We need stories that inspire and connect us, rather than tearing us further apart; stories that paint a hopeful picture of the future we share and stories told by migrants themselves. For the third year, IMIX and IOM UK teamed up to run the International Migrants Day Ambassador Programme that each provides media training to a group of migrants, to empower them to share their stories with media and advocate for their rights. WALL, currently on display at The Migration Museum, is directly painted onto two separate surviving segments of the Berlin Wall by contemporary artists STIK and Thierry Noir. She had described immigration as “out of control” and said only the Tories are serious about “stopping the invasion” of the south coast of England, echoing the language of the far right.

In this guest blog Olivia Bridge considers the contribution EU nationals have made to the museum sector, and what impact the UK’s withdrawal from the EU may have on the culture and heritage industries. That the legend of Brutus was a ninth century fantasy concocted by a Welsh monk named Nennius – with the aim of affirming a British place in the club of civilisations – need not concern us. Sometimes I'm afraid of what could happen, but it all depends on the perspective with which you view things. The reason for the absence of anything but a small handful of MPs was not given, so we could only speculate: XR as well? This is an excerpt from an article in The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs.The Migration Museum was part of the welcome for Little Amal, a giant puppet of a Syrian refugee, to Lewisham on Friday 22 October 2021. In seeking to reset what has become a toxic debate about migration in many countries, Sam Miller, readily admits his latest book has been a hugely ambitious and daunting undertaking. When we migrate we often leave our loved ones behind and for many migrants this separation can be difficult to overcome. It is topical and moving exploring loss and hope as well as being a tribute to those who have to leave their homelands and have the courage to make this often hazardous journey to try to make a better life for them and their families.

Sam Miller’s new book, Migrants: The Story of Us All, comes when vilification of migrants and refugees is at the top of the Tory government’s and media’s agenda. With each page, this book demonstrates that migration is at the core of human history, a feature rather than a bug, and that essentially all humans are migrants. We all have a duty, individually and collectively, to provide support, sanctuary and welcome for people of all nationalities and backgrounds displaced by the current situation – and by other conflicts and crises around the world. Agadez, the legendary gateway to the desert, has become a transit city for many migrants trying to reach Libya to cross the Mediterranean to Italy.While some children were fortunate enough to do well in their new country, for thousands of others the forced migration was a profoundly traumatic experience of family separation, neglect and abuse.

Together with all the people who have participated in this endeavour, we ask you to join us to change how we speak about migrants and stand up for the human rights of all migrants everywhere. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. Over the past year, young people from across Lewisham have been designing exhibits responding to what migration means to them as part of Moving Stories: Lewisham, a creative competition we ran during Borough of Culture, supported by Landsec.Andrew Steeds has been involved with the Migration Museum as a volunteer, trustee and as our Projects Manager for the best part of a decade.