Two of our team — Jane Freedman and Glenda Santana de Andrade — conducted a two-part trip to South Africa between 11 and 29 November 2025, working closely with young people on the move and with our valued local partners, Africa Unite and Refugee Social Services.

Cape Town (11–24 November): Podcast & Photography Production with Africa Unite

From 11 to 24 November, we led an intensive series of participatory workshops in Cape Town in collaboration with Africa Unite and their youth movement for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees: MARS Youth.
A group of young people participated in both podcast and photography workshops, resulting in:

  • 3 original podcast episodes, conceptualised, scripted, recorded and edited by the young people;
  • A collective photography project, where the same participants created powerful visual narratives reflecting their daily experiences, aspirations, and the challenges of growing up across borders. The overall theme they chose for this photography was “Beyond the Page: See the Person not the Papers”, a powerful reminder of the need to look beyond legal categorisations and statuses to understand the lives of those impacted by migration and border regimes and policies.

These workshops strengthened the young participants’ creative skills, expanded their storytelling capacities, and opened new spaces for expression, reflection, and collective dialogue on their experiences as young people in situations of migration in South Africa.

Durban (24–29 November): First Public Exhibition & Listening Event

From 24 to 29 November, we carried out our third field trip to Durban, deepening our ongoing collaboration with Refugee Social Services (RSS) and HEARD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
This visit marked a major milestone for the GRABS project: the first public presentation of the young people’s creative outputs.

On 26 November, the Diakonia Centre hosted a vibrant afternoon of:

  • Photo exhibition featuring images produced by young participants in Durban;
  • Public listening to their podcast episodes, followed by question and answer sessions with the audience.

This event brought together partner organisations, youth participants, researchers, and members of the public, creating a powerful moment of exchange, recognition, and celebration of the young people’s voices and artistic work.

You can see glimpses of the event here:
 https://www.instagram.com/p/DRpUcVKCP_r/
 https://www.instagram.com/p/DRpPrjrCKYI/