2023 Annual Report

 A year of completions, painful events, and new question.

2023 has been an important year with three key completions: Roots Guide was translated into English, Roots Guide Educational Toolkit was published, and Rural Migrantor wrapped up.

Despite these great completions, they are overshadowed by the many painful events this year, especially the war in Ukraine, the unfolding genocide in Palestine, the terror attack in Israel, and the Dutch election result with PVV as the victor, which deeply impacts the wellbeing and sense of safety and belonging of our communities.

These events have, in turn, raised a new question: In times of escalating war, genocide, conflict, and polarisation, how can Pocket Stories best move forward in its mission to raise the unheard voices to find a common ground for dialogue?

Roots Guide - The Global Pocket Edition

First completion: Roots Guide was translated and distilled into a ‘Roots Guide - Global Pocket Edition’ targeting a global audience. 50 copies were printed as a limited edition, a digital version is planned to come for sale online next year. For this special edition we teamed up with Indonesian design team Kolaborasi Keberagaman Inklusif (Inclusive Collaboration of Diversity).

Meeting President Obama in Greece

Ingi Mehus was invited to meet President Obama in Athens, Greece, as a part of her Obama Leadership program. The president talked about the importance of finding the crossroads that allows us to exchange ideas with people who may be different from us because that fuels innovation. He warned us to stay within our echo chambers as that would restrict our potential to find new allies and ideas that propel our missions forward. We could not agree more and that’s why it was also a great honour to share a copy of ‘Roots Guide - Global Pocket Edition’ to share how we invite everyone to discover themselves through the lens of migration.

Traveling with National Geographic Student Travel in Norway

Ingi also spent six days with 12 teenagers in the Norwegian mountains where she facilitated storytelling sessions and shared our work with Roots Guide. The young people received a few copies of the Roots Guide ‘Global Pocket Edition.’ 

Sharing our vision in Lucerne Dialogue, Switzerland

At the end of the year, Ingi shared her vision for a stronger Europe during the Lucerne Dialogue for 600 people, including Swiss and European political and busniess leaders. She shared the stage with former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and Swiss Federal Councillor Viola Amherd. You can listen to her short speech here: https://youtu.be/EaoXR0Esz3w?si=Dn0WkRWukACqB4Ts&t=480 

Roots Guide Educational Toolkit published

Second completion: We are very proud to finally publish the Roots Guide Educational Toolkit designed for educators and facilitators looking for creative approaches to citizenship education-related content and teaching ideas on themes like diversity, migration, heritage, identity, belonging, and inclusion. The 48-page toolkit is free for all users and can be accessed on our website.

Rural Migrantour

Third completion: Rural Migrantour is a wrap! Over these last two years, Rural Migrantour partners have been exploring the unique geographical, social, and political challenges associated with creating tour routes addressing European rural communities' many layers of migration heritage. Fiona-Marie Hawes and Meghann Ormond travelled to Camini, the tiny Italian Calabrian hillside village, to participate in the final project meeting with our partners. During their time in Italy, they examined the areas' most recent cross-border migratory experiences and cross-pollinated them into conversation with ones that are centuries and even millennia old. They also became increasingly alert to the nuanced local, regional, and national contexts that shape dominant rural narratives about what/where/when constitutes a 'local' and a 'foreigner.'

One point became clear: whether rural or urban, past or present, migration should not be treated as an exception to some imagined sedentary norm.