Exhibition: "1000 Dreams"- Refugees portray refugees
At the beginning of the July plenary week, in cooperation with Witness Change and the Heinrich Böll Foundation Thessaloniki opened a photo exhibition of individual stories of refugees in the Parliament.
Against the backdrop of the current debates on the reform of the EU asylum system, it is important to keep reminding that behind technical discussions on refugee numbers, distribution mechanisms and border procedures are individual people who will be directly affected by these decisions. Many people in Europe rarely come into contact with refugees. Our views of them are often formed from what we hear, read, or see from others, as well as from media coverage and social media. In doing so, we must make an effort to listen to refugees.
1000 Dreams
This is where the project "1000 Dreams" From Witness Change an. Refugees should have their say and tell their stories. Refugees should not be seen as a homogeneous group, but as individuals with talents, dreams and needs. More than 50 storytellers with a refugee background have already taken part in workshops in Athens, Lesbos and London, among other places. In workshops, they practice taking portraits and conducting interviews. All photo shoots and interviews that make up 1000 Dreams are thus conducted and created by refugees with refugees. Over 800 contributions and portraits have been created in this way so far. It should become 1000. In Strasbourg we have exhibited 20.
Exhibition Strasbourg
For the opening, storytellers Zahra Mojahed, Elsayed Elsehamy Abdelhamid and Mirza Durakovic came to Strasbourg to share their personal life stories and tell us about their work on the project. For Witness Change, founder Robin Hammond and William Lounsbury as director of the 1000 Dreams project were present to open the exhibition together with Neda Noraie-Kia and Chrysiis Katsea from the Heinrich Böll Foundation Thessaloniki and me.
After the official opening, all guests and attendees had the opportunity to get to know the individual portraits and stories behind the photographs, as well as the storytellers and project initiators.
In addition to the exhibition in the Parliament, the 20 portraits will also be on display for a few weeks in Strasbourg City Hall.