MEETING Engaging With The Migrant Community

The Migrant community is often a voice that is unheard in our society. We often talk about them but do not talk to them. In this meetup we want to engage with that community.

In our work it is clear that there are many people and groups who are hidden or who have voices that are unheard. Recently we held a meeting where three people who had been homeless and now work with The Sock Mob told us about their experiences. It was a really gripping meeting that everyone felt worthwhile.

At this meetup we would like to do a similar exercise with those from the migrant community and in this we will be working with the Migrant Resource Centre. They will tell us about their work and will bring with them some migrants who will talk about their experiences.

The Migrant Resource Centre works with migrants and refugees and in partnership with other agencies, to effect social justice and change, enabling migrants and refugees to fully participate in this society. They are engaging with us because they believe that sometimes very beneficial unplanned outcomes result from human interaction.

You can find out more at http://www.migrantsresourcecentre.org.uk/

The Migration Museum Project has also kindly supported us in this meeting and Will Somerville will also speak and he is a strong supporter of the Museum project.

Will Somerville is a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington DC where he works on the International Program. Previously, he worked for the Commission for Racial Equality, the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, Cabinet Office, and the Institute for Public Policy Research. He is author of a book called Immigration under New Labour as well as numerous articles and research papers. He holds a First Class Degree from Leeds University and a Master's with Distinction in Social Policy from the London School of Economics, where he was awarded the prestigious Richard Titmuss Prize.

The Migration Museum Project are seeking to create Britain’s first major Migration Museum telling the story of movement into and out of the UK in a really fresh and engaging way. Led by Barbara Roche, former Minister for Immigration, a group of experienced professionals from immigration, human rights, museum, literary and artistic backgrounds has devised and driven this creative project forward, and scoping research has been completed, published by IPPR.

You can find out more at http://www.migrationmuseum.org/