Workshop with French students from Montpelier

On 16 November, we led a workshop session with twenty 15-17 year olds from Lycée Jean Monnet in Montpelier at the National Maritime Museum, looking at contemporary and historical migration using stimuli in the Re-Think space. This is the third year our Education Manager has worked with this school.

We love working with international groups who want to learn about UK migration – and have done so with German, French, Spanish and South Korean students as well as two London based American university campuses. Please email our Education Manager Emily Miller at emily@migrationmuseum.org if you would like to schedule a workshop for your pupils.

Workshops at our Call me by my name exhibition

Education Manager Emily Miller leads a workshop at Call me by my name: Stories from Calais and beyond

We just had the students back after school for a de-brief and they were still completely overwhelmed by the exhibition. Many of them talked about how their perceptions had shifted or how struck they were with the stories they had encountered, particularly Soli’s. I am sure that it has been the most valuable school trip that I have been on.

Lead teacher, Robert Clack school, Dagenham

Throughout June 2016, we staged our most ambitious exhibition to date: Call me by my name: stories from Calais and beyond at Londonewcastle Project Space in London. The multimedia exhibition coincided with Refugee Week and the EU referendum and interrogated themes and questions at the forefront of the public’s mind at this time. It explored the complexity and the varied human stories behind the current migration ‘crisis’, with a particular focus on the Calais camp.

The exhibition proved an excellent backdrop for a series of half-day workshops on the migration ‘crisis’, supported by the City Funding Network. Uptake from schools was overwhelming and we hosted 11 workshops with 11-14 year old pupil groups co-delivered with a young refugee with direct experience of forced migration. Schools came from Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Essex, Kent and Brent.

The response from teachers and pupils was very encouraging.

The kids could not stop talking about Mohammad and his experiences on the way back – it’s opened their eyes more than I could have hoped!

Lead teacher, John Wallis Academy, Ashford, Kent.

Pupils met Mohammad, a Syrian 17 year old who had lived in the camp for 7 months before finally being reunited with his brother in the UK by Citizens UK Safe Passage programme.

Students respond to Wanderers, an art piece by Nikolaj Skyum Bendix Larsen

I was really impressed with the exhibition and workshop. Thank you. It fitted in perfectly with what they had been studying. I was surprised how they managed to stay focused for the length of the workshop. This is testament to the power of the exhibits and your delivery of the session.

Lead teacher, Central Foundation Girls School, Tower Hamlets

I feel like have been exposed to the truth of what is going on. I feel so grateful for living in Britain and I should not waste the chance I have to help people. Soli is my inspiration to dream for the stars.

Pupil, Robert Clack School