Panel event celebrates launch of Churchill Fellows’ Migration Report

Introduced by Julia Weston, Chief Executive of the Churchill Fellowship, and chaired by the author of the report, Jacqui Broadhead, the panel featured Churchill Fellows Bekele Woyecha, Emily Miller and Patrick Duce. They each spoke passionately about the challenges they see within the migration landscape and the initiatives and changes they believe can make a difference.

This theme was reflected by Jacqui Broadhead and by Stuart Hobley, Director of The Linbury Trust, who also both spoke at the event commenting that the Fellows involved were a group who were ‘incredibly solutions focused’ and ‘the ones enacting change’.  

There was a wide ranging debate throughout the evening. At one point Bekele, Emily and Patrick were asked about their hopes, as well as the opportunities they saw for the future, particularly in the context of an election year. They shared opinions from the need for longer-term funding for housing and integration projects being the only sustainable way to do work, through to the view that every challenge actually brings with it an opportunity to work with people throughout the country. There was a shared sentiment around cautious optimism and a belief in - ‘being kind to people who think differently from you as those are the people needed to make political change'. 

Our thanks to everyone who took part in the event and contributed to the fascinating debate.

The Migration: Living Well Together programme was developed and funded in partnership with The Linbury Trust and ran from 2017–2019. Having received awards, 29 Churchill Fellows travelled around the world to learn about the best policies and practices on migration, integration and inclusion – including how we can live better together in communities across the UK. They brought back their learning to the UK and are now working to implement new programmes and innovations.