Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging

About the Centre

The Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) grew out of the Refugee Research Centre, founded in 2004. It is based in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of East London.

About the Centre

CMRB benefits from its unique location at the heart of East London, an area which has seen some of the highest rates of international settlement in Europe - historically and in the present day.
The University of East London prides itself in being a diverse, innovative and globally aware group of scholars, students and local and international community partners.
CMRB research engages with political and policy debates as well as theoretical concerns that have local and global relevance.
The work of CMRB is closely integrated with that of the Refugee Council Archive at UEL.

Mission

Our mission is to build knowledge and understanding of the related issues of migration, refugees and belonging. We aim to foster interdisciplinary conversations and provide a space for debate and creative thinking amongst academics, practitioners, activists, migrants, and refugees in order to make positive changes to society at large.

Core Activities

Research - CMRB produces interdisciplinary, innovative, and critical scholarship on migration, refugees, belonging, and the intersections of race, gender, and citizenship. The Centre supports contemporary debates through collaborative research and partnerships with academics, policymakers, practitioners, activists, and migrant communities.

Teaching - CMRB members contribute to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching across a range of modules, supporting the decolonisation of the curriculum and the development of critical perspectives on migration and displacement. The Centre supports doctoral research and interdisciplinary training through its institutional partnership with the UCL, Bloomsbury and East London (UBEL) Doctoral Training Partnership.

Dissemination - The Centre shares its research through publications, projects, events, archives, partnerships, and networking initiatives. These activities promote meaningful engagement with academics, policymakers, practitioners, industry stakeholders, and wider communities.

Impact - CMRB is committed to creating meaningful social impact by translating research into action through policy engagement, community collaboration, public dialogue, and advocacy that promotes inclusion, challenges inequalities, and supports the rights and wellbeing of migrants, refugees, and marginalised communities.

Aims

To advance interdisciplinary and policy-relevant research on migration, forced displacement, citizenship, race, and belonging.

To create inclusive spaces for dialogue, collaboration, and knowledge exchange among academics, practitioners, activists, migrants, refugees, and wider communities.
To promote social impact through teaching, publications, partnerships, and community engagement that inform policy and practice, challenge exclusionary policies, and support greater inclusion and access to education.

Contact us

For more information or to engage with the Centre contact us at cmrb@uel.ac.uk

People

Directors

Senior Lecturer Department of Social Work Counselling & Social Care, School of Childhood and Social Care

Professor Giorgia Dona
Senior Lecturer Department of Social Work Counselling & Social Care, School of Childhood and Social Care
Giorgia Doná is Professor of Forced Migration and Refugee Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging. Her interdisciplinary and policy-oriented research, conducted across Central and North America, Eastern Africa, and Europe, explores global refugee movements, child and youth migration, and, more recently, digital migration. Her work encompasses refugee and forced migration studies, ethnic conflict and political violence, genocide studies, child and youth migration, psychosocial humanitarian interventions, digital migration, and arts-based participatory methodologies.
G.Dona@uel.ac.uk Read Professor Giorgia Dona's Profile
Director
Director

Senior Lecturer Department of Social Work Counselling & Social Care School of Childhood and Social Care

Prof. Georgie Wemyss
Senior Lecturer Department of Social Work Counselling & Social Care School of Childhood and Social Care
Over the past three decades, Georgie Wemyss has been working at the intersections of anti-colonial scholarship and grass-roots activism in east London. Her research, teaching and publications connect theories of coloniality, anti-racism, bordering and belonging. She brings her research, activism and teaching expertise together as co-director of the Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging.
g.wemyss@uel.ac.uk Read Prof. Georgie Wemyss's Profile
Director
Director

Emeritus Professor

Prof. Yuval-Davis Nira
Emeritus Professor
Nira Yuval-Davis is Professor Emeritus and Honorary Director of the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) at the University of East London. Her influential scholarship has explored the intersections of gender, nationalism, racism, fundamentalism, citizenship, identity, belonging, and everyday bordering, as well as the development of situated intersectionality and dialogical epistemology. She has served as a consultant to numerous United Nations agencies and human rights organisations and was awarded the International Sociological Association’s Distinguished Award for Excellence in Research and Practice in 2018.
n.yuval-davis@uel.ac.uk Read Prof. Yuval-Davis Nira's Profile

Members

Senior Lecturer Department of Innovation and Management School of Childhood and Social Care

Dr. Afaf Jabiri
Senior Lecturer Department of Innovation and Management School of Childhood and Social Care
Dr Jabiri is Senior Lecturer and Course Leader for the MA programmes in Refugee Studies and Conflict, Displacement and Human Security. Her interdisciplinary expertise encompasses Gender Studies, feminist theory and methodology, Middle Eastern studies, development, refugee and forced migration studies, humanitarianism, and postcolonial and decolonial approaches.
Her research combines academic inquiry with impact-oriented work aimed at informing policy reform and social change.
Before joining academia, Dr Jabiri spent 17 years working on issues of gender equality, humanitarianism, refugee and migrant rights, peace, conflict resolution, and transitional justice across the Arab region. She is a leading feminist activist in Jordan and the wider Arab world, advocating for equality and social justice.
a.jabiri@uel.ac.uk Read Dr. Afaf Jabiri's Profile
Senior Lecturer in Public Health

Ms Anna Caffrey
Senior Lecturer in Public Health
Anna Caffrey is a Senior Lecturer in Public Health, with a focus on reproductive justice and anti-racist teaching. Anna's research methods tend to be participatory and ethnographic, with special attention to accompaniment of vulnerable migrants such as asylum seekers. Previously, Anna was a US based community midwife, including serving parents crossing the US/Mexico border to access perinatal care.

Anna has led a variety of public health and nursing modules at MSc, BSc, and Foundation level. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and an Affiliate of the UEL's Sustainability Research Institute.
A.Caffrey@uel.ac.uk Read Ms Anna Caffrey's Profile
Senior Lecturer EU Law; Public Law; Human Rights; Border, Asylum and Migration Law

Dr. Annalisa Meloni
Senior Lecturer EU Law; Public Law; Human Rights; Border, Asylum and Migration Law
Dr Annalisa Meloni is a senior lecturer in law at the Department of Law & Criminology, Royal Docks School of Business and Law. Annalisa has over 16 years of experience in research and teaching. Her research is in the field of EU law relating to borders, migration and asylum with a focus on visa policy, border control and externalisation. Key themes in her research include the nexus between human rights, security and technology in the ﬁeld of border control and how this is impacted by European integration. She collaborates with non-governmental and governmental organisations. Since 2019, she has been working on several projects on the entry and stay of human rights defenders in the EU.
a.meloni@uel.ac.uk Read Dr. Annalisa Meloni's Profile
PhD Candidate

Bayan Karimi
PhD Candidate
TBC
u1728380@uel.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer Psychology and Social Change Research Group

Dr Claire Marshall
Senior Lecturer Psychology and Social Change Research Group
Dr Claire Marshall is a chartered psychologist. For over a decade she has worked as a Counselling Psychologist, researcher, academic and in management. Dr Marshall has various clinical roles, including as the senior psychologist in a specialist trauma service, as well as providing medical-legal reports (MLRs) for immigration cases, often conducting assessments within Immigration Detention Centres in the UK. Previously she held various service-lead managerial posts. She previously also worked with humanitarians stationed in North African refugee camps.
C.Marshall@uel.ac.uk Read Dr Claire Marshall's Profile
Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Performance Practices and Dance, co-director of CPAD

Dr Claudia Brazzale
Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Performance Practices and Dance, co-director of CPAD
Claudia is a scholar, choreographer, performer and teacher. Her scholarship and pedagogical approach are deeply influenced by her own cross-cultural intellectual and artistic trajectories and practices. Her work examines the seductions, possibilities, limits, and consequences of mobility, approaching the moving body as a site for rethinking the politics of labour, globalization, and cosmopolitanism. Through writing, choreography, and video, her work engages the body in relation to space, place and mobility, whether the mobility of global flows of bodies and traditional dance forms or clothing, fashion and consumer culture
C.Brazzale@uel.ac.uk Read Dr Claudia Brazzale's Profile
Member

Erica Masserano
Member
TBC
E.Masserano2@uel.ac.uk
PhD Candidate “Gender, Space and Sumud: The Everyday Politics of Palestinian Refugee Women

Ms Gabriella Ibba
PhD Candidate “Gender, Space and Sumud: The Everyday Politics of Palestinian Refugee Women
Gabriella is a PhD candidate at the University of East London. Her research explores Palestinian refugee women’s agency, everyday resistance, and Sumud through intersectional and spatial perspectives on displacement. Her work combines academic research with practical humanitarian engagement through collaborations with NGOs and refugee support organisations in the UK. Gabriella’s expertise includes refugee and human rights issues, gender and displacement, and psychosocial support for marginalised communities. Her broader research interests focus on dignity, agency, and resistance among displaced and vulnerable populations.
U1724184@uel.ac.uk
Member

Ifeoma Igbinovia
Member
Conflict, Displacement and Human Security course alumni
u2710230@uel.ac.uk Read Ifeoma Igbinovia's Profile
Research Fellow at the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging

Dr. Latefa Guemar
Research Fellow at the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging
Dr Latefa Narriman Guemar: is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging, Latefa is an academic and a practitioner whose work sits at the intersection of gender, forced migration, diaspora, and Algerian studies.
She is the author of Algerian Women and Diasporic Experience: From the Black Decade to the Hirak (Exeter University Press), and has published widely in leading academic outlets including the Oxford Refugee Studies Journal. Her research is known for its innovative methodologies that centre and capture the lived migratory experience, as well as its strong engagement with policy and practice in refugee integration in the UK.
L.N.Guemar@uel.ac.uk Read Dr. Latefa Guemar's Profile
Associate Professor

Dr. Lucia Berdondini
Associate Professor
Lucia is currently the Programme Leader of the DL MSc Humanitarian Intervention and the Leader of several modules.
She is passionate about implementing intercultural counselling training and practice, particularly within international humanitarian psychosocial interventions in countries at war and post-conflict. She is also passionate about Existential and Gestalt therapies and their creative applications within intercultural contexts.
L.Berdondini@uel.ac.uk Read Dr. Lucia Berdondini's Profile
PhD Candidate

Mahmoud Hussein
PhD Candidate
TBC
u2726767@uel.ac.uk
Lecturer and Clinical Tutor in Clinical Psychology

Dr Nomsa Wayland
Lecturer and Clinical Tutor in Clinical Psychology
Dr Nomsa-Sandra Wayland is a Chartered Counselling Psychologist, Lecturer/Clinical Tutor. She has over a decade of clinical experience in NHS mental health services and private practice, alongside extensive experience in higher education. Her research focuses on race-based traumatic stress, racial microaggressions, decolonisation, epistemic justice, culturally responsive practice, and the diversification of therapeutic knowledge and services. Nomsa is particularly interested in bridging Western and non-Western psychological traditions, diversifying the curriculum, and developing inclusive, socially just, and culturally attuned therapeutic practice.
N.Wayland@uel.ac.uk Read Dr Nomsa Wayland's Profile
Lecturer and Archivist Archival Science; History; Refugee and Migration Studies

Mr Paul V Dudman
Lecturer and Archivist Archival Science; History; Refugee and Migration Studies
Paul is an archivist and lecturer with over 20 years of experience in higher education archives. His work focuses on refugee history and the role of archives in documenting and representing the personal narratives and lived experiences of migration and displacement. He has a particular interest in archival methodologies and their contribution to understanding histories of forced mobility. His current research centres on the Documenting Chile Archive project, a participatory and community-based initiative that engages with Chilean communities in London and across the United Kingdom to preserve and share their histories and experiences.
p.v.dudman@uel.ac.uk Read Mr Paul V Dudman's Profile
"Professor Psychology and Social Change"

Prof. Rachel Tribe
"Professor Psychology and Social Change"
Professor Rachel Tribe is a Chartered Counselling and Organisational Psychologist, a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), and a registered practitioner with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). Professor Tribe’s clinical and research interests include trauma, culture and mental health, migration, social justice, professional ethics, working with interpreters in mental health, older adults and psychosocial interventions. Her career spans the private, public, charitable, and academic sectors, where she has made significant national and international contributions to applied psychology and mental health.
R.Tribe@uel.ac.uk Read Prof. Rachel Tribe's Profile
Senior Lecturer Critical Approaches to International Law

Dr. Romit Bhandari
Senior Lecturer Critical Approaches to International Law
Romit is broadly interested in forced migration and postcolonialism. He has developed a specialism in International Refugee Law as well as International Human Rights Law. He acts as a subject expert on the Rule of Law for the United Nations Migration Network Hub (2021 – present), as an expert reviewer for the International Journal of Refugee Law (2020 – present), and he conducts research for the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (2018 –2022).
R.Bhandari@uel.ac.uk Read Dr. Romit Bhandari's Profile
Visiting Research Fellow Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging

Dr. Rumana Hashem
Visiting Research Fellow Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging
Dr Rumana Hashem is a sociologist specialised in sociology of gender, conflict and migration. Her work in the field of migration focuses on ethics, methodologies and accessibility of archiving displacement and heritage, approaches to displacement justice, the complexities around belonging and trajectories of migrants and how this interrelates with gender and racial injustice. She is the lead researcher of Democratic Access or Privileged Exclusion and a co-investigator of Living Refugee Archive She is an Executive Committee Member of IASFM, a co-editor of Displaced Voices, an advisor to the AHRC-funded project Archives of Solidarity. She leads the History of Forced Migration and Refugees: An International Working Group for Archiving and Documentation.
R.Hashem@uel.ac.uk Read Dr. Rumana Hashem's Profile
Member

Shima Soleimani
Member
TBC
u2806774@uel.ac.uk
PhD Candidate Councillor for Stratford Ward

Sonia Quintero
PhD Candidate Councillor for Stratford Ward
Sonia Quintero is a queer Colombian-British poet and community organiser working at the intersection of migration, gender, participatory research, and creative practice. Their work focuses on community knowledge production, co-production methodologies and grassroots organising, particularly in relation to refugee communities and LGBTQ+ experiences. They are the Creative Director of Newham Poetry Group, a grassroots initiative that facilitates access to creative writing for people who speak.
Sonia is also a co-founder of Queer Newham and Borderless, local initiatives that support LGBTQ+ refugees and promote visibility, solidarity, and community engagement across Newham.
In 2026, Sonia was elected Councillor for Stratford Ward in the London Borough of Newham for the 2026–2030 term.
u2056460@uel.ac.uk Read Sonia Quintero's Profile
Student

Susan Chinyere Okonkwor
Student
TBC
u2058652@uel.ac.uk
Director of Careers & Enterprise, Senior Lecturer, Psychosocial Studies

Dr. Yesim Deveci
Director of Careers & Enterprise, Senior Lecturer, Psychosocial Studies
School of Childhood & Social Care

Dr. Yeşim Deveci is interested in the stories shared and those that remain untold; stories of resistance, endurance, love and care. Her work is relational, centering kindness, justice, and respect in all aspects of her teaching, research, and leadership. Yeşim was previously Director of the Open Learning Initiative (OLIve) at UEL and is a founding member of the University of Sanctuary Working Group. Before joining academia, Yeşim worked in the youth and community sector and was the Founder/Director of Dost Centre for Young Refugees & Migrants in East London. Her research and publications explore reflexive, relational methodologies and focus on the lives, aspirations, and experiences of undocumented young people in the UK.
Read Dr. Yesim Deveci's Profile
Senior Lecturer and Course Leader of BA Photography

Antigoni Memou
Senior Lecturer and Course Leader of BA Photography
Dr. Antigoni Memou is Senior Lecturer in Visual Theories at the Department of Architecture and Visual Arts at the University of East London. Her research interests cut across the intersections of contemporary art and global politics, art institutions and critical curatorial practices, the history and theory of photography, visual activism, borders, migration and visual culture, ecology digital culture and interdisciplinary methodologies.
a.memou@uel.ac.uk

Research Associates and Visiting Fellows

Artist-in-residence

Dr. Anna Piva
Artist-in-residence
TBC
Lebanese American University, LAU

Dr. Yasmine Fakhry
Lebanese American University, LAU
Dr Yasmine Fakhry is a social public health researcher, licensed dietitian and NGO practitioner. Her work focuses on nutrition, health, food security, displacement, conflict, climate change and social justice.
yasminefakhry1987@gmail.com Read Dr. Yasmine Fakhry's Profile
Independent Scholar, radical artist and political analyst

George Shire
Independent Scholar, radical artist and political analyst
George Shire is a Zimbabwean independent radical scholar, political analyst, DJ, jazz saxophonist, and decolonial theorist who lives in London in the United Kingdom. He is a retired academic who previously taught at the University of London; the Central Saint Martin, University of the Arts; and the Open University.
Southern People’s Project, SoPPro

Dr. Norbert Mbu-Mputu
Southern People’s Project, SoPPro
TBC
norbertmbu@yahoo.fr
UEL Alumni MA in Refugee Studies alumni Refugee Council (Research Associate)

Roxanne Nanton
UEL Alumni MA in Refugee Studies alumni Refugee Council (Research Associate)
Unaccompanied Minors and Covid-19, MA in Refugee Studies alumni and Refugee Council
roxanne.nanton@gmail.com
Associate Professor (Political Science) Open School, Bangladesh Open University Bangladesh

Dr Sodip Roy
Associate Professor (Political Science) Open School, Bangladesh Open University Bangladesh
Sodip Roy is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Bangladesh Open University, Bangladesh. His research interest focuses on Refugee and Forced Migration with reference to Rohingya Refugee Crisis in South and Southeast Asia. Likewise, Sodip’s Doctoral project investigates the link between agencies of Rohingya refugees and refugee camp governmentality in Bangladesh
Read Dr Sodip Roy's Profile

Advisory Board

Director, Doctor of Social Sciences, Docent

Dr. Saara Pellander
Director, Doctor of Social Sciences, Docent
Dr. Pallanter is Director of the Migration Institute of Finland. She has worked and published on issues related to migration policies and their implementation as well as the effects of these policies in particular from the perspective of transnational families, as well as on media representations of (forced) migration. In addition to working at the University of Helsinki and Tampere University, she has been a visiting researcher at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main,Germany, as well as University of Stockholm, Sweden. She is currently involved in two research consortia funded by the Strategic Research Council in Finland, Transforming Immigration Systems (TRIM), as well as Mobile Futures. She is on the IMISCOE Board of Directors and member of the International Advisory Committee of Metropolis International.
Read Dr. Saara Pellander's Profile

Contact us

For more information or to engage with the Centre contact us at cmrb@uel.ac.uk

Research and Knowledge Exchange

We aim to disseminate our work widely through publications, online information resources, media, and networks

Pathways

Psychosocial Pathway

The CMRB Psychosocial Pathway at the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) unites an interdisciplinary network of scholars, practitioners, policy specialists, and community partners committed to rethinking the relationship between psychological wellbeing, social conditions, and governance in contexts of migration, displacement, and human insecurity.’

Psycho-social Working Group Coordinators: Dr. Claire Marshall and Prof. Rachel Tribe

CMRB Psychosocial Working Group

the Hospital and Primary Care Training Hub building on Stratford campus

Research Projects

The Charity Sofa

Charity Sofa is a supportive space created by UEL, working alongside small charities and community organisations. We listen, share ideas, and offer practical advice to help organisations grow and thrive.

More about the project - External page

Charity Sofa Project details

The Charity Sofa is an initiative and supporting space launched last year as a practice-based centre at the University of East London. It works along small charity to provide support, practical advises, and access to resources to help organisations and community charities to develop and grow through short courses and trainings, CPD and consultancy. It offers a window of networks within and beyond UEL to support the charity sector and volunteering. It is our way to give back to the local and wider community through our expertise by listening and understanding your priorities.

This KEF-funded project works in partnership with CMRB.

Its aim to is to develop our model of knowledge exchange by evaluating the impact of our 3 "levers of change". We see these as:

Sharing UEL resources developed from research (eg Volunteer, Reflect, Grow (VRG) resource via HEIF funding 2025)
Showcasing UEL expertise via staff and alumni (eg strategy development, governance, volunteer management, impact assessment).
Brokering sharing of expertise from UEL partners (eg Islamic Relief communication skills, Avocado Foundation partnership workshops).

We are working with 4 charity partners (Care4Calais, Newham Renewal Programme, One Newham, Islamic Relief UK) and one corporate partner (Morgan Sindall) in this project. Our work will include providing a pilot impact assessment course for charity partners in June 2026, based on our partner priorities.

Charities we are now actively working with include:

Bubble Club (producing accessible night club experiences) - PG student will be helping with funding application; in discussions with UEL radio studio to make this available to them
Abdul Magid Educational Trust (supporting Arabic-speaking communities in Westminster) - PG student has designed and run series of workshops to build volunteer confidence is using social media
Kintsugi Way (creating safe spaces for women to rebuild their lives after experiencing GBV) - 2 UEL academics have worked with them to support strategic planning and safeguarding policies.
Strutsafe (supporting safe journeys home for women) - signposted to UEL LAC, UEL academics introduced to other organisations in sector and shared resources we have developed from our research into volunteering.
...and of course, Kids Network
Feedback has described our services as: Friendly. Aspirational. Dedicated. Professional. Friendly. Informative.

Charity Sofa: Levers of Change Project

This KEF-funded project in works in partnership with CMRB. Its aim to is to develop our model of knowledge exchange by evaluating the impact of our 3 "levers of change". We see these as:

Sharing UEL resources developed from research (eg Volunteer, Reflect, Grow (VRG) resource via HEIF funding 2025)
Showcasing UEL expertise via staff and alumni (eg strategy development, governance, volunteer management, impact assessment).
Brokering sharing of expertise from UEL partners (eg Islamic Relief communication skills, Avocado Foundation partnership workshops).

Contact us

For more information or to engage with the Centre contact us at cmrb@uel.ac.uk

Impact and Public Engagement

CMRB aims to engage with the public and work in partnership with civil society organisations to research and publish resources useful to a range of stakeholders and that have a positive impact on society. We welcome partnerships to develop collaborative links in our areas of expertise.

Building a Creative Community
Challenging the Hostile Environment
Building Inclusion for Refugees and Forced Migrants in Higher Education (HE)

Contact us

For more information or to engage with the Centre contact us at cmrb@uel.ac.uk

Events

Independent Commission on Inclusion and Belonging in Multi-Ethnic Newham: Report Launch event at UEL

Date: Thursday 23 July 2026
Time: 5.30–8 pm
Location: Room USG.17, University Square Stratford campus

Summary: The CMRB and CHESS in partnership with the British Future are co-hosting the launch of the final report of the Independent Commission on Inclusion and Belonging in Multi-Ethnic Newham.

More about the event

The event will bring together political representatives, community stakeholders, local institutions, educators, students, civil society and residents of Newham to discuss the Commission’s findings and recommendations, and what they mean for the future of inclusion and belonging in Newham.

The Commission was established to explore how people can live well together in Newham - London’s most diverse borough - and how the council, local institutions, businesses and communities can work together to strengthen connection, trust and shared pride in a place of rapid change.

The final report, bringing people together in a place of change, sets out recommendations to help Newham become a national inspiration of good practice on inclusion and belonging. The launch event of the report is an opportunity to hear from those involved in the Commission, reflect on the report’s recommendations, and discuss how partners across Newham alongside the legal authorities can help turn them into practical action.

The final report, Bringing people together in a place of change,

The event is free to attend

Book now

Promotional poster for a community report launch titled Independent Commission on Inclusion and Belonging in Multi-Ethnic Newham. The event takes place on Thursday 23 July 2026, from 5.30pm to 8pm, at University Square Stratford Campus. The poster includes a short description of the report, a programme with panel discussion and networking, and logos for the Centre for Health Equity and Sustainable Societies, British Future, CMRB and the University of East London.

Refugee History: Community Archives and Lifelong Learning

15th June – 22nd June 2026, UEL Stratford Campus Archive, UEL Docklands Campus Library and City Lit College

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, UEL Archives, in partnership with the CMRB and City Lit, has curated three exhibitions as outputs of their collaborative projects.

The exhibitions include The British Ugandan Asians at 50 Exhibition, 15th June – 22nd June 2026 at UEL Stratford Campus Archive, produced to mark the 50th anniversary of the Ugandan Asian Exodus; Seafaring Histories of Empire Exhibition, 15th June – 22nd June 2026 at UEL Docklands Campus Library; and The Refugee Convention at 75, 15th June – 20th June 2026 at City Lit College in London.

Together, these exhibitions explore community archives, lifelong learning, migration, displacement, solidarity in exile, and the preservation of refugee histories.

More information is available on the Living Refugee Archive website: Refugee Week 2026 – Living Refugee Archive.

Poster promoting the Seafaring Histories of Empire exhibition, featuring materials from the UEL Archives for Refugee Week 2026, with Living Refugee Archive, City Lit and Refugee Week logos.

British Ugandan Asians at 50 Exhibition

15th June – 22nd June 2026, UEL Stratford Campus Library

The University of East London Stratford Campus Library hosts the British Ugandan Asians at 50 Exhibition, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Ugandan Asian Exodus.

The exhibition reflects on the expulsion of Ugandan Asians in 1972 and celebrates the remarkable contributions British Ugandan Asians have made to society over the past five decades. Produced by the India Overseas Trust, it marks an important milestone in the history of migration, resilience, and community in Britain.

More information is available here: British Ugandan Asians at 50 Exhibition.

The Refugee Convention at 75 Exhibition

15th June – 20th June 2026, City Lit College

The Refugee Convention at 75 is a curated exhibition of archival materials from the Living Refugee Archive at UEL, reflecting on the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees.

The exhibition is held at City Lit, a College of Sanctuary in London. It is located in the Ground Floor Café area, with further materials available within the City Lit Library and on the First Floor.

More information is available here: The Refugee Convention at 75 Exhibition.

Exhibition display titled The Refugee Convention at 75, explaining the history and significance of the 1951 Refugee Convention with books, archive materials and interpretive text.

Invisible East India Dock Walk by Dr Georgie Wemyss

Saturday 18th July 2026, 14:00–15:30

This fascinating walking conversation, led by Dr Georgie Wemyss, co-director of the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging, tells the stories of the East India Company and British Empire in the East India Dock area.

The walk explores imports and exports, the need for the docks, the impacts of British imperial rule in the Indian subcontinent and the UK, the lives of ‘lascar’ seamen, racism, and the invisibility of the histories of the East India Company and the British Empire in the docks area today.

Promotional image for the Invisible East India Dock Walk, showing the East India Dock lock with water, railings and the event details: Saturday 18 July, 2pm.

Past events

See all Past events

Contact us

For more information or to engage with the Centre contact us at cmrb@uel.ac.uk

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Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging

About the Centre

Mission

Core Activities

Aims

Contact us

Directors

Members

Research Associates and Visiting Fellows

Advisory Board

Contact us