Sanctuary Research and Engagement
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Queen's on: Migrant & Minority Ethnic Communities in Northern Ireland brings together scholarship and research activity from Queen’s University about the issues affecting migrants and ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland, towards creating further connections and increasing the impact of such work.
It focuses on both Research and Activities and Projects. Here are some examples.
Professor Dina Belluigi and Dr Yvonne Moynihan have produced two reports relating to Higher Education research and minoritised ethnic groups in NI:
- How is academic research in Northern Ireland responsive to local ethnic minorities & migrants? A collation and mapping of research related to migrant and minority ethnic matters in Northern Ireland produced within Northern Ireland’s universities.
- Academic research responsiveness to migrants and ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland
Dr Rebecca Loader, Dr Erika Jiménez, Dr Aisling O’Boyle and Professor Joanne Hughes led the “Experiences of education among minority ethnic groups in Northern Ireland” report project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, looking at the experiences of pupils and families from minority ethnic, migrant and newcomer backgrounds in Northern Ireland’s schools.
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Prof Tess Maginess and Dr Federica Ferrieri have been extensively working with migrant communities, especially women, to talk about their identities and experiences through art-based approaches:
- Professional Skills Certificate pilot online module on Cultural Understanding for Queen’s University undergraduates, based on five Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) themes: Valuing Black Lives; Climate Change; Ageing; Intercultural Understanding – Migrant Experiences; and Active Civic Democracy. Literature, film and music were incorporated to connect with learners about key ‘Real World’ topics.
- Images of Incoming: A Photovoice project exploring belonging and exclusion with newcomer and migrant women in rural areas.
- Translating Age: A project exploring the experiences of older migrant women in Northern Ireland, using arts-based approaches and co-research approaches, where the women created their own arts projects.
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Dr Sultan Turkan, Dr Mel Engman, Morgan Mattingly (Community partner: Anaka Women's Collective):
- 16+ Education Equality, Refuge Language Cambridge PET B1 Class: As part of Anaka’s 16+ Equal Access to Education campaign, they have been working with young people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds who have no or limited access to education in Northern Ireland. For 12 weeks, with the support of Belfast City Council, QUB and Refuge Language, young people were able to enrol and attend Cambridge PET B1 classes. Taught by Refuge Language and held at QUB, the Cambridge PET B1 enables students to learn skills essential for further education with the potential for accreditation through a final exam offered at Belfast Met.
- Open Learning: Researching with the Community and for the Community: This fee-free course at Queen’s University Belfast invited 10 young people (16-24) from refugee or asylum seeker (RAS) backgrounds to learn how to collect information (or data), understand or evaluate it, and use that information to make recommendations for change. Part of a MSCA PhD Project, together participants asked and answered key questions about what RAS young people in NI need to access different kinds of education, while building academic English language skills and earning university credit. As co-researchers the YP Research group analysed data, co-designed a survey for other young people to have their say and developed a key list of recommendations for policy makers, FE and HE institutions and organisations working in the education sector.
- S.E.L.F. (Sharing Education for Living Futures) Forum: This initiative has brought together Queen's Students (particularly from the MSc in TESOL) and young people (16-25) from refugee and asylum seeker (RAS) backgrounds in a collaborative space for self-development and English language skills. It has addressed a gap in the statutory education provision of Northern Ireland (NI) for RAS young people who encounter challenges being placed both in academic contexts and employment sector due to English language skills or lack of access to academic training opportunities.
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In 2023 Dr M. Satish Kumar, Lekan Ojo-Okiji Abasi, Steven Donnelly and Nuala McCarthy-Kumar worked collaboratively with Counselling All Nations Services (CANS) to supervise and produce the Hearing Our Needs Report, that provides detailed information on the mental health and emotional well-being needs of people from ethnic minority groups and the service providers who support them.
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Professor Ross White, specialises in the mental health needs of forcibly displaced people. Lynn Walsh, one of his PhD students, is currently contacting a range of partner organisations to recruit participants for a survey in this area. The study takes the form of a brief questionnaire in the English language which takes 10-20 minutes to complete. While the primary outcome of this study will be to be submitted as her doctoral thesis, it is hoped that the results of this study will provide us with more awareness of the factors that impact on migrant mental health and how that can contribute to a more person-centred understanding of their needs and inform intervention delivery. The key findings from this study will be shared with relevant political stakeholders and policy makers to better inform the provision and planning of mental health services for migrant communities.
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A research partnership between the Irish Linen Centre and Lisburn Museum, and Aisling O’Boyle, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Language Education Research, Queen’s University Belfast.
The research focus was to establish sustainable collaborative relationships with local migrant communities and exploring cultural inclusion, belonging and the value of museum learning.
This partnership was awarded a research grant in June 2023 as part of the second round of the Centre for Cultural Value’s Collaborate programme. The fund supported innovative new partnerships between cultural sector practitioners and academics to explore under-explored questions around cultural value.
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Report on A.S. Hornby Dictionary Research Award Project
The research project titled "A Welcome Dictionary: Refugee Families Using Dictionary Resources to Support English Language Learning," led by Dr Aisling O’Boyle, was conducted from 2019 to 2021. The project focused on the use of lexicographic resources by newly arrived refugee families to aid their English language learning.