Culture, Arts and Refugees
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PLN’s Sharing Session
What is the PLN?
The Peer Leadership Network on Culture, Arts and Refugees (PLN) was a one-year project bringing together a group of arts practitioners and cultural managers working with Refugees and Asylum Seekers, to share and develop their skills, knowledge and capacity building. The project had an underlying aim: to address the lack of sustainability of the programmes in this sector and explore ways for fostering leadership in the Refugee Arts sector.
This initiative was inspired by ‘A Sense of Belonging’, a research project by Creative Exchange designed to improve policy and practice in the use of arts and culture for the integration of refugees and asylum seekers. One of its recommendations was the need to develop sustainability through the ‘need for ongoing exchange of knowledge, skills, practice and policy in relation to culture, arts and refugees’ (A Sense of Belonging report, 2005).
To improve prospects for sustainability of their work, the Peer Leadership Network participants agreed to:
- increase knowledge of participants in relation to integration of refugees;
- promote exchange between participants and refugee service providers;
- build and develop collective resources and practical tools to aid partnerships, practice and policy in the sector;
- disseminate information and share the knowledge gained through the project.
The process wasn’t easy. Many challenges arose through the year: lack of time to participate actively and difficulty in reaching consensus on learning issues, among others, affected levels and ways to participate and reach consensus, though these were acknowledged and adapted accordingly through a participatory approach to networking.
The group met four times through the year participating in thematic seminars with learning and knowledge sharing workshops on issues such as:
PLN participant presenting results from a working group
Participants also had the opportunity to go on study visits to meet and learn from other organisations and art practitioners working with Refugees and Asylum Seekers, and other organisations working in the social inclusion sector in the UK and abroad.
It became clear that to achieve greater sustainability in the arts and refugees sector it was necessary to influence the external environment. This will require a longer time frame and collective action by these leaders to achieve. That process will in turn impact further on their capacity: having developed their skills and knowledge it would be an empowering activity to take this forward into influencing for change.
The work of the PLN participants is the beginning of a much needed participatory learning process for the Refugee Arts sector. Its need and relevance has been acknowledged in the recent report ‘Arts and Refugees: History, Impact and Future’ by Hybrid Consulting (and published by Arts Council England, The Baring Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation in May 2008), proposing to ‘develop participatory based skills development programmes for practitioners working in the field’, and other proposals such as an internet based support system for the sector and peer to peer support, as well as mentoring programmes or study visits similar to the ones experienced by the PLN participants.
The future
At this time, the PLN has inspired the creation of the Intercultural Arts Network (ICAN) in Glasgow, Scotland, an umbrella initiative that brings together organisations from the arts, refugee, community based and local Government sectors to build lasting partnerships and cultural programmes with communities in Scotland.
At the end of the project two participant organisations, Oval House Theatre and Greenwich and Lewisham Young People’s Theatre, came together with Hi8us South, to set up a consortium to ‘explore and increase awareness of the important contribution made by mid-sized arts organisations towards long term social and creative outcomes with young exiles, and challenges and opportunities to sustain and build on expertise’.
Other participants of the PLN project have begun a consultation process with other organisations working in the field to assess the need and feasibility of a national and / or regional umbrella body that could act as an agency for the Refugee Arts sector in the UK.
We think the Peer Leadership Network project, funded by the Cultural Leadership Programme, has supported the development of several initiatives for leadership in the Refugee Arts sector at local, regional and potentially, national level. A second phase project, if extended and refocused for broader representation through regional hubs and aiming specifically at professional and partnership based leadership, could work in tandem with existing groups as well as new initiatives. This second phase project – more in the shape of a consistent leadership programme for the sector – may well help transform the Refugee Arts sector with a solid stance, collective message and professional workforce to work not only with Refugee communities but with migrant and new communities, reflecting the intercultural dialogue approach of Government and national and international policies.
Creative Exchange would like to thank each and every member of the network for their commitment and interest throughout the project. We truly hope this process has initiated or facilitated in some way potential partnerships, projects and motivated a commitment to find new ways for sustainability in the Refugee Arts sector.
We are also grateful to the Cultural Leadership Programme for funding the Peer Leadership Network on Culture, Arts & Refugees and providing opportunities for learning and networking to develop leadership skills in the cultural sector.
