Prospero World’s next ‘Models of Refugee Integration’ webinar will take place on Thursday 28th March at 12.00n.
Click here to reserve your free place
You only have to look at the history of the British Isles to know that the foundations of this country are built on the influx and integration of different peoples and cultures across the centuries. Some were conquerors and others were refugees but all the incoming waves of people enriched the country in myriad ways, not least in making English the colourful and nuanced language it is today.
However, it was not until the 16th century that the term ‘refugee’ was first coined in relation to the Huguenots, French protestants who fled France and arrived in England first during the 16th and again in the 17th centuries. Once here, they found ways to integrate into their new country and were assimilated into the fabric of English life to such an extent that their legacy is often overlooked. They literally ‘enriched’ the new country, not only with their skills and expertise but with the resulting increase in trade brought about by their influence on industries such as silversmithing, the wool and silk trades, textiles, printing, engraving and glassmaking, to name just a few.
While subject to huge injustices in their own countries, yet they were fortunate – they found freedom and new homes in a country where they became part of the local and social fabric of the society in which they found themselves.
By contrast, refugees today have almost insurmountable hurdles to overcome, not least the efforts to arrive into this country and be registered as refugees. Governments of recent decades have deliberately created hostile environments for refugees without regard for the ethical, moral and economic arguments for welcoming refugees.
Imagine having to leave a comfortable home, friends you have known all your life, family, a secure job and a life and culture you have grown up in, and being thrust into a totally foreign place. Now there is no home (comfortable or otherwise), no network of friends and family to turn to for support and advice, no job, no income to speak of and none of the things that made life good. You may not be able to speak the language and you have no idea how to get through the culture and bureaucracy of day-to-day living. If you are alone, you may feel isolated and yet, if you have a family you may feel overwhelmed by the responsibility to provide and care for your loved ones. You may feel bewildered and lost, and perhaps struggle with mental health issues as a result of your displacement experiences. You are now dependent on the whims of fortune and the inefficient and underfunded system that deals with refugees in this country.
If you are lucky you may, through various different routes, connect with a charity, such as Pan, that may help you to come to terms with your new reality. There are countless charities across the country that are working with refugees to help integrate them into the new country that they find themselves in. Each of these charities has its own criteria for the groups of people they assist and they may all work in very different ways. For example, at Pan we use the creative power of imagination to help young people and female survivors of human trafficking to overcome trauma and re-imagine their lives. Other charities may help families with the bureaucracies of everyday life – filling forms to apply for school, benefit and work, helping families find and settle into homes, finding new jobs or new meaning in their new lives. Yet other charities help with everyday issues related to cultural differences.
Refugee charities come in all shapes and sizes, and they may all operate in slightly or completely different ways, but what they all have in common is their objective of helping people integrate themselves into the new lives they now find themselves in.
The challenges of refugee integration into a host community are many and varied, not least because it is a two-way process. Not only does it require refugees to reach out to find support but there also need to be infrastructures, connections and individuals within the host community, willing and able to help and support those in need. Refugee charities work in this area to fill this gap left almost bare as a result of political antipathy.
John Martin, Pan’s Artistic Director, has recently been invited to be on the discussion panel of a series of webinars hosted by https://www.prosperoworld.org.uk/. The aim of the webinars is to bring together charities with similar objectives in order to explore further the issues and problems related to refugee integration. The online sessions will provide a forum for charity representatives to make connections, share ideas and talk with others working in this field.
The first webinar (recording available here) invited charities working with refugees to talk about their work through the lens of integration: how they understand this term and what models they have created around the need for integration. The second in the series will be looking at what solutions can be imagined from a small-medium size charity perspective, and the third in the series will be presented by refugees talking about their own experiences of integration.
Be sure to take part in the discussion – click here to book.
Mina McPhee
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Alison has over 30 years’ experience of working as a fundraiser - mostly for arts organisations. She’s been part of large teams working on major capital campaigns for national organisations as well as the sole fundraiser for small, community-based charities. She's a keen believer in the role that art in all its forms can play in health and wellbeing, and enjoys working with funders to enable great ideas to grow into projects that change lives.
Email Alison: [email protected]
Once a troubled young person searching for direction, I found a sense of purpose through a drama workshop that changed my life. That experience opened my eyes to the power of creativity, expression, and community.
Inspired by how theatre helped me find my voice, I went on to train and develop as a drama facilitator, using performance and storytelling to help others explore their own potential and confidence.
Taku Mukiwa works for the Terrence Higgins Trust's delivery of national HIV prevention social marketing campaigns. His responsibilities include managing the delivery of England's National HIV Prevention Programme, and HIV Prevention England.
Email Taku: [email protected]
Sophie Froment is, and has been, a Human Resources/People Manager for many years. She has worked across a range of industries and has lived in France, Switzerland, Iceland and is now in the UK.
Sophie is delighted to join Pan as a Trustee because she is deeply inspired by Pan's mission. She is very impressed by the range and depth of Pan's activities because she firmly believes that the performing arts can truly change peoples' lives.
Email Sophie: [email protected]
Melanie Hargreaves has held media and public relations roles in the charity sector for 15 years, most recently leading the global media function for the Freedom Fund, which invests in frontline communities and movements to drive progress towards a world free of slavery. She previously worked at international development organisation, Christian Aid, where she covered on-the-ground humanitarian emergency response, as well as campaigns addressing global displacement and violence against women and girls. Melanie also led media relations at UK domestic charity, Hospice UK and prior to entering the charity sector, Melanie worked as a journalist for The Press Association (PA Media).
Email Melanie: [email protected]
Maya has worked in the corporate sector for many years, mainly in finance and financial communications. She has lived in Brussels, Leiden, Paris and London. Eight years ago, she moved to the charity sector, where she has been charge of building and growing Corporate Partnerships.
She is passionate about generating positive social impact and championing projects to help make a tangible difference. and is very impressed by Pan’s extensive work and ethos, and by how performing arts really can change people’s lives.
Email Maya : [email protected]
Lloyd is the Global Property Director at Aesop. Prior to Aesop, Lloyd has held numerous senior roles in the Fashion and Real Estate sector, always having a clear focus on growing brands and reaching new global audiences.
In his spare time he enjoys gardening, long country walks and the theatre.
During the coming year, Lloyd's key focus will be to support Pan in securing a new permanent home within London.
Email Lloyd: [email protected]
Jumoké Fashola is a radio broadcaster for BBC London, currently presenting 'Inspirit with Jumoké Fashola', on BBC Radio London. As such she brings knowledge of the media world. She is a professional singer, media trainer and keen supporter of youth issues.
Email Jumoké: [email protected]
Heather Fokerd is the director/owner of Lordship Consultancy Ltd, which provides financial services to schools. She became a chartered accountant after studying Business Management. Heather brings both financial and business acumen to the Board.
Email Heather: [email protected]
Hatice is an award-winning broadcast professional at NBC News who has covered major global events for over a decade. She has extensive experience in helping to produce long-form projects, breaking news and large-scale events, with her work spanning topics from war zones, terrorist attacks, and political elections to the Olympics, Royal Milestones, and Thanksgiving Parades.
Prior to her career in news, Hatice worked with NGOs, cultivating a passion for social justice and humanitarianism. Her advocacy for meaningful change aligns closely with Pan’s mission to empower marginalized communities through the arts. Hatice’s Turkish-Cypriot heritage gives her a her a deep understanding of Pan’s work and its importance in supporting those affected by hardship.
Hatice holds both BA and MA degrees from SOAS University and is proud to contribute to Pan’s remarkable mission and values.
Email Hatice: [email protected]
Hannah Wengård is a multidisciplinary artist, fundraiser, and project coordinator working across the arts and charity sectors. She leads on safeguarding and learning & development for one of MSF UK’s fundraising teams while freelancing in theatre, both on stage and screen. Passionate about creating trauma-informed spaces, she explores theatre, movement, and music in participatory arts. Hannah holds a BA in World Performance from East 15 Acting School (2022) and an MA in Global Creative and Cultural Industries from SOAS (2023).
Email Hannah: [email protected]
Brian is delighted to be the Chair of Pan's Board of Trustees after being a member of the board for over 14 years. He is a practising Barrister specialising in Criminal Law.
He regularly attends the theatre, live music venues and film events. "My love of the arts, coupled with my knowledge of people gained through my work, led me to join Pan"
Brian is convinced that the Arts can change lives. He hopes, along with all the Pan family, to continue the great work of his predecessors in championing the power of live performance, to explore cultural diversity and tolerance.
Email Brian: [email protected]
Alice is the UK MD for Icepay, an Amsterdam based payments fintech. Alice was previously at the British Business Bank, where she led strategy, economic analysis, product and business development from just after its founding in 2015 to 2021. She was involved there in supporting the UK life sciences, fintech, and creative sectors, as well as broader diversity and inclusion work. The BBB is the UK Government’s delivery arm for SME finance and the largest domestic institutional investor in UK venture capital.
Alice also spent 5 years at Barclays plc and Barclaycard, in corporate and data-driven strategy roles. Prior to that, she worked for Lloyds Banking Group in Cards and Prophet, a strategic marketing and brand consultancy. She began her career at McKinsey, latterly specialising in corporate finance and strategy.
Alice earned her undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and her MBA from INSEAD in France. She is a dual US and UK citizen and a fluent Mandarin Chinese speaker.
Email Alice : [email protected]
Adam is a Director at Savills. He heads up the Place-Shaping team within London, helping deliver programmes of cultural activity at sites across the UK.
He is particularly active in areas of diversity & inclusion and community engagement with an interest in the ways in which the arts can be used as a means through which to connect audiences from diverse backgrounds. He enjoys helping shape environments which foster collaboration between people and communities and in understanding the ways in which people interact with the built environment in new, unexpected and creative ways.
Prior to Savills, Adam held leadership positions at property companies including WeWork and The Crown Estate. He also worked at English Heritage helping deliver major investment projects at historic visitor destinations including Dover Castle and Charles Darwin's home, Down House, in Kent.
Email Adam: [email protected]
Emmeline has worked in the administration and hospitality sectors for a decade, using her meticulous eye for detail and financial acumen to improve company processes and help places run more efficiently. She joined Pan as Administration Officer and swiftly became a centre of support for both our projects and office team, always on hand for the variety of tasks thrown her way, offering solutions and ideas to move forward with. She is thoroughly passionate about Pan providing the best possible experience for our participants.
Email Emmeline: [email protected]
Joanna brings over 14 years of experience in arts management, with previous roles at Somerset House, a regional theatre, and a puppetry festival. She currently serves as a trustee for Outside Edge Theatre Company.
Throughout her career, Joanna has driven impactful growth for the organisations she’s worked with. Notably, she built a network of 150+ volunteers for a regional theatre, enhanced large-scale public events with supplementary programming, and supported Pan to expand its activities by over 60%, doubling its turnover within three years.
Joanna is deeply passionate about the transformative power of creativity to connect, heal, and empower communities. Her work is rooted in a deep commitment to equity, disrupting power dynamics, and centering the voices of those the work is for.
Email Joanna: [email protected]
John is a founding member of Pan and has been the Artistic Director throughout its history. He is an actor, director, playwright, drama facilitator, writer and a university professor.
Originally a dancer and actor, he trained at Bristol University and the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. International work has taken him across the globe and he has led training sessions and directed plays in more than a dozen countries.
Founding Pan led him to concentrate on using the Arts for Social Change in a multi ethnic society and the success of this led to invitations by various NGOs to deliver programmes to aid the rehabilitation of people affected by war, natural disaster, social injustice and poverty in many countries.
“I regularly write and teach on issues around interculturalism, creativity, playfulness and theatre for development both in the UK and abroad. Luckily I have an eclectic bunch of inspired colleagues who all make Pan the special place that it is today.
The Arts can Change Lives!”
Email John: [email protected]
Zephryn Taitte, A gold arts award attainee and one of the co founders of Weapon of Choice now takes a back seat and marvels at the great work produced by the team. He looks forward to rejoining the team in a new capacity as a WOC trainee mentor.
In his early years he was selected by the British Council and Oval House theatre on a sponsored international trip for potential young leaders in the arts. Shortly after, in 2008, he worked with Pan as a participant and Young Leader in 'There Aint No Black In The Union Jack' at Hackney Empire.
He is a believer in performing arts being able to educate and inspire young people. There is a need in the community for greater opportunities for young people to express themselves in meaningful and creative ways, and so provide an alternative to some of the more negative behaviours teenagers can otherwise engage in.
You may also recognise him as Cyril Robinson from the BBC's Call the Midwife.
Sheyda is a facilitator and the camera woman behind a lot of Pan's films and photos over the years. Joining Fortune she immediately felt at home and eagerly acted and wrote for the group in many productions. She rose to be a Project Director with Fortune and founded our project - Papillon - for newly arrived young Afghan Women who had been brought to the UK after the fall of Kabul.
"I have seen the beauty of my work through different lenses. Like my camera, I like to focus on making changes in our participants' lives and hopefully make their blurry vision of the new place that they have to call home a little more focused and clear I know in Pan this can be achieved."
She herself is an example of such an achievement and this was recognised by Visa when they awarded her as one of the twenty most important refugee women working for communities in Europe.
She is sometimes called "Hedgehog". It's just a Pan nickname with a long story behind it, but others know her as Sheyda or the participant that never left!
Email Sheyda: [email protected]
Laura is a pianist and an Artist Facilitator and Accompanist for the Amies Freedom Choirs.
One of the things she loves the most about Amies is how the sessions enable a unique space for connection, creativity, and mutual learning, where everyone can be equally valued and heard. From her first day , she has felt part of a very welcoming, safe, supportive, kind and empowering family - it’s truly special.
Her role not only involves music-making, but also contributing to growing as a group, building self-confidence, promoting connection and a sense of belonging, facilitating the space for everyone’s self-expression and supporting their path in exploring their own creativity - always so exciting and inspiring!
Email Laura: [email protected]
E is an actor and musician, releasing songs under the name “ Ezae”. He is the Project Director for Fortune, Pan's project working with young adult refugees and migrants and Project Director for Weapon of Choice's work in Bradby Youth Club. E was a participant in early Weapon of Choice days and has grown through the organisation be a great facilitator, leading workshops with young refugees and asylum seekers as well as for the Weapon of Choice programmes. He is also also a facilitator for Greenwich & Lewisham Young Peoples’ Theatre.
Email Emmanuel 'E' : [email protected]
Ehireme is the Project Director of the Weapon of Choice Theatre Project, a facilitator of the school residencies projects and the producer of the 'Pan Talks: Poetry Night' event.
He says :"I do this type of work because I want to give to the Pan participants what I never received when I was a young person. There are so many gaps that young people fall through and I'm doing my part to fill the voids that I can see in society. It's a passion!"
The WoC Theatre Projects and the WoC School Residencies projects do a plethora of things that improve the young peoples' lives. At the end of our projects young people notice an increase in their confidence. In addition, building their stage presence is a transferable skill that can be used with peers and adults. And finally, they start to believe that they can achieve whatever they want to! (Cliché, but true).
Ehireme is a performance poet and a published author of 'Points Of Contact' - a collection of poems highlighting experiences of young people and some of his own from adolescence to adulthood. The themes are; family dynamics, fatherhood, nature, the black experience and the relationship between the police and young black men.
"I like to use my skills of story telling and creative writing to support the work I do with the young people I work with."
Email Ehireme : [email protected]
Bruno is an actor, musician and facilitator. He is the leading artist and Project Director for all Weapon of Choice’s work in alternative provision.
He is an experienced practitioner with a passion for making sure young people are heard. He’s deeply committed to working with young people that have been excluded from mainstream education. Bruno has led residencies in pupil referral units such as Beachcroft AP Academy and Camden Centre for Learning for over 5 years.
He was at the forefront of WoC’s first venture into school residencies and has delivered projects in Haverstock School, Hampstead School, Acland Burghley, Saint Gabriel’s College and several workshops in The UCL Academy, Highbury Grove School, Sacred Heart School and City Heights.
Bruno never gives up on young people and believes that they all have potential to be successful leaders. He combines youth work values and principles, artistic excellence and a belief in all young people in his practice. Young people and colleagues love working with him.
He has experience training young people to facilitate support groups and believes in giving meaningful responsibility and experience to young leaders.
Email Bruno : [email protected]
Brie has a long association with Pan, having started as a work placement in our office. She then joined our WoC Theatre Group as a performer and also gained performance experience in other youth companies. Before long she was asking if she could learn facilitation skills and became a peer facilitator in WoC Theatre Project. And now she brings her skills to the WoC Residencies and to the Fortune Group.
Adwoa joined Pan as an actor/story-teller in its early days and has been linked with it ever since. She was instrumental in the growth of the Fortune group of young adult refugees and this led to her involvement in our work with female Survivors of Human Trafficking, co-founding the Amies group. As this developed, her training as a singer came into play and she became the Project Director of the Amies Choir (now the Amies Freedom Choir) for female survivors of trafficking which has had great success both as a means to empower the women and as a joyous performing group. Adwoa is also the Project Director for Amies London, a drama group for female survivors of trafficking.
Adwoa also works as a professional singer, having sung with the Royal Opera House, Sadlers Wells, Pegasus Opera, Chineke Orchestra, Grand Union Orchestra amongst others. She is also a session singer for Voquality Singers and often does solo work exploring Jamaican/Caribbean music.
Of her work with the Amies Project Adwoa says:
“I like to help the participants I work with recognise and strive to fulfil their potential. In Pan's Amies programme participants grow in confidence and realise they don't have to "settle" for a life that has been prescribed by the adversity they have faced in their lives. They feel that they can move beyond expectations, and make friendships in a supportive environment that last for years. The Amies choirs, as well as performing already written repertoire, work together to create their own music and have recently been involved in composing vocal music strands for an installation at the Freedom Festival in Hull based around the "Sirens" from Greek mythology which had a fantastic response from the audience."
Email Adwoa: [email protected]