Past projects
I have collaborated with various organisations and founded The World Makers Foundation which supported refugee-artisans. Below an overview of the projects I have been involved in.
Social [Distancing] Fabric
This is a collaborative embroidery project, started in response to the COVID-19 lockdown of March 2020. With the rhythm of our days so monotonous, we wanted to offer a creative and collective experience, from home—at a distance.
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Book Social [Distancing] Fabric
In the book, we displayed both embroideries and stories. We asked makers to share with us their experiences during lockdown. People sent stories about sewing face masks for the homeless, about the first time they embroidered with their mother or grandmother. They confided stories about losing jobs and about illness. They wrote about their hopes and dreams for the future.
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Community by Design
In 2019 we worked together with foundation Aminah and involved a group of migrant women with the work of fashion designer Karim Adduchi. We organised workshops on sewing, embroidery and beading. The sewing group was a combination of building community, making connections, valuing their own skills, but also learning new skills.
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Enter: The Hub
Enter to Transform set up a supportive structure for recognized refugees with entrepreneurial experience and ambitions in Ireland, Germany, France and the Netherlands, and increased the guidance capacity of the institutions that support them.
Four hubs were set up, one in each country, over a period of three years.
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The project was based on action research: during the first year designed and tested various interventions in France, which will be rolled out and tested in other national contexts during the second year.
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Story Jam
In 2022 I was a facilitator of Story Jam: New Neighbours and in 2023 of Story Jam: Reveal. With Story Jam: New Neighbours we wanted to challenge stereotypes and expose commonly held myths, put migrants' voices at the centre of discussions about migration and deliver innovative messages to promote the integration of Dutch newcomers into local communities. Participants included people with different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, sometimes from countries in active conflict.
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Forum theatre
In this workshop we focused on the barriers people experience when coming to this country as refugees or (undocumented) migrants who want to find work or start a business. We explored issues of oppression, discrimination, and social injustice, using theatre as a tool for change. Participants were refugees, migrants, social activists or people with a story to share.
During five days we shared our stories, and created theatre pieces based on our lives and people's experiences of inequality and discrimination. Together we developed a short piece of theatre that explored the issues people face when coming to this country and starting over again, based on the real-life experiences of people in the room.
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