‘Story in a Poem’ launch

‘Story in a Poem’ launch

The Launch of the podcasts and documentary from the ‘Story in a Poem’ project took place on 21st January at the Glasgow Caledonian University addressed by Scotland’s Makar Jackie Kay.

Jackie listened to the poems before she shared some of her own work. She commended the project for using poetry as a powerful tooling of telling stories and encouraged everyone to write more.

The poetry reading was followed by performances from Iran and Latin America by Maryhill Integration Network, food from the Middle East and ceilidh with the ‘Science Ceilidh Band’ as part of ‘Celtic Connections’ celebrations in the city.

Over 55 enjoyed the beautiful evening and connected over poetry, music and dance. Guests came from Scotland, Brazil, Italy, Africa, England, Iran, Syria, Poland, Lebanon, Bangladesh, etc.

To give the project more prominence and to put it in a wider context, we organised alongside it a conference in Scotland, where we engaged policy makers, academics, journalists, community activists, artists and migrants in a constructive dialogue around migration.  The event, ‘Migrants and Migration Post-Brexit; finding our voice to influence the new landscape’ saw the Scottish Minister for Europe and Communities, Dr Alasdair Allan, address the plenary and speak of Scotland as a welcoming place for those who want to make it their home.