By Jenny Phillimore While migrants seeking to escape conflict, persecution, poverty, and environmental disaster have been crossing the Mediterranean by boat to seek sanctuary in Europe for a number of years, in 2015 the scale of arrivals increased beyond all expectations. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported in excess of one million arrivals, with migrants... Continue Reading →
Brexit a window on contemporary processes, says Zygmunt Bauman
By Emilee Moore, University of Leeds On 5th October 2016, Emeritus Professor Zygmunt Bauman spoke at the Bauman Institute at the University of Leeds on the topic of ‘Europe’s Adventure: Still Unfinished?’ The lecture was part of a series of events taking place at the University of Leeds around the subject of Brexit. Prof. Bauman began... Continue Reading →
The challenge of superdiversity for urban planning
by Simon Pemberton (UPWEB, Keele University) Given my eclectic background as a practising urban planner, research institute director (on social inclusion) and (more lately) human geographer, I have become increasingly interested in the implications of increasing super-diversity for urban planning, as well as the equality of outcomes of planning practices. To this end, I have... Continue Reading →
Can the fabric of a diverse society be undone?
By Nando Sigona @nandosigona If you woke up this morning in a British city, you can see this happening right in front to your eyes. From the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham – one of the most diverse cities in the UK - the Tories are feeding the press with anti-immigration soundbites relentlessly, competing among... Continue Reading →
Barack Obama says the refugee crisis is a ‘test of our humanity’ – is Britain failing it? Asks Nando Sigona
Nando Sigona, University of Birmingham In a compassionate and compelling speech, Barack Obama called the response to the global refugee crisis “a test of our humanity” and invited world leaders attending the Leaders' Summit on Refugees on September 20 to do more to assist those fleeing war and persecution. The British prime minister, Theresa May,... Continue Reading →
Linguistic xenophobia and why it should be resisted
TLANG team
Like many around the country, the TLANG team have been shocked by the upsurge of xenophobia and racist hate crime which the police believe have been triggered by the BREXIT vote https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/jul/11/police-blame-worst-rise-in-recorded-hate-on-eu-referendum . The outcome of the vote seems to have been interpreted by some as permission to hate, or rather to express that hatred through abuse and violence. As part of the TLANG Project (website) we are working with the East European Advice Centre, housed in the Polish Social and Cultural Association (POSK) building in Hammersmith, London. As widely reported in the media, POSK came under racist attack with graffiti smeared over its front door the day after the EU Referendum.

Aspects of the BREXIT campaign, designed to raise fear and anxiety over migration, have encouraged this response, as has the campaign of disinformation on migration conducted by some sectors of the press. As concerned citizens we…
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On superdiversity in a ‘crisis mood’ | Nando Sigona interviewed in openDemocracy
“We need to question the categories we use and how we pigeonhole society. This opens spaces for us to imagine a different kind of society": Nando Sigona in conversation with Rosemary Bechler in OpenDemocracy. Source: On superdiversity in a ‘crisis mood’ | openDemocracy
How inclusive societies and migrant integration look from Baku: Notes from the 7th UNAOC Global forum
Jenny Phillimore I have spent the last few days at the 7th United Nations Alliance of Civilisations (UNAOC) Global Forum “Living together in inclusive societies: a challenge and a goal” in Baku the capital of Azerbaijan in the company of 3000 delegates from across the world. Never before have I encountered such a mix of... Continue Reading →
Explainer: Cameron’s u-turn on refugee children
Nando Sigona offers his views on Cameron's u-turn on refugee children from within the EU on BBC News. In brief, Nando argues that it is a welcome development, particularly because it is the first time in the current refugee crisis the UK government is accepting refugees already in the EU. However, the details of the... Continue Reading →

