Birmingham entrepreneur to teach refugees the art of blogging

A young entrepreneur from Birmingham is set to teach refugees and asylum seekers the art of blogging in a bid to help their share them migration stories.

Creative writer, social media guru and website designer Jordan Garvey will lead a Migrant Voice Media Lab training session on Tuesday 27 August to help represent migrant voices online.

Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants living in Birmingham are being invited to register to attend the Media Lab workshop in order to learn skills that will make their voices heard.

Marketing and social media expert Garvey, who runs The Blogatory, will be sharing tips and skills on how to set up a blog, a website and how to share stories online. The 25-year-old is also the founder of The Book Club Brum and has her own clothing range, Rad Bab.

The free Media Lab session is being headed by the MiFriendly Cities project, a 3-year initiative looking to develop innovative, community-led and sustainable approaches to enhancing the contribution of refugees and migrants across the region.

Migrant Voice

Delivered by Migrant Voice, the sessions offer group media training and one-one mentoring with volunteer media experts and journalists for migrants to gain skills and confidence to tell their stories and build better understanding of migration.

Training areas include photography, basic film-making skills, writing articles, social media, effective messaging, interview techniques and pitching stories to journalists and media outlets.

Seasoned creatives to have delivered sessions across Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Coventry include photojournalists Denise Maxwell and Alison Baskerville, writers Olly MacNamee and Vimal Korpal, photographer Inès Elsa Dalal and filmmakers Sheikh Shahnawaz ands Paul Stringer.

Migrant Voice is a migrant lead organisation working with migrants from all around the world with all kinds of status, including refugees and asylum seekers.

The London-based charity develops the media skills and confidence of migrants with the aim of strengthening and amplifying their voices in the media and civil society in order to counter xenophobia and build support for their rights.

Migrant Voice

Migrant Voice’s director Nazek Ramadan said:

“Migrant Voice is proud to be part of this project to ensure migrants’ own voices and stories are heard.

“Our own research shows that 85 per cent of stories about migration don’t quote a migrant. We want to make sure first hand experiences of migration are heard, and that the public debate is less toxic and damaging to community cohesion.”

Migrant Voice

The free Media Lab session which will be held on Tuesday 27th August at Saathi House, 49 Bevington Road, Aston, Birmingham, B6 6HR; between 10am and 5pm. Free food and refreshments will be provided. For more information or to register, contact 07821147341 or email [email protected].