Global Migrant Festival being held until 29 November

The Global Migrant Festival 2020 is an arts festival held every two years, comprising of thirty online events held over the course of nine days. The Festival is a showcase of diversity, featuring over two hundred participants from around the world.

This year’s festival will be held online and will be from the 21st of November till the 29th of November 2020. The festival is organised by a group of volunteers under the Migrant Worker Poetry Competition organising committee led by Mr. Shivaji Das and supported by the High Commission of Canada, DBS, The Arts House, Sing Lit Station, Ben & Jerry’s, and migrant worker/refugee-related community organisations.
The Arts have always been a window into the human condition, as well as a reflection of larger societal issues. The Festival, therefore, seeks to use the Arts as a medium to allow low-wage migrant workers and refugees to have their voices heard and their stories told, humanising their experiences in the process. The sheer number of participants from all over the world allows for diverse, and very human perspectives of migration to be expressed. This, therefore, allows for a discussion of intersectional issues related to migration, including, but not limited to, health, economics, safety, art, and gender. The High Commissioner of Canada to Singapore, H. E. Lynn McDonald, said, “Initiatives such as the Global Migrant Festival provide an important platform to those whose voices, experiences, and opinions are so often unrepresented and neglected. This festival is particularly meaningful to us as Canadians. As a country largely comprised of immigrants, we are deeply committed to fostering a culture of inclusion at home and around the world, including by celebrating the immense contributions that migrant communities make to our societies. This is one of the many reasons why we are proud to support the festival.”
The Festival features various forms of literature including prose and poetry, photography, music, plays, academic narratives, art, and film. Furthermore, the Festival features the Finals of the Singapore Migrant Workers Poetry Competition and Malaysia Refugee and Migrant Worker Poetry Competition, a yearly affair that showcases the poetic talent of migrant workers and refugees.
The first-ever Global Migrant Festival was held in Singapore from the 15th till the 16 th of December 2018. We believe the issues covered at the Festival have become increasingly relevant, given that regular and irregular migration is a defining trend with significant social, cultural, economic, and political implications for both host and source countries.
Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/278475959974910
All events will be streamed live on our Facebook page
Official Website: https://www.globalmigrantfestival.com/festival-events
Source: Migrant Forum In Asia (MFA)