To celebrate Refugee Week, we are delighted to share two of the projects we supported as part of Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages in 2023, which International Newcastle co-ordinates.
Mother Tongue Other Tongue and the Festival Song, Just One World, enabled children from all backgrounds to sing and write in their own languages or languages they were learning. These two projects ran from January to March this year and engaged over 7,500 children in 121 schools in the region, including many children who are from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds. Both projects will be running again as part of next year’s Festival.
The Mother Tongue Other Tongue ebook is a digital anthology of children’s writing from across the North East. The anthology includes pieces from children writing in 35 different languages.
Children aged 7-18 years old in schools, community schools or groups could submit a poem, song or remembered piece in their home language (Mother Tongue) and those learning a new language submit original pieces of poetic writing. The anthology includes examples from all schools and groups participating and every child received a certificate.
‘Just One World’ is a song especially written for the 2023 event. The song represents the ethos and spirit of the Festival. It celebrates how we stand together, united and celebrating the richness in diversity and caring for our world.
We invited children and young people across the North East to sing, sign, play and perform the song and film their versions, in as many languages as possible. This year, 100 schools and 6,000 children and young people participated and we are delighted to be able to share a compilation video of them performing this song of hope and peace.