A community initiative will be launched to help migrants in Angus feel more at home.
‘Make It Happen Angus!’ – a community initiative created by the SSAMIS (Social Support and Migration in Scotland) project will run from October 4-16.
It will offer a varied programme of art, music and crafts workshops for adults and children, dance and music events, English for Speakers of Other Languages cafes and foreign language tasters, and advice and information sessions.
The main venue for the ‘Make It Happen Café’ is the former OB’s Café at West Port, Arbroath, with a few activities taking place in other locations in the town.
SSAMIS, a research collaboration based at the Universities of Glasgow and Swansea, works with migrants from Eastern Europe who have settled in Scotland, looking at what brought them here and what makes them feel settled in terms of language, employment, culture and belonging.
Its research shows that people in Angus would welcome a community space where different groups could go, meet new people, share skills and information, and practise speaking English over a cup of coffee.
The project in Angus is co-ordinated by Dr Paulina Trevena, a Research Associate in Central and Eastern European Studies at the University of Glasgow.
Paulina said: “The idea of ‘Make It Happen’ is to create a place for the whole community to come together. From our research in Angus it follows that the migrant population here is quite isolated.
“They tend to work in segregated workplaces such as food processing factories and farms where the majority of the workforce comes from abroad, and they don’t have the space to pick up English or establish meaningful links with the wider community.”
With significant Eastern European migrant populations in Angus and the arrival of new populations — including Syrian refugees — it is hoped the project will help create an informal space for people to come together, offer support to access various services and help them feel more part of the wider community.
One of the aims of ‘Make It Happen Angus!’ is to trial the idea of opening a permanent community café based on this idea.
