UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Language and Arts

A Poetic Journey Unpacks Migration and Inequality Through Imaginative Radio Play

A groundbreaking new audio play launched today on World Refugee Day is taking audiences on an unpredictable creative journey into the lives of migrants and the inequalities they face.

Afamba apota - which means the journey is unpredictable in the Zimbabwean language Shona - comes from the innovative minds of University of Glasgow researchers.

Fusing research with artistic expression, the captivating audio drama brings to life key findings from the UK's Migration for Development and Equality (MIDEQ) Hub and the research of the University’s UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Language, and Arts team.

But rather than dry research, listeners meet a colourful cast of characters populating the "migration corridor" under the lens of documentary maker Paul Lamont.

Written by the University’s artist in resident and UNESCO RILA researcher Dr Tawona Sitholé, the play sidesteps traditional formats to explore migration through a multi-sensory experience.

Evocative soundscapes immerse audiences in thought-provoking stories that illuminate human realities often obscured by statistics and policies.

Dr Sitholé, who is a poet, playwright, mbira musician and educator, said: "We are rethinking what constitutes research and education by drawing on the creative arts like poetry, music and theatre.

“This play allows us to share important lessons about migration in an engaging way that is accessible to all."

The audio drama features the voices of MIDEQ researchers as well as artists, poets and migrants sharing their perspectives.

It was co-directed by Dr Sitholé along with writer and producer Mariem Omari and award winning sound designer Kevin Murray who also composed the sound design.

Professor Alison Phipps, Professor of Languages and Intercultural Studies and the UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Language, and Arts, said: “Through creative works like Afamba apota, we can bring research to life. The play is memorable. People quote lines to each other because its funny, and because it’s true. This is how Art – and especially performance - has the power to change the stale and often stuck-in-the-mud ways research and policymaking talks about migration.

“Instead, as Tawona’s play shows, migration is a multilingual, often hilarious adventure into known, unknown, absurd and beautiful ways of finding humanity. The work with MIDEQ has enabled over 100 researchers to begin to use the arts to understand, animate and augment the way they research migration and to bring their stories to life.”

Rachel Sandison, the University of Glasgow’s Sanctury Champion and Deputy Vice Chancellor for External Engagement, said: “The University of Glasgow is proud to launch this incredibly impactful and significant play on World Refugee Day. As a University of Sanctuary, we are committed to being an inclusive and welcoming institution which supports those who have been displaced from their homes.

“Through world-leading research by colleagues, including our UNESCO RILA team, we are finding innovative ways, like Tawona Sitholé’s Afamba apota play, to bring to life the human stories and realities behind migration that are often obscured by statistics and policies. We hope that this play will inspire empathy, understanding, and simple acts of kindness towards those seeking sanctuary, who are trying to rebuild their lives in a new home.”

The audio play is launched as the University of Glasgow confirmed earlier this week that the UNESCO RILA Chair has been renewed. The Chair, initially established in 2016 as the UNESCO Chair in Refugee Integration through Languages and the Arts, has been expanded to encompass education, reflecting Professor Alison Phipps and her team’s vital role in educating on the issues faced by refugees and migrants. The renewed Chair will now be officially known as the UNESCO Chair on Refugee Integration through Education, Language, and Arts, while retaining its popular acronym RILA.

Listen to the play

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University news

First published: 20 June 2024