The Refugee Archive
A Consultation and Involvement Project
Exiled Writers Ink is proud to be the London partner for the national University of Westminster Refugee Archive project.
Dr Tamara Wilson, Chair of Exiled Writers Ink, is the project leader for the London part of the Refugee Archive Project.
The story of refugees in England is usually left out of its history. And when it is included, it is rarely told from the perspective of refugees themselves.
What if England had a ‘refugee archive’ – a collection of images, documents, and recordings designed and planned by people with the experience of arriving in England as refugees?
You’re invited to help imagine and plan a refugee archive by participating in one of the activities we have planned.
The project is being led by the University of Westminster in partnership with five different refugee/cultural groups:
- Exiled Writers Ink (London),
- Writing on the Wall/Bridge2 (Liverpool)
- Holocaust Centre North (Huddersfield)
- Ashley Community Housing (Bristol)
- Migrant Voice (Birmingham).
The Refugee Archive is funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
The refugee archive: documenting England’s refugee history from a refugee perspective
11th June 2026 from 5.30 to 8 pm
at 309 Regent Street
Free event
What would an archive of England’s refugee heritage look like if it were created by and for refugees? The Refugee Archive explores this question through consultations with refugee-led groups in five cities in England: London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Huddersfield, and Bristol.
This event brings together some of the people who have been working on the project to discuss why they became involved and to share the perspectives of the refugee-led organisations taking part. We will explore what refugees themselves expect from a refugee archive, what they want it to include, and how they would like it to be managed.
We see this as a first step towards preserving documents, images, and oral histories related to refugee heritage in England. The project also aims to connect refugee organisations across the country.
The event will begin with a panel and presentations, followed by an open discussion, and will include the launch of a report on the past year’s activities. Everyone interested in learning more about the project and contributing to the conversation is welcome.
Programme
17:30 – Registration
18:00 – Welcome and introduction to the panel, Lucy Bond, Head of School of Humanities
18:10 – Introduction to the project ,Linda Mannheim, Research Associate, The Refugee Archive
18:20 – Why we got involved, Nazek Ramadan, Migrant Voice
18:30 – Poetry from Exiled Writers Ink, Poets TBC
18:40 – Introduction to the website, Sumaya Yasin
18:50 – Introduction to the survey, Zara Mehmood
19:00 – Q&A and discussion
19:30 – 20:30 – Refreshments and networking
National Lottery Heritage Fund is supporting this University of Westminster project. The event is hosted by HOMELandS (Hub on Migration, Exile, Languages and Spaces) Research Centre with the support of School of Humanities.
