Migrant Voice’s first Meet a Migrant event was held in London on 30th October. This pioneering new initiative aims to bring migrants’ authentic voices into the media.
The first meeting was a huge success with over 10 migrant participants (including Syrian and Eritrean refugees, activists and experts) and journalists from the BBC, Guardian, Telegraph and Evening Standard attending. The meeting focussed on the current refugee crisis, and in particular, issues facing Syrian refugees in the UK. The informal meeting gave our participants the opportunity to freely discuss their concerns and provided journalists with new angles and stories to report on the crisis, allowing for more migrant voices to be heard in the migration debate.
The response from journalists was extremely positive, with comments including: “I found it so interesting and instructive” and “I’m very interested in taking this further.” We’re hoping that as a result of these meetings, there will be more direct contributions of migrants in the media leading to a more balanced debate on migration. We are planning a series of similar events in London, Birmingham and Glasgow over the next two years.