Culture, Arts and Refugees

A Sense of Belonging is the first major report on the role of both culture (as a foundation for human development) and arts (as a means of expression, communication and sharing) in the resettlement process. The report has emerged from a 12-month research project involving 73 projects across the UK

A Sense of Belonging is about validating the importance of the cultural lives, cultural expressions and cultural experiences of refugees and asylum seekers as part of the process of their inclusion and integration in British Society.

It is unashamedly based on the assumption that such integration and inclusion is necessary and welcome in civilised society; that societies which are stable and safe have a responsibility to offer refuge to those whose lives are under threat in other territories; that such a responsibility will inevitably bring the world’s diverse cultures to enrich these shores, and that such new influences and ideas will challenge British communities to adapt, just as our society and cultures challenge those who arrive to adapt with us.

Some perceive that culture is just about ‘the arts’. But it is far more. It is a foundation for human growth. It is about values, beliefs, ways of living, identity and expression. As such, it is fundamental to everyone’s living experience. It is not, as many policymakers believe, a ‘soft’ issue, but the bedrock of quality of life. And in the context of assisting with the process of the adaptation by and to refugees and asylum seekers – and other migrants – culture is rooted right at the heart of the process. Not an end, or an outcome, or a by-product, but a starting point, a rationale, and a means by which it can be achieved.

Arts activities are about expression and communication, enabling us to share our unique personal experience of life. They enable us to connect with the identity and values that are formed through that experience. Arts activities are also about creativity – that wellspring from which we find new and original pathways to the future. And they are about participation, about joining with others, and sharing our humanity in an inimitable way. Through the creative processes of expression, communicating, connecting, imagining and sharing we learn and grow.

As such, arts activities can make a significant contribution to helping refugees and asylum seekers adapt to and integrate within British life, and they can help existing British communities to understand, value and welcome the diverse cultures and experiences of refugees and asylum seekers as newcomers to their society.

A Sense of Belonging grew from informal research on the resettlement of Kosovan refugees in the UK in 1999. At that time Creative Exchange noted that culture, and arts activity, was often overlooked in the integration and inclusion process. Support for the cultural lives of refugees and asylum seekers might, at that time, have stretched to a trip to the zoo. The range and diversity of initiatives illustrated in this report is an indicator of a significant shift in the response to the cultural needs of refugees and asylum seekers in just five years.

Creative Exchange’s initial research spurred interest in how and why arts and culture could make a more significant contribution to resettlement and help improve the quality of life, not only of refugees and asylum seekers, but of host communities.

Creative Exchange held a practitioner conference to explore this theme in 2002. Further progress on formal research and data gathering was only possible once funding was secured in 2004. Research began in February 2004 and concluded in July 2004. 76 projects were identified, from which 33 projects were selected for further detailed research, 14 of which were chosen as case studies.

The title of the project is taken from the Refugee Council’s response to the 2002 UK Immigration White Paper. “The Government's aim is to strengthen active participation in the democratic process and a sense of belonging to a wider community.We believe that the key to achieving this lies not in how people are taught, but in how they are treated. People will only feel that they are able to participate meaningfully in society if they are welcomed and valued.” (Refugee Council, 2002b).

In many respects, this report is not an end, merely a starting point. The research process has been constrained by time and resources, and is not based on scientifically proven data - if such is necessary to make a convincing case - but on a process of rational deduction as a result of the experience and outcomes of the projects we have explored.

Where does it go next? As we infer throughout the report, culture and arts activity is already being recognised as a useful contributor to the integration process. This report aims to provide further guidance on how arts and culture can be deployed, not just as a ‘tool’ of integration strategy, but as a means of understanding the cultural needs and values of refugees and asylum seekers, and host communities, and enhancing the adaptation process, and making it more culturally sensitive and effective for both refugees and asylum seekers and host communities. To achieve this, will require a level of deeper cultural thinking by refugee service agencies and other agencies involved in integration, and a more sustained and confident commitment to partnerships with arts and cultural providers.

For practitioners, this report aims to reflect back to those working with arts and culture how their work is chiming with emerging integration strategy; some of the perceived methodological successes and challenges within their work; and the lessons inferred from recent experience. We hope this will, in turn, inform and improve practice.

It is clear that an exciting and potentially valuable partnership is evolving between arts and culture and refugee service provision. This report doesn’t set out to make recommendations. It aims to inspire greater confidence and better use of a proven methodology, and greater investment in, and consideration of the cultural dimension of integration.Any follow-up will be focused not on further research - which can tell us very little more than the practice is currently showing - but to fostering, building and improving that partnership as part of a process of action learning and an iterative growth of understanding.

Helen Gould Creative Exchange 2005