In October 2025 Jane and Izzy visited Athens to work with young people in situations of forced migration. We met young women and men at two organisations – Melissa Network and Velos Youth. It was great to spend time there and talk to the young people about their different experiences.
One of the issues that emerged from our discussions was the impact of EU policies and regulations on these young people and the restrictions on their mobility within Europe. Several of them had spent months or years in another EU country – Germany, Switzerland – but had then been forcibly returned to Greece. Others talked to us about the impacts of not being able to access higher education or decent work, and about the emotional impacts of being far away from their families, often for many years.
In both organisations we organised photography workshops with groups of young people to explore their experiences. The participants took photos relating to their own experiences in Athens and we discussed these and organised them thematically to produce a book/exhibition. We also organised a « walking tour » of Athens with two of the young men, during which we recorded a soundscape and reflections on their interactions with different places in the city. We’re now creating books of photographs produced by the young people, as well as preparing an exhibition of their work. And the next episode of our podcast will feature the Athens soundscape – so keep an eye on our website for new poems, stories, photos and podcasts.