MV exhibition at Poverty Conference

MV exhibition at Poverty Conference

''The exhibition was a powerful statement..'' ''A really engaging backdrop to the day...'' ''Thank you for sharing this powerful Talking Pictures exhibition..'' November 9th was finally the D-day for the Migrant Voice 'Talking Pictures' exhibition. As part of European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) England's 2011 anti poverty conference  which took place at the European Commission in London, Migrant Voice presented 65 pictures and captions telling stories about migration. For this project Migrant Voice have brought together individuals with an experience of migration – either coming to the UK from abroad, or Britons who have migrated abroad and to take pictures telling a story around their own migration: the choices to make before departure, the difficulties faced and overcome once abroad, making a new home...  The public were very engaged by the stories and DVDs showing all the participants' pictures with a narration of their stories.  We are planning a formal launch event and a longer exhibition in the near future.  Than you to all the participants for sharing their story with us. The pictures provided a colourful frame for the conference which brought together  organisations from different backgrounds in order to share our experiences on the way people in the UK and in Europe are affected by the crisis. Jean Lambert, a Member of the European Parliament for the Green Party opened the conference with a powerful speech analysing the policies implemented to move out of the crisis and addressed consequences on poverty and social exclusion levels. Maria Marinakou, vice president of the EAPN Greece had travelled from Greece to give us a fresh perspective on the crisis there, providing new eye-opening facts. EAPN's Dr. Katherine Duffy presented us with the wider European perspective. From the UK, speakers included Colin Hampton of Derbyshire Unemployed Workers' Center, Ray Phillips of LVSTC, but also first-hand accounts from people like Justine who shared with us her experience as a job seeker. A delicious lunch was prepared by volunteers from Global Women .   As 2011 is the European Year for Volunteering, it was also the occasion to give awards to the outstanding volunteers nominated by several organizations across the UK. Migrant Voice nominated Karina Cabrera who received an award for her support for the members of Migrant Voice and her contribution to the work of the organisation, and Puck De Raadt from the Churches Refugees Network, who received an award for her tireless support of migrants and refugees.