Documenting conversations between volunteers and migrants met in Calais.
Sharing them with the world by pasting them on our cities’ walls.
Re-humanising the refugee crisis.
The book, Conversations From Calais: Sharing Refugee Stories, has just been published and is now available to order worldwide!
What is this project about and how can I get involved?
Conversations From Calais aims to re-humanise those affected by the refugee crisis by using public space to share conversations volunteers have had with migrants met in Calais. It is a way of bearing witness for the thousands of displaced people stuck in Calais and trying to reach the UK, whose voices are so often silenced or ignored. This ever-growing collection of conversations focuses on capturing the diversity of experiences and avoids creating new stereotypes of refugees as villains, heroic figures or hopeless victims. By pasting these posters on walls all around the world, we are taking over public space, commemorating these voices and inspiring social change.
There are many ways in which you can get involved:
By covering your city in posters too. Download a guide and set of posters here. Please do not change the design of the posters or add any additional information on them.
By submitting your own conversations if you’ve volunteered in Calais, for them to become part of the project. Submit them here.
Where can I learn more about what is happening in Calais and how else can I help?
Calais is a port city in the north of France, right across from Dover in the south of England. It is where the ‘Refugee Jungle’ used to be until it was torn down by French authorities in 2016. However, there are still a constant of about 1,500 displaced people living there, trying to get to the UK to seek asylum.
1. Be kind - by treating everyone you meet with humanity and respect.
2. Be open - by raising awareness on what is happening in Calais, by sharing it on your social media and by never refusing to stop talking about it.
3. Be political - by demanding changes from your MP, by voting for people and parties that consider this issue in their policies, by protesting and by signing petitions.
