UNESCO Chair Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts (RILA)

For the 3rd year running, the UNESCO Chair team has organised a series of workshops, presentations and performances at the Solas Festival in Perth as part of Refugee Festival Scotland 2019.

For details of the full Solas 2019 programme, please visit the Solas website: http://www.solasfestival.co.uk/

Get your ticket now at Brown Paper Tickets

Look out for Alison Phipps’ highly popular annual lecture, presented together with Gameli Tordzro, Tawona Sitholé and Naa Densua Tordzro. She will also be joining a panel together with Simon Barrow, Gerry Hassan and Sally Forster-Fulton, to talk about Scotland’s journey since the founding of a modern Scottish Parliament. Alison will make her third entry in a creative conversation with Fergus McNeill, around criminal justice, migration and integration.

New this year is a series of podcasts, recorded LIVE at the festival, by Refugee Voices Scotland. Absolutely not to be missed, previous recordings can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/refvoicesscot

We have teamed up with the Scottish Refugee Council’s Life after Detention group and Ice and Fire’s Actors for Human Rights, to bring you their Detention Dialogues. Poignant stories from New Scots: a real eye-opener.

From our team of Affiliate Artists we will be hosting a participatory photography workshop by Pieter van der Houwen. No previous experience needed, but a phone with camera function or a digital camera is a must.

I.D. Campbell will take you on a portrait drawing workshop, absolute beginners welcome, you’ll be surprised by what you can create under Iain’s guidance!

Martha Orbach has created a workshop around plants, to make us think of which natural elements remind us of home.

Looking for languages? Giovanna Fassetta, Esa Aldegheri and Nihaya Jaber will present their new online Arabic course, created in collaboration with the Arabic Centre of the Islamic University of Gaza.

Our own Artists in Residence will be hosting workshops and activities for children and young people this year. Tawona Sitholé will be leading a colouring activities for the little ones and will also present a workshop in 3D storytelling. One more week to practise your moves! Gameli Tordzro is coming back with his hugely popular story-telling session, to teach us wisdom from West-Africa.

From Liverpool, we are honoured to welcome Prof Charles Forsdick, who will be telling us about Haiti. He will also be presenting the Anti-Slavery Knowledge Network, together with Lennon Mishi.

Get your ticket now!! at http://www.solasfestival.co.uk/ 

---

First published: 11 June 2019