Istanbul is and has been a metropolis of refuge and a hub of migration. In this online workshop of the We Refugees Archive, different research and education projects share their perspectives on individual and urban stories of refuge in Istanbul from the 1920s to the present.
The We Refugees Archive presents its new components with self-testimonies of refugees in Istanbul in the 1930s and today, raising the question of how to bring historical and current experiences of flight into dialogue, thus providing new connecting lines and explanatory approaches from and with refugee voices for European and international remembrance and education policy. After presenting testimonies which depict Vilnius, Palermo, Berlin and Paris as urban microcosms of refuge and new beginnings we launch the new archive parts on Istanbul as a city of refuge in autumn 2021.
In addition, other projects from education, science, and activist support present their perspectives on Istanbul as a city of refuge and come into discussion:
The Refugees in Towns Project (RIT) promotes understanding of migrant and refugee experiences by drawing on the knowledge and perspectives of refugees themselves as well as local hosts, and working with them to develop case studies and reports of the towns in which they live.
The Metromod curated archive is based on interdisciplinary research on six global arrival cities (Bombay, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, London, New York, Shanghai). It offers an interactive map of creative exiles between the 1900s and 1950s.
The Istanbul-based GAR – Association for Migration Research presents their research work on current migration topics in Istanbul.
