Migration Matters: Let’s rethink migration together

Photo credits: Migration Matters

By Alice Deasy

“Migration Matters’ work is one expression of how technology and the arts can be put to the service of critical social thinking. They touch the heart of the debate and help us all rethink our assumptions and values.” Anna Triandafyllidou - Professor, European University Institute

Migration Matters is a non-profit organization that was founded in January 2016 by Julia Karmo, Sophia Burton, Kelly Miller, and Elina Ribakova in response to media coverage about refugees.

The organization’s mission is to empower the public to have more nuanced and evidence-based conversations about migration. To inform and educate their audience, they produce short educational videos that debunk commonly held preconceptions with original ideas, research, and solutions-oriented perspectives from leading thinkers in the field: researchers, practitioners, as well as migrants and refugees themselves. Their work is made accessible to anyone wishing to join the conversation, on their website, YouTube, Facebook, E-learning platforms and websites of organizations interested in showcasing their series. This enables their activism to have a wide reach and invites a large audience to apprehend the  “bigger picture”, the nuances and complexity of the migration debate.

On June 20th we will screen some of their work from their “Rethinking ‘us’ &’Them’: Integration and Diversity in Europe”and “6 Impossible Ideas” series. The selected videos will focus on the topics of integration and empowerment, media representation of refugees and jobs and entrepreneurship in different European countries.  These videos will provide us with a multidimensional perspective of these problematics supported by the voices of  refugees, displaced individuals and experts in the field.

The screening will be followed by a Q&A where participants will have the opportunity to reflect, ideate and share their  perspectives on these problematics.  We are delighted to collaborate with Migration Matters and look forward to sharing their award winning work with our audience.