Public Presentation - November 6th/7th, 2009

On November 6th and 7th, "Mapping Memories" presented at the conference "Remembering War, Genocide and Other Human Rights Violations: Oral History, New Media and the Arts, Concordia University"

1. Mapping a Process: Challenges in Leading New Media Workshops with Residents at Refugee Shelters in Montreal
Friday November 6, 2009 1:45 pm
Location: Montefiore club at 1195 Guy, Montreal

2. Youth Visions: Perspectives from Montreal's Refugee Youth
Saturday, November 7, 2009, 11:45 - 12:45
Location: Montefiore club at 1195 Guy, Montreal

DESCRIPTIONS:

Mapping a process: challenges in leading new media workshops with residents at refugee shelters in Montreal. (Michele Luchs, Liz Miller, Colleen French, Sylvain Thibault)

Every Saturday between 20 and 40 new refugee male claimants, living temporarily at one of the shelters run by the Montreal City Mission, participate in a variety of practical workshops, organized by the refugee project coordinator, Sylvain Thibault. These skill acquisition workshops include writing a C.V., conducting a job interview, and learning how to get around Montreal. Our workshop, the fourth in the series, focuses on mapping memories and story telling through still photography. While perhaps not the most practical of the workshop series, the workshop plays a role in helping these men in their transition to Montreal. That said, as researchers interested in how new media can serve as a catalyst for storytelling, articulating difficult experiences and fostering community, our workshops have raised a series of questions and challenges relevant to educators or researchers using participatory methods and working with groups in transition. We plan to use the case study of this particular set of workshops to reflect on the complexity of participatory practice and working with individuals in transition.