Amplifying Sanctuary Voices Oral History

Amplifying Sanctuary Voices Oral History Project

This project gives Berkeley residents and UCB students an opportunity to learn about the lives and challenges of refugees and immigrants in their community. Offering safe spaces for asylum seekers to tell their story, bringing catharsis, healing, and validation of their identity and experience.

The project will produce a multimedia exhibit and installations and facilitate public events where Berkeley residents may engage with the stories and narrators.

Goals:

Work collaboratively with a team of UC Berkeley students and immigrant youth leaders to:

Engage local community members - both immigrants and activists in the Sanctuary Movement - in a participatory process to document their experience and analysis through photos and written / audio/ video testimonies.
Produce a multimedia exhibit for community education and dialogue that will be shared through a variety of free, public forums as well as online.
Evaluate and document lessons learned.

Skills/Backgrounds

Commitment to values and goals for the project
Strong organization and project management skills
Good communicator (both written and spoken)
Ability to write in Spanish and English
Graphic skills
Multi-media skills
Social media skills

Strategies/Activities

Conduct 1-2 training workshops
Facilitate 2-4 storytelling workshops
Curate an exhibit
Facilitate 3 public exhibits/installations
Share the exhibits on social media
Produce a written report to City Council/Sanctuary Task Force

Over the long term, EBSC has the following goals:

Use the project materials and results to demonstrate the impact that community engagement and participatory humanities programming can have on marginalized communities.
Expand efforts to reach more people in the Bay Area refugee and immigrant community and beyond, engaging them in civic participation.
Strengthen partnerships with immigrant, faith, education, and business communities.
Create ongoing mechanisms for documenting and sharing immigrant stories.

Voices Interns will become familiar with:

Amplifying Sanctuary Voices Oral History Project is a joint collaboration with East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, Berkeley Historical Society, 1951 Coffee Company, Public Service Center, Voice of Witness & Youth Unmuted