The Refuge Project - learning about refugees with refugees

<%@LANGUAGE="JAVASCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> The Refuge Project - learning about refugees with refugees

In our communities there are many people who came to Britain to find safety. They have now made their lives here and are part of our society. But their experiences are something that few of us know much about, or ever take the time and trouble to listen to. Refuge is a project which gives an opportunity for those experiences to be heard. It is a project to learn about refugees with refugees. The project was based in schools, in areas where pupils were able to meet people from their community who came to Britain as refugees. Using audio-visual history techniques, refugees were interviewed about their experiences, and edited versions of their stories were published.

© Popperfoto

The outcome of the project is a collection of personal testimonies published in personal profiles, films and a website, supported by a comprehensive range of resources for classroom use.

The special teacher's section of the website contains questions, classroom discussions and points for further learning and information. There is also a section for use in the workplace for staff training purposes.

The project was based in Nottinghamshire, partnered by a number of District, City and County Authorities in conjunction with the Beth Shalom Holocaust Centre, The Refugee Council and local schools. The project was based in a particular local community, but it is of national significance as its message is far from a local one.

The project was launched in Refugee Week 2001 (23-29 June) and was completed in February 2002.

© Aegis Trust
This picture was taken at the launch of the Refuge Project at The Holocaust Centre, Beth Shalom, Notts, UK. Participants of the Refuge Project had the rare opportunity to learn a Bosnian dance taught by Fahira Hasedzic, a Bosnian refugee, now a dance instructor.

Refuge is an education project which reaches out to many sectors of the community, engaging pupils within their community and highlighting current and pertinent social issues. Peer-to-peer education, audio-visual life histories, and the variety of experiences within any and every community all form part of the underpinning educational role of the project.