Beim Reden komm' die Leut z'amm

The first workshop of our project took place in the aftermath of the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ (another terminology already referring to a narrative which we aimed to deconstruct).  As a particular aim of this first workshop, we wondered how a group of people who have been uprooted by war will re-invent their (life) stories and cultural heritage in new or fused languages and/or other modes of narration. The event was embedded in an annual series of events by the UNHCR uniting different activities related to refugees and flight experience (http://www.langertagderflucht.at/).

The event was open to the public and opened a space to generate narrations and related knowledge: all persons interested in sharing stories and experiences linked to forced migration were welcome to participate. Additionally, two persons with refugee background, one member of a NGO (which was prominently involved in supporting refugees arriving at Austrian borders) as well as two researchers (both of them being co-authors of this paper) were asked to give inputs by sharing their personal experiences with forced migration.

A short report can be found here.