

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What we NEED to clearly STEAR AWAY FROM! Prt.2

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What we NEED to clearly STEAR AWAY FROM! Prt.2

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The explanation behind her work is really interesting to read, however, I believe that it is integral that we let the voices of the people come through instead of just our voices colouring the narrative!

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11 powerful refugee films to watch for Refugee Week - IMIX

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We put together a selection of movies made by refugees or that tell their stories, because we believe in the importance of storytelling.

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Human Flow was the "movie of the refugee crisis" as critics often called it. Let me put it like this, you have a friend or a family member who often hears about refugees in the world, sees a diverse community or newly-resettled refugees in your community or neighborhood but who has never understood why people from other countries are welcomed in other places around the world, this is the movie to play on a movie night with him/her.

If one has time only for one movie to watch about refugees, Human Flow is your go-to choice.

It is the fruit of big efforts of the Chinese contemporary artist and activist Ai Wei Wei who, through this great work, aims at showing to different audiences the root causes behind displacement of people all over the world. He travelled through 23 countries in different continents to visually capture the reality of the "refugee crisis" in today's world and bring it to the audience in a very captivating format and in simple words and visuals to explain the phenomenon of displacement to all people. The documentary focuses on different regions and countries, especially those which have been notably affected by the biggest numbers of refugee arrivals such as Greece, Turkey, France, Germany, Jordan, Kenya, Iraq...

Human Flow is not a fictional movie, which means there is no particular story or protagonist that the audience follows from start to end. It is more like a documentary which follows the migratory situation in different countries around the world.

One more thing to highlight about this movie is definitely the production quality. Having a full high quality drone scenery of the biggest refugee camps in the world gives you the impression that you are physically present in the field, especially if you watch it on a big screen, like I did when it was premiered in Brussels in February 2018. I could not wait for it to be available locally, and I was lucky to find cheap flights to Brussels during that week. So, I did not hesitate one moment to book my trip. I had no idea what else I would do for the rest of my time in Brussels, or which friends I would meet, but all I knew was that I wanted to watch Human Flow; everything else would come later.

It was a very emotional experience, especially that I was there on the Greek Island of Lesvos when Ai Wei Wei was filming the documentary. Watching those beautiful scenes in places I knew very well and seeing few familiar faces on the screen made me relive beautiful moments I spent in Lesvos with very brave refugees.
Register now: International Migrations (Free online course)
Inspired by a book with the same title, written by activist Loung Ung, the movie tackles the issue of forced displacement, child encampment and Internally Displaced People (IDPs). Realized and directed by Angelina Jolie, UNHCR Special Envoy, the movie is a biographical historical thriller of Cambodian activist Loung Ung who was forced to be a child soldier since the early age of 5 during the Communist Khmer Regime.

I must say that parts of the movie are hard to watch, especially if you have not read about child soldiers and mistreatment of children in wartime previously. With my professional focus on child protection, it was quite frustrating to follow scenes of torture and mistreatment inside labor camps in Cambodia, knowing that these incidents are still happening every day in countries like Eritrea, and that the people I work with today in the camps have either been through the exact same atrocities or have fled their countries to avoid them.

This 1975 thriller depicts the problem of forced internal displacement as families are forced out of their homes and villages by the Regime and pushed away into camps where they undergo forced labor, starvation, mistreatment, confiscation of belongings, deprivation of healthcare and foreign medicine and the list goes on. It also deals with the pertinent issue of children's human rights in wartime and conflict zones, by illustrating the life of child soldiers, children IDPs and depicting children's life-saving journey fleeing their homes for a better future.
Register now: Harvard launches free online course on Children's Human Rights!
Again on the issue of child protection, child refugees and IDPs, Beasts of No Nation is an internationally renown movie that has recently been added on Netflix and that everyone working on the issue of refugees should watch. There are usually a lot of movies on wartime, and a lot of movies on children. However, it is rather rare to find movies tackling the issue of children actively yet forcibly participating in war. In this context, Beasts of No Nation follows the story of Agu, a Nigerian child living in the "buffer zones" which are areas protected by the United Nations from the internal conflict in the country. But this temporary security soon comes to an end when his area gets invaded by the local government, killing families, bombing huts and kidnapping children to be forcibly taken to military training camps. He ends up being part of a whole child army run by The Commandant, played by Idris Alba. It illustrates the gradual yet fast transition from an innocent playful child to a perpetrator of the war, highlighting the trauma of forced displacement, forced labor and war on the psychology of children.

It is crucial to watch Beasts of No Nation for those who work with African refugees and asylum seekers, especially with children, and who might encounter similar stories to Agu's. The movie would serve not only as an eye-opener to what is happening in civil wars in Africa but also as a very accurate Country of Origin Information resource for people involved in Refugee Status Determination procedures.
Register now: Child Protection in Humanitarian Settings (Columbia University)
Following the stories of 7 Syrian refugee children in Europe, Born in Syria is one of the rare movies that focus on the whole journey of refugees from home country to local integration in the host country. It follows children by depicting their life in Syria before, during and after the conflict, thus highlighting the traumatizing experiences they have been through in detail. It follows their journey in reception centers and refugee camps in Turkey, Hungary and Greece and what that resulted in later on in their life. And finally, it follows up on their integration in their final destination in Europe during their first 6 months in the country. Through this last stage, you can see the different ways of acculturation that newly-arrived refugees usually adopt, which often differ even within the same family. You follow their asylum procedures from the first reception center until the happy and very emotional moments of receiving the refugee status, and you continue to see the transitions in people's lives, especially children's lives through the efforts made to integrate into a new country, including language learning, communicating with the local community and starting a new school for the first time in years.
Register now: Human Rights - The Rights of Refugees (Free course by Amnesty International)
Refugee is a filmmaker project realized by 5 renowned photographers including Clementine Malpas and Leslie Knott. The photographers travelled the world to illustrate the atrocities of war, political persecution and other root causes of refugee displacement. The very first scene of the movie actually starts with the refugee definition in the 1951 Geneva Convention, which I thought was very clever as it caters for all kinds of audiences. It also sheds light on the issue of family reunification of refugees in Europe and the effects family separation has on displaced communities in different places. It is not the easiest watch, or the kind of movie you would play after a bad day at work, as it depicts the issue of migration from a very realistic perspective; but it is a must watch if you want to know more about refugees.

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Human Flow (2017) Human Flow was the "movie of the refugee crisis" as critics often called it. Let me put it like this, you have a friend or a family member who often hears about refugees in the world, sees a diverse community or newly-resettled refugees in your community or neighborhood but who has never [...]

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Zaatari Action evolved out of the project ' Dress For Our Time ', a fashion artefact, which used a de-commissioned UNHCR refugee tent to create a dress to engage the public with the Refugee crisis and Climate Change, at key moments of global and social significance.

In 2016, Helen visited Zaatari Refugee Camp, Jordan (where the tent originated) in her capacity as an academic. During this trip she began conversations which would lead to the co-creation of 15 projects with those living in Zaatari and which responded to their direct needs, addressing educational, livelihood, and enterprise creation opportunities. There is a clear focus on women and young girls at the camp.

By the end of 2018, Helen and multiple teams from LCF and with corporate partners such as Unilever and Givaudan have forged a path that has led to the UNHCR creating a unique role for her in 2019-2022, as UNHCR's first 'Zaatari Designer in Residence'.

Zaatari Action continues to create new opportunities through reciprocal knowledge exchange and to research counter narratives for fashion's use and for design to play an activist role in creating meaningful change to the improvement of refugee lives.

Zaatari Action: Example projects

Since Helen's first visit to the Zaatari in 2016, she has co created and delivered 15 projects with Syrian Women and girls. Through collaborative partnerships and informed by direct needs, they have together built upon existing talent and sought to foster increased opportunities for expert skills training, as well explore new creative approaches to enhance enterprise and education.

In an age of reciprocity, these projects are as much about what Syrians have to teach us, as they are about us sharing knowledge, training and opportunity.

Design for Humanity - A Living Curriculum

This project brings the learnings and new knowledge from Zaatari and its people into the curriculum and teaching and learning experience at LCF and UAL. It offers students and staff the opportunity to participate in experiential learning, which is highly responsive and explores human resilience and adaptability, as well as providing space for creative responses to the rapid changes and events of our times through our teaching and learning practice.

Read about the first iteration of this project via our Blog.

Made in Zaatari - 2019

'Made in Zaatari' brings together the learnings from working in Zaatari over the last 5 years. Designed as an inspirational camp based Centre with a Soap & perfume Making Lab (created by Givaudan), for training and production of products, crafts, a Hydroponics Garden, in collaboration with Sheffield University, a beauty salon, a crèche and a retail / gallery space, to sell produce to the camp and camp visitors. In March 2020, a second centre in District 1 of the camp was being built, serving a different group of women. A new Soap Making Lab has been created at the Princess Basma Centre, in the town closest to Zaatari, Mafraq and a fourth soap making centre, in Ruwaished on the Jordan/ Iraq border has opened also. This project helps contribute to women's ability to continue to up-skill, remain dedicated mothers, create and sell beautiful products, create their own brands, explore sponsorship with Jordanian partners to sell outside of camp and to raise the level of money they can earn, seeking to lead to economic independence.

Seeking the Syrian Stitch

In collaboration with the fashion house of Elie Saab, The Tiger Girls and their Coaches, Deepa Patel, Helen Storey and LCF International office, IRD and UNHCR, this project aimed to create a new Syrian stitch by learning a unique form of embroidery technique taught by expert hands from the House of Elie Saab and to share this skill on going, by identifying the talented and gifted to pass it on after the project was delivered.

Other actions have included: multiple UAL short courses, including Advanced Beauty, a fourday course in camp, teaching in Advanced Make Up application and advice on skin care and skin health. A project with LCF's MA Fashion Futures students to design spaces for the camp community. Exploration and training into soap and perfume making with Givaudan, to enable enterprise opportunities for women living in Zaatari. And 'Love Coats' a week long workshop for the Tiger Girls, to learn new skills through team work and then sharing them with others. The project sought to promote a culture of upcycling, develop creativity and imagination, to build stronger connections to the girl's peers, and to give back to the community through the process of gifting the coats.

Innovation Lab at Al-al Bayt University (Jordan)

As an outcome of the PPE4REfugees Project, a new innovation lab has been created at one of our Jordanian partner Universities. THis Lab will provide training and livelihood opportunities for both refugees and students alike.

Aside from the actions noted above, the following outputs have come from Zaatari Action:

Carving Time - an exhibition in London of work by artist Tarek Hamden from Zaatari Refugee Camp, Jordan. Tarek's work was on display in Hatton Garden from October 2019 until 31 January 2020.

Masks 4 Zaatari - Helen collaborated with Laura Baker, Technical Coordinator Print at Central Saint Martins, on a unique project to mark World Refugee Day, Saturday 20 June. Entitled 'Masks 4 Zaatari', the project shines a light on the refugee cause in a time of COVID-19, as well as celebrating London College of Fashion's long-term connection with the Zaatari Refugee Camp on the Syria/Jordan border. Laura Baker is one of three founders of   Peoples Masks, an initiative started by Central Saint Martins staff rallying the public to collectively make thousands of washable fabric face masks. In this collaboration with Helen, Laura has created a collection of eleven different designs for 'Masks for Zaatari'.

Drawing Reality - An online project to teach animation to the children of Zaatari during lockdown - sharing the youth experience of COVID-19 in camp and 18 months without school.  Read more about the project and watch the animation via our blog.

Venice Design Biennale - Through collaboration the work of Tarek Hamden, a sculptor in Zaatari, had his worked exhibited in Venice 2021, selling his pieces, for the first time, to a Swiss Art Collector.

Watch a series of films following this project from 2013 - to the present day:

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Zaatari Action | Centre for Sustainable Fashion

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Zaatari Action seeks to create new opportunities through knowledge exchange and to research counter narratives for fashion's use and for design to play an activist role in creating change.

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Traces: Stories of Migration | Centre for Sustainable Fashion

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Exploring textile practices as a medium through which diverse cultural and social experiences of migrant communities can be acknowledged and celebrated.

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"ACT, LIKE WE HAVE JUST ENOUGH TIME.
LIVE, LIKE IT RUNS OUT TODAY"
Helen Storey MBE RDI

Using the power of fashion, science and wonder to communicate and act upon some of the world's most complex issues of our time.

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"ACT, LIKE WE HAVE JUST ENOUGH TIME. LIVE, LIKE IT RUNS OUT TODAY" Helen Storey MBE RDI Using the power of fashion, science and wonder to communicate and act upon some of the world's most complex issues of our time.

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About us

We work at the intersection of storytelling and social change. As a part of UAL's new Social Purpose Group, our mission is to enable storytellers and campaigners to make a greater social impact through their work. Through interdisciplinary experimentation and collaboration, we develop evidence-based approaches to the theory and practice of storytelling-for-change.

The AKO Storytelling Institute has been established with the generous support of the AKO Foundation, as part of UAL Social Purpose Group.

In her role as Story Associate for the AKO Storytelling Institute Veronica will observe and write about the Fellowship, kicking off with a series of reflections on the five-day Fellowship Intensive.

NT and the AKO Storytelling Institute invited theatre collective Opening Statement to spend a week with us and programmed an intensive series of workshops.

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Developing a world-leading understanding of how narrative and storytelling can bring about change.

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Kate Keara Pelen - Head of Creative Projects, Storytelling Institute - University of the Arts London | LinkedIn

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View Kate Keara Pelen’s profile on LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional community. Kate Keara has 15 jobs listed on their profile. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Kate Keara’s connections and jobs at similar companies.

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Through community organising, we build people’s power to lead change for the common good, develop community leaders and strengthen civic institutions.

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The project aims to develop a framework for decolonised design practice by advancing a cultural sustainability agenda within a fashion and textile industry context. The project team will work together with refugee communities based in East London to scope the research in relation to their reality and lived experience of resilience and inform a process of reciprocal learning and making, through textile heritage.

Oral histories will be collected in relation to the refugees' cultural heritage and used to collectively outline visions for a sustainable future. Fashion and textile artefacts will be co-created, grounded in the cultural heritage of the participants, and a social enterprise model will be outlined with the aim to enhance the resilience of the refugees. Policy recommendations for sustainable regeneration will be outlined, with a focus on refugee communities in the UK. Finally, dissemination activities will be conducted to amplify the impacts of the project.

Design for Cultural Sustainability with Refugee Communities. Participatory action research engaging refugees based in East London with the aim to develop a framework for decolonised design practice by advancing a cultural sustainability agenda within a fashion and textile industry context.

The mainstream system of fashion production and consumption is proving unsustainable in terms of cultural heritage, social equality, autonomous livelihoods, and environmental stewardship. Improvements in these areas are unravelling at a slow pace, and new research is urgently needed in order to build back better and shape a more sustainable future. Besides the three commonly recognised pillars of sustainability (i.e. environmental, economic, and social), there is a need to consider also a cultural dimension (meaning diverse cultural systems, values, behaviours, and norms) as an essential component of a sustainability agenda.

Historically, until now, the textile heritage know-how of minorities has often been the object of abusive cultural appropriation practices undertaken by fashion brands or has been systematically obscured or undervalued as 'non-fashion' produced by 'the other'. Moreover, with a harrowing 89.3 million people worldwide having been forcibly displaced at the end of 2021 due to global and local political, economic, and environmental issues (UNHCR), it is clear that we need to rethink and address the needs and aspirations of migrant minority communities and find ways to honour their diverse cultures. Adopting a holistic approach to sustainability, the project focuses on fashion and textile artisanal practices carried out by refugees and asylum seekers who, despite their traumatic journeys, retain their culture, customs and faiths, as well as a variety of invaluable craft heritage skills.

Furthermore, to avoid the current situation where designers (originally from or trained in Europe and America) are 'parachuted' into marginalised or disadvantaged communities with the assumption that they can bring their own knowledge and expertise to solve their problems, the project intends to 'decolonise' such dominant approaches. This means dismantling colonial systems of oppression and exploitation, and empowering a multiplicity of voices and agencies, whilst leveraging the values of diversity and sustainability.

The findings from the research will inform the development of a range of outputs, including:

'Textile photo-stories' created by the participating refugees, representing their unique identities, stories of displacement, cultural heritage and diversity;

Collective visions for a sustainable future co-created by the participating refugees;

A collection of fashion and textile artefacts co-created with the participating refugees, embodying their cultural heritage;

A social enterprise model aimed at engaging the resilience of the refugees;

A set of policy recommendations for sustainable regeneration, with a focus on refugees in the UK;

Short films documenting the stories and journeys of the refugees participating in the project, amplifying their voice and agency;

Panel debates with researchers with extensive experience in socially engaged design with 'diverse locals' both in the UK and in other contexts;

Teaching materials and student project briefs;

Conference paper and journal articles;

Interim showcase of the co-creation process, and exhibition of the project outputs, alongside a series of public engagement events.

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Decolonising Fashion and Textiles - Design for Cultural Sustainability with Refugee Communities | Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF)

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Participatory action research engaging refugees based in East London with the aim to develop a framework for decolonised design practice by advancing a cultural sustainability agenda within a fashion and textile industry context.

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UK for UNHCR launches 'The Refugee Dictionary' campaign to mark the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention

Susie Dent helps launch call for contributions to new dictionary defining the word "refugee" through personal stories

Actor David Morrissey, Professor Helen Storey, first female Syrian refugee pilot Maya Ghazal amongst first to submit definitions and join campaign

Imagery, interviews and case studies available

11 June 2021. UK for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency's UK charity, was joined today by the nation's favourite wordsmith Susie Dent to launch an important new campaign asking Britons to help compile a dictionary that will define only one word - "refugee" - but in thousands of different personal, emotive and thought-provoking ways.

The project will mark the 70th Anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention on 28 July, which first defined who a refugee is in law and set out the human rights of women, men and children fleeing the horrors of war and persecution to seek safety in another country.

Since then, the word refugee has taken on countless personal meanings, so "The Refugee Dictionary" aims to remind us of the rich tapestry of stories and futures made possible because of this significant human rights convention and celebrate the UK's proud tradition of giving refuge by inviting the public to join in. It is hoped the project will bring thousands of new meanings to the word and highlight that refugees aren't confined or defined by one word but are individuals with myriad rich stories, hopes and lives.

UK for UNHCR is encouraging everyone to take part, from those who have sought refuge in the UK or people whose family members were refugees, to those who simply want to celebrate the positive role of refugees in their communities and to the country.

Launching the campaign, Susie Dent said, "Your definition will be yours alone, born of your own experience. It might be 'A grandfather with a wicked sense of humour, who told a great bedtime story' or 'A wonderful friend who misses the scent of jasmine flowers.' This is about focusing on personal stories. We can't wait to read the varied and wonderful contributions. My definition is: "A refugee is the mother who sees her child find their smile again, free of turmoil, full of hope."

The campaign has already garnered support from Lord Alf Dubs, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and actor David Morrissey, artist Professor Helen Storey, and the first female Syrian refugee pilot and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Maya Ghazal. All have shared their definitions, ready to appear in the final book on July 28 th. Tanya Burr, actress and influencer who has been supporting UNHCR since 2019 has also added her definition, saying: "A refugee is a peacefully sleeping child in a safe place."

These will sit in "The Refugee Dictionary" alongside other submissions, including that of UK for UNHCR Trustee Mevan Babakar who was a refugee for five years after fleeing the Gulf war in the 1990s with her parents, before eventually settling in London. She says "A refugee is holding onto the idea that even in the darkest of times there will always be shining acts of kindness".

Also set to feature are the words of refugee students helped into tertiary education by UNHCR and its partners, with definitions including: "A refugee is a well spiced dish that can impress the world"; "A refugee is a good teacher, like a candle that consumes itself to light the way for others" and "A refugee is a trans man who simply enjoys the little things this life has to offer such as flowers and scents."

For the last 70 years, the UN Refugee Convention has helped to protect the millions of vulnerable people forced to flee their homes. Countries that have signed up to the Convention agree to protect refugees, but also to provide them with a series of rights including the right to work, to education and to a home, making a huge difference and allowing individuals and families to build a future.

Emma Cherniavsky, CEO, UK for UNHCR, says, "The UK has a centuries long tradition of providing refuge and helped to convene and launch the 1951 Refugee Convention. We hope this campaign will act as a reminder of not only the importance of supporting refugees and their rights, but also of what a positive impact refugees have made in our lives and in the history and fabric of our country. This project reaches beyond just one word to explore the countless stories of survival, hope and new beginnings made possible thanks to the original legal definition of a refugee."

The final Refugee Dictionary will be unveiled to celebrate the 70 th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention on the 28 July 2021.

To find out more about the campaign, share your contribution (by July 5 th) in the format "A refugee is..." or to find out more about supporting UK for UNHCR, visit www.unrefugees.org.uk/refugeedictionary

-ends-

For more information:

[email protected] Sara Guy, PR Manager, UK for UNHCR
About UK for UNHCR
UK for UNHCR is the UN Refugee Agency's national charity partner for the UK, building solidarity and raising funds to protect refugees worldwide through UNHCR's work.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, leads international action to protect people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution. Thanks to voluntary contributions from our UK supporters and partnerships, UNHCR teams can deliver life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water, help safeguard fundamental human rights, and ensure people have a safe place to call home where they can build a better future. UNHCR also works to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality.

UK for UNHCR is a registered charity in England and Wales (registered charity number 1183415). Learn more at www.unrefugees.org.uk
Notes to Editors Who is a refugee?
Article 1 of the Convention defines a refugee as a person who is outside his/her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution.

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UK for UNHCR launches 'The Refugee Dictionary' campaign marking the 70th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention because words are important - United Kingdom for UNHCR

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UK for UNHCR was joined by Susie Dent to launch a new campaign asking Britons to help create a Refugee Dictionary.

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Docu-movie on the way Syrian Refugees adapt to life in Canada. Shows the resilience of human spirit and the way they paved their own lives in a new and unknown world by making it their own!

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

2021 ‧ Drama/Comedy ‧ 1h 36m

A Syrian refugee struggles to settle into his new Canadian small-town life, caught between his dream to become a doctor and preserving his family's chocolate-making legacy.

Release date : April 29, 2022 ( USA )

Languages : English; Arabic

Mar 30, 2022 · ... film in theaters beginning April 29th! https ... PEACE BY CHOCOLATE Official Trailer. 17K ...
Duration: 2:37
Posted: Mar 30, 2022

Nov 27, 2022 · After the bombing of his father's chocolate factory, a charming young Syrian refugee struggles ...
Duration: 1:37:10
Posted: Nov 27, 2022

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. 2021 ‧ Drama/Comedy ‧ 1h 36m A Syrian refugee struggles to settle into his new Canadian small-town life, caught between his dream to become a doctor and preserving his family's chocolate-making legacy.

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In the toolkit, we use 10 real world cases of campaigns or campaign-supporting initiatives that embraced a narrative change/reframing approach targeting the middle and aiming to change the public narrative on migration in a more progressive manner. This page provides a short overview of each.

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This is one version for 1 Nov pitch

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Across Australia and Europe, a fresh approach is long overdue when it comes to the debates and policy about r efugees and asylum seekers.

Governments and the media must stop presenting policy and analysis about people seeking refugee protection in ways that undermine their personhood - and instead lead discussions that are transparent, principled and accurate.

Policy and analysis about people seeking refugee protection are done in ways that undermine their personhood. Picture: Getty Images

Our new policy report, Combatting Corrosive Narratives about Refugees, makes the case that governments, political parties and the media should refuse to engage in harmful narratives - most often negative stereotypes - that often fail to comprehend asylum.

In many instances, they intentionally inflame debates about refugee movement and often fail to communicate directly with people seeking refuge.

There's considerable evidence that the voices of those seeking refuge are often unheard, deliberately silenced or have been manipulated in ways that diminish their personhood.

Academics call for an end to immigration detention

When they are heard, they are, at best, mediated by others - including by those who support them - who listen and observe from a distance. But in many instances, refugees remain neither seen, nor heard, at all.

This is not to say that the voices of refugees are always absent: rather, there is a failure to listen with care in politics and the media. But listening to these voices is critical in order to fully resist injustices enacted at the border.

Instead, their stories are distorted or even erased by media and by political debates that frame them either as vulnerable victims or as undeserving criminals.

These inaccurate depictions lead to the erosion of human rights and to the legitimation of violence.

Governments, political parties and the media should refuse to engage in harmful narratives. Picture: Getty Images

There also needs to be caution around those humanitarian narratives that may unintentionally undermine the experiences of people seeking refuge or mask the specificity of each person's experience.

There's a danger in using emotive language that reduces those seeking refuge to the figure of the 'victim'. Asylum seekers have often reflected on the harm that is done by these narratives: by constructing people as little more than a victim, there's a tendency towards pity that draws on a public imagery of the 'benevolent' state as a 'saviour'.

At the same time, constructing them as a threat is equally harmful - and politicians must avoid this.

Against erasure

There's a need for context and rationale that fosters a humane and sincere approach to narratives about people seeking asylum and refugees.

We propose achievable recommendations that support a shift away from corrosive narratives, and, in so doing, challenge the harsh policies enabled by harmful and often untruthful representations of refugees.

In sustaining the border as a site that can only be crossed by those deemed worthy to do so, some sections of the media participate in - or fail to challenge - inaccurate depictions by governments of refugees.

This contributes to the dilution of responsibility by governments and the European Union (EU) under the Refugee Convention, as well as to the reinforcement and militarisation of the border.

It's imperative to challenge the myths underlying corrosive narratives.

There's a danger in using emotive language that reduces those seeking refuge to the figure of the 'victim'. Picture: AAP

In failing to hold governments to account, there's an acceptance, without adequate questioning - or indeed any questioning at all - of the rhetoric of governments and their mistruths.

In many cases, negative and misleading narratives with minimal or no effort devoted to fact-checking have been circulated.

In this respect, the media's historical role as the Fourth Estate - providing independent oversight of government - has not only been diminished but degraded. Despite this, some journalists persist in seeking to report on the hardship experiences by those seeking refuge.

How did it come to this?

But when these reporters seek access to more information - as we've seen in Australia's offshore detention centres and within detention centres in Libya that are financed by the EU - they have often been denied that access, with considerable restrictions placed on them by states that are signatories to the Refugee Convention.

Now is the time for policymakers, politicians, the media and civil society to reflect on the need for states and regional bodies (like the EU) to counter corrosive narratives and policies.

But it is the politicians who enact policies, making legislation that is harmful and that presents corrosive narratives and tropes to the public, the media, parliaments and to refugees themselves.

The responsibility lies with governments - and the EU - to enact more humane approaches to refugees. The voices of those seeking refuge are paramount here.

Artist Mostafa Azimitabar with his finalists' work for the Archibald Prize "Self-Portrait" in 2022, a year after he was released from one of Australia's immigration hotels. Picture: Getty Images

Politicians must transform the language they use toward refugees. This includes:

* Governments taking a leadership role in countering negative rhetoric about people seeking refuge and establishing processes to develop bipartisan and cross-party support.

* Political parties, in consultation with refugees, must demonstrate a shift away from harmful representations of people seeking asylum. This should extend to policies countering hate speech and confronting the risks associated with the proliferation of negative stereotypes.

* Those working in, and with, public services and agencies must ensure that policies and laws are enforced in ways that uphold the human rights of asylum seekers and refugees.

Australia's place at the human rights table

In terms of the media there needs to be:

* Training on how to interview asylum seekers and refugees in a trauma-informed manner.

* Avenues for challenging hate speech, racism and untruthful narratives about refugee movement, especially on social media and other online platforms.

* Training for journalists to avoid sensationalism, avoiding terms like 'refugee crisis', 'influx' or 'hordes'.

* Establishing training courses, guidelines and codes of conduct.

The initial stage in all discussions for policymakers and advocates is the acknowledgement that the voices of those seeking refuge should always come first.

It's time to create and enhance refugee agency in decision making and policy. Picture: Getty Images

The media, and political leaders, must also resist casting white voices as more authoritative and actively seek out those seeking refuge and reflect their voices in the development of policy responses and actions.

It's time to create and enhance refugee agency in decision making and policy that affects them.

By ensuring that refugee voices are central in conversations about them, and in policy that affects them, any pejorative language, harmful narratives and stereotypes of fleeing persecution are much less likely to emerge.

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Dr Claire LoughnanSchool of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts; Grant Team Member, Comparative Network on Refugee Externalisation Policies, University of Melbourne

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Professor Philomena MurrayHonorary Professor and Jean Monnet Chair ad personam, School of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts; Lead Investigator, Comparative Network on Refugee Externalisation Policies, University of Melbourne

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Governments and media must stop spreading harmful narratives and negative stereotypes about those seeking refugee protection say University of Melbourne experts