On 1 December, Alexander Betts took part in the final episode of the Imperial War Museums’ virtual festival ‘Refugee Nights’ – a series over three nights marking the launch of the IWM Institute and hosted by Hassan Akkad, Syrian refugee and creator of BAFTA-winning documentary ‘Exodus’. The festival explored refugees’ stories throughout history in talks, eyewitness accounts, music and food, and celebrated refugees’ rich and important cultural contributions to UK public life.
The final episode looked at topics such as: How have refugees throughout history built new lives in new countries? What does claiming asylum actually involve? What role does food, art and music play in preserving memories of home and creating a sense of community? And how can the world best help refugees?
All episodes are available to watch on IWM’s YouTube channel.