UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Language and Arts

Open Aye hosted our first Warm Welcome Walk of the year to celebrate and share learnings of their Well-being of the Woods (WOW) project. 

The WOW Project has been providing well-being-enhancing, urban woods based participatory photography workshops, to diverse groups in Glasgow, Scotland, since 2017. To date, approx. 200 people, from around 20 countries, have taken part in 250 visits to green spaces. 80% of project participants have had experience with seeking sanctuary. This is a feel good photo project that welcomes, enhances creativity, encourages cultural exchanges and appreciates nature.

Just in time for the International Day of Peace (on the 21st of September), our WOW Warm Welcome Walk took a small, physically distanced, Covid-complient group (!) on a wander round the woods, to admire autumns changes and discuss the WOW project methods & impacts. We shared and swapped learnings on best practices for guiding folk in safe, nature based creative spaces, which can help with health and well-being.

Well-being of the Woods participants

Warm Welcome Walk 2: Glasgow and Slavery, an online self-guided tour

This tour of the Merchant City and City Centre of Glasgow focused on the history of slavery in the city. A series of images and descriptions taught participants about a selection of buildings with strong links to slavery, enabling them to discover more about the buildings they pass on a regular basis. 

The tour was created by Christine Whyte, Lecturer in Global History at the University of Glasgow.

This tour showed Maryhill through the eyes of the local New Scots. Created by members of the Maryhill Integration Network, it highlighted places that are important to the local residents and told their personal stories.

Maryhill is one of the main dispersal areas for people seeking asylum and refuge in Glasgow. For many years, people from all over the world settled in Maryhill; is part of the wider Glasgow community and many New Scots call Maryhill their home.

Since 2001, Maryhill Integration Network (MIN) has been bringing diverse communities together through art, social, cultural, and various other amazing projects. MIN understands that integration is not possible by working with only one particular group within the community and so encourages participation from people of all backgrounds, ages and abilities living within Greater Maryhill, the North West area of Glasgow and beyond.

The tour was created by MIN members who have lived in the area for 2-6 years, from various parts of the world.