At the end of September, Migration Yorkshire organised The Yorkshire Integration Festival celebrating the positive impact made by migrants and refugees in the Yorkshire and Humber region. This time the festival took place in Sheffield on 30th September, and it was accompanied by a series of online events in the preceding week. According to the 2021 Census 15% of Sheffield residents were born outside the UK.
Kate James, Policy and Research Officer, Migration Yorkshire, reflected on the success of the festival:
We were delighted to be able to bring the Yorkshire Integration Festival to Sheffield this year. It was a fantastic event with a great turnout, and we’ve had lots of positive feedback from attendees and contributors. We’d like to thank all those who enabled us to make it such a success, as well as everyone who joined us to eat, dance, listen, view the exhibitions and enjoy everything else the Festival had to offer
Reflection from the festival organiser
Kate James, Policy and Research Officer, Migration Yorkshire
Winter Garden and Millennium Gallery hosted a number of thought-provoking exhibitions, which can still be seen online, such as ‘We are here, because you were there’ with voices of Afghan interpreters in the UK, ‘Migrant workers: summer on a strawberry farm’, ‘Welcoming cultures: Seeing beyond our cultural outfits’ and prepared by colleagues from the University of Sheffield - ‘Becoming Us’.
The day was packed with cultural performances, music, dances, specialty food and craft workshops. Livia Barreira - the author of ‘Living in Sheffield: Our Journeys as Migrant Women’ book that read extracts of her book during the event - explained how sharing arts and culture help in breaking the stereotypes and bringing people together:
Migrants make hugely valuable contributions to the arts, culture, economy and society in the UK. I believe it is vital to keep amplifying these voices. (...) Literature, after all, plays an important role in this, as we can use it as a tool to educate, celebrate, express ourselves and reimagine the world
Reflection from the festival performer
Livia Barreira, author and activist
While the event was to celebrate local histories and diverse heritage of the region's population, the festivities happened in the shadow of increase in the Visa application fees and immigration health surges. Migrant Voice is organising A National Day of Action on 31 of October to raise awareness of visa costs and settlement routes among the public and policy makers. MRG is joining the cause by actively participating in different actions (including Teaching-outs on different topics of the migration system in the UK) organised by the Student Union on 31/10. You can find more information about the National Day of Action at the Student Union of the University of Sheffield (and how to get involved) below.
