What We Do

Babylon Project provides creative activities by and for young people from asylum seeking, refugee and migrant backgrounds, as well as introducing people to concepts such as identity, community and social justice.

Babylon runs workshops with expert facilitators, many of whom come from migrant, refugee or asylum seeking backgrounds. Our workshops explore concepts like identity, community and social justice, through drama, art, creative writing, photography and film. We are always looking for new ideas to implement in future for creative workshops.

OUR WORKSHOPS

At Babylon Project, we run workshops for two different groups of young people:

Our workshops for young refugees, asylum seekers and migrants are all about learning new creative skills while making friends, gaining confidence, and improving their English language skills. Through our workshops, participants will gain skills in a range of artistic forms, such as art, theatre, storytelling, and film-making. They will also gain certificates for completing our programmes. Our workshops usually include a hot meal for our participants, as this helps our community to bond and thrive.

Our workshops in schools, colleges and youth groups outside of the refugee sector allow young people to gain creative skills whilst meeting and learning about refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. Alongside creative activities, young people might learn about community, activism and the difficulties within the UK asylum system.

THEATRE

Our theatre workshops teach acting and performance skills, working both with scripted and physical theatre. We’ll teach drama games, create scenes together, and build towards short performances.

By taking part in these workshops, attendees will develop new teamwork and collaboration skills, enhance their self-assurance in presenting and performing in front of others, and get a chance to express themselves creatively through their performances.

ART

Our art workshops are accessible to young people with all different skill levels, teaching a range of art techniques with different materials, and creating through challenges and games.

Participants will learn new skills for creating as individuals and as part of a team, gain confidence in their creative abilities, and have an opportunity to express themselves through art.

FILM-MAKING

In our film-making workshops, we teach participants how to develop scripts for film, how to find the best angles, how to use simple equipment like phones to record high quality videos, how to use film for storytelling, and the best tech and apps to use for creating and editing.

Participants will work as individuals, learning film-making skills that they use in their daily life, whether sharing their feelings and opinions on social media, or offering a glimpse of their lives in the UK to their friends and family in different parts of the world.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Our photography workshops teach participants how to find the best angles to capture their shots, how to edit, how to use photography for storytelling, and how to use simple equipment like phones to take good photos and edit them using professional apps.

Participants will learn skills for working as an individual to capture their feelings and experiences through photography, to share on social media and to show to their friends and family in different parts of the world.

GAMES

At Babylon, games are very important for bringing everyone together, and allowing participants to bond and get involved in all our activities.We play games at all our sessions, but also offer specific games sessions for special occasions such as youth groups' Christmas parties.

In our games workshops, participants learn new games for different situations, and gain confidence in running games for other people and organisations.

ACTIVISM

Our activism workshops are aimed at young people who want to make a difference in the world, but don’t know where to start. We teach young people how to become activists by learning about different types of activism, why activism is important, and how to spread their messages to society.

Participants will learn new skills for collaboration and new tools for using their voices to draw awareness to key issues. They will learn how to bring their art and creativity into activism, and activism into their art.

PUBLIC SPEAKING

In our public speaking workshops, we offer advice about how to communicate and present effectively and confidently, focusing on body language, tone, and content.

Participants will learn how to speak up for themselves, how to present their ideas, and how to speak in front of others with confidence - all skills that will be useful in school, college, and their future careers.

COMMUNITY

Our community workshops explore ideas around community - what makes a community, why is community important, and what are the different types of communities. We will also relate it to the young people’s experiences, discussing the spaces where they feel safe, seen, and confident to express themselves.

Participants will work collaboratively to explore these ideas in a creative way, and will gain a sense of belonging as they build community through the activity, and find people who are similar to them.

IDENTITY

Our identity workshops explore the importance of identity, and what our different identities contribute to the UK. We will look at our similarities and differences, working with a framework of mutual respect.

Participants will work collaboratively and as individuals to explore this theme, exploring their own identities but also learning to respect people from all different backgrounds, with diverse beliefs and experiences.

LEADERSHIP

In our leadership workshops, we explore different styles of leadership, as well as thinking about the leaders who have been role models for the young people. We will explore the qualities needed for leadership, and what it means to show leadership in their daily lives.

Participants will gain skills for working collaboratively, and for being a leader. They will have an opportunity to test out their leadership skills among their peers, and may be offered opportunities to facilitate with Babylon Project in the future.

WELLBEING

Alongside our creative and thematic workshops, we run creative well-being sessions where participants can share their thoughts and feelings through art and meditation with trained practitioners.

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OUR COLLABORATIONS

At the core of our mission is a strong belief in the power of sharing knowledge, skills, and resources to bring about positive change in young people's lives. Whether it's working in partnership with youth groups by leveraging the expertise of our facilitators, or introducing the young people we engage with to other specialized activities, we are always seeking new ways to foster mutually beneficial relationships. We have successfully collaborated with a range of organizations, including the British Red Cross, Safe Passage, Fences & Frontiers, Springboard, Dost, Our Second Home, London Migration Film Festival, NEST, Compass Collective, Arctic University of Norway, and Woodcraft Folk. Please get in touch if you would like to collaborate on a project with us.

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WHAT WE DO