Global Migrant Festival is back again! This year, we are featuring 30 events online, across 9 days, with over 200 participants from around the world! This event will be live streamed on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/globalmigrantfestival/ Visit our website for detailed festival events and timings: www.globalmigrantfestival.com/festival-events

Gender dynamics in relation to migration is finally something that has been given the attention it rightfully deserves. Join us therefore as we seek to understand how these award winning migrant women writers employ literary techniques as a response to the gender dynamics associated with migration. Our Speakers: Asiya’s story begins in Swat Valley, Pashtunistan. She was 8 years old when the war in her hometown endangered the lives of the people. To survive, Asiya and her family fled from place to place, eventually escaping to Malaysia in 2010 as a refugee. She has faced many obstacles in her 22 years of living, yet she has manage to use those challenges to hone her resillience. She was the first prize winner at Migrant & Refugee Poetry Competetion, Malaysia, 2019 Nyamad Biel is a former South Sudanese refugee who is currently working as a humanitarian in her home country, South Sudan. She is an award winning poet, filmmaker and a writer. Yulia Endang, from Ciamis, West Java, has been working in Singapore as a migrant worker for 14 years. In addition to writing poetry she enjoys photography. Yulia was awarded second place in Singapore’s 2019 Migrant Worker Poetry Competition Moderator: Amanda Chong is a lawyer who writes poems during lunch breaks. Her first collection Professions (2016) was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2018. Her poetry has been engraved on the Marina Bay Helix Bridge and included in the Cambridge GCSE syllabus. She co-founded ReadAble (www.readablesg.com), a non-profit which aims to improve social mobility by empowering children and migrant women with literacy.

This session will showcase the work of the Golden Waves project in Italy. In response to the hardline migrant policy adopted by Italy, the 'Golden Waves' art project promotes solidarity for migrants. One of their best known activities was to cover a village in golden blankets. The session will also feature a panel discussion with the founder of the project and key participants. Our Speakers: Mili Romano teaches Cultural Anthropology at the Academy of fine Art in Bologna. She is an artist and curator of public art, participatory and relational projects, often focused on promoting integration of migrants. Since 2005 she runs her project “Cuore di pietra” (Heart of stone) in Pianoro (Bologna). She published essays and books about literature, urban anthropology, public art. www.cuoredipietra.it www.milromano.com Clement I. Thomas was born in Nigeria, Edo State, in 1992. He attended secondary school in Lagos between 2003 and 2008. He arrived in Italy in 2016, when he arrived by boat in Pozzallo. He was then transferred to Bologna, where he lives with his wife and his three-years-old daughter in a Immigrant Welcome Center managed by the Association Mondo Donna onlus. Recently, he was hired for some temp work by the DHL Courier and he’s working as an hodman in Pianoro (Bologna). Moderator: Nazrul Kamsol, Managing Editor of MulaZine, a collective of multi disciplinary individuals and digital platform for paragraphs, photographs and ideas alike. Mula, the Malay word for ‘start’, aims to do exactly that by promoting insights into retrospective and current affairs, providing a safe space for lingering questions, discussions and a lifted censorship in all forms of bulletin, opinions and expression. Outside of Mula, Nazrul is a fourth year architecture student, with keen interest in conceptual works, and humanitarian causes. As a future designer, Nazrul aspires to be able to create disaster relief architecture that can improve the many lives of people that are vulnerable from natural disasters, poverty or war conflicts.

In late April of 2017, Fan Yusu, then a domestic migrant worker in China, became an overnight literary sensation in China when her essay “I Am Fan Yusu” was published on online platform Noonstory.com and soon went viral. This session features a discussion with Fan Yusu about her latest works. Born in Hubei, China, Fan Yusu was a farmer turned migrant worker in Beijing. She had worked as garbage collector, second-hand book seller, hourly laborer, and nanny. She became famous overnight with her autobiographical story ""I am fan Yusu"". Fan Yusu is currently a member of ""Pi village literature group"", a support group for workers in Pi Village, a place where small factories and migrant workers settled. Moderator: Yolanda Yu, born in North Eastern China, lives in Singapore since 1998. Award winning writer and poet, she also runs YoYo's Career Channel on YouTube.

First held in 2015, the Migrant Worker & Refugee Poetry Competition, Malaysia, has quickly established itself as one of the key events in the cultural calendar in Malaysia. The objectives of the competition are to provide a platform for mutual understanding between Malaysians and migrants while celebrating the literary talent of migrant workers and refugees in Malaysia. The event also seeks to promote greater tolerance of multi-culturalism and give a voice to refugees and lower skilled foreign workers. This session will feature the finals of the 2020 competition with readings by shortlisted contestants and the announcement of the winners.

The Tacoma Refugee Choir is not your typical choir, it is a welcoming community of refugees, immigrants, and second-generation Americans using the power of music to share their stories and unite their community. The choir is a diverse, non-auditioned choral ensemble. This session will feature a musical performance by the choir followed by a panel discussion with founder and director of the choir and some of the participants. Our Guests: Nathalie Bajinya was born in Democratic Republic of Congo and spent time in refugee camps in Kenya where she learned to sew from the nuns in the orphanage. She now has a thriving tailored clothing shop, Undeniable Bajinya, where she creates amazing one-of-a kind garments. She is a wife, mother, sister and member of the Tacoma Refugee Choir. Kimsang Lor immigrated to the United States in 1984, from war-torn Cambodia. His passion is working with the youth--to help them succeed in school and enrich their communities--brought him to works at APCC’s Youth Program. He also teaches Khmer language/dance at KLACA, and is a loud/proud member of TRC! Thierry Ruboneka is a peace advocate, entrepreneur, and is passionate about music. He moved to the US in 2016 with his family from DRC. While he was a refugee in Uganda, he studied Multimedia and managed one of the most successful music startups in Africa. He can speak 5 languages and has a startup to promote African culture and lifestyle. Erin Guinup is the founding Executive and Artistic Director of the Tacoma Refugee Choir, a TEDx speaker, author, composer, conductor, and soprano soloist. Moderator: Shivaji Das is the author of four travel memoirs and photography books. His latest book is ‘The Other Shangr-La: Journeys through the Sino-Tibetan frontier in Sichuan.’ Shivaji’s work has been featured in TIME, Economist, BBC, Asian Geographic, etc. He is the conceptualizer of the acclaimed Global Migrant Festival and Migrant and Refugee Poetry Contests and is the Managing Director-APAC for Frost & Sullivan, a research and consulting company.

How does one respond to the dynamics of Migration through art? In this panel discussions, three acclaimed photographers and artists of refugee background will share their work and discuss the relevance of visual arts in the context of migration. Our Speakers: Azad Mohammed: Azad obtained refugee status and now resides in Germany. Prior to 2020, he was living in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh after fleeing Myanmar in August 2017. While living in Cox’s Bazar, Azad documented stories of people and of day-to-day living. Azad is a talented photographer, motivated to grow his communication skills and grow professionally. Murtaza Ali is a Hazara visual artist from Afghanistan, currently living in Jakarta, Indonesia. He discovered art at Sketch Club Quetta, Pakistan. His paintings specialize in the abstract and semi-abstract, and are his self-experience and journey. He believes art has a great role in mankind's lives, and that artists are sincere, sensitive and show reality to the people as a mirror on the wall. He believes Art is a great way to express emotions and difficult situations that cannot be put into words. Geeti Ara spent six years in Malaysia as a refugee, and is currently in Ontario, Canada. She worked as a teacher in Malaysia for 4 years, studying concurrently She writes poetry, and is a self-taught artists who usually draws realistic portraits. She is currently studying graphic design, while working as an art instructor with Young Rembrandts. Moderator: Paroma Ray is a feminist educator and artist. As a South Asian woman and a parent of three, she spends a lot of time immersed in dialogues about gender, race and rainbows. Paroma identifies herself as being rootless and frequently wonders about the meaning of home, belonging and identity.

Hear from acta community theatre in Bristol, England, an internationally renowned theatre company that works with disadvantaged people to give them the confidence to tell their stories through theatre. In this talk they’ll explain why storytelling is so important for refugee and migrant communities in an increasingly global world, using examples of their previous and current European partnership projects. Our Speakers: Neil Beddow, acta Artistic Director: Neil was born and brought up in the Black Country, studied at University of Exeter and Goldsmiths College, and co-founded acta in 1985. He specialises in devising, writing and directing original community theatre with the diverse communities of Bristol. He represents acta at national and international levels, and has a particular interest in community theatre in a global context. Ingrid Jones, acta Associate Director :Ingrid has directed numerous community plays over the years, along with developing and directing acta youth theatres. Over the past ten years, she has focused on adult groups in particular working with migrant women. She has supported various European projects and training programmes; enabling her to share her experience, knowledge and enthusiasm for making community theatre. Rosalie Pordes, Projects Director: Born in London, Rosalie studied Drama at the University of Exeter where she discovered a passion for community theatre. Outside of her degree she volunteered with the theatre company Magic Carpet and supported a PHD student in her project Vital Spaces. Rosalie has led many projects at acta and currently directs the international Rapport company for migrants and refugees alongside co-Director and acta associate Hiba. Hiba Elhindi, acta Associate: Born in Sudan, Hiba moved to the UK in 2014. Since childhood, she has always been passionate about drama, arts and creative writing. She took part in shows at primary schools, creating sketches in French and performing them later at university. Hiba has been involved with acta since 2017 as a participant, audience member, trustee on the board and very recently as a foundation drama worker. Moderator Vivian Lim: Vivian is a community builder and lead curator TEDxSingapore. She was part of the co-founding team at TEDxNTU, where she curated years of Ideas Worth Spreading since 2011. Building communities has always been her passion. She brings diverse people together, shares conversations and builds authentic connections. She is the co-founder of Women In Asia, a community which helps to amplify perspectives from Asia, and help bridge cultural and gender differences. With educating women and girls as their key outcomes, her organisation runs programs like photo story exhibitions, mentoring circles to connect and engage the women community. Recently she was also selected as an Obama Leader, one of the 200 leaders on a year long program under The Obama Foundation Leaders: inaugural Asia-Pacific Program. Representing Singapore, she was chosen for Women In Asia’s work on women issues and girls education in the region.

Daria Bogdanska, author of Wage Slaves (2017), presents her autobiographical novel in which she illustrates the difficulties of building a life in Sweden from a working-class immigrant perspective. In particular, she highlights the inequity she was subjected to, the exploitative nature of the underground job market, as well as the solidarity she built up with Bangladeshi migrant workers in Malmö, Sweden. Moderator: Luka, Zhang Lei is a PhD candidate in English at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She received her Master’s Degree from University of Macau. She works on her PhD project “The Specter of Workers”: The (Im) Possibilities of Working-Class Literature from Asia. She is a translator or of working-class literature.