The Newport Intervention: We Are Here, Because You Were There
Mark Seymour, Dylan Moore, Dr Sara de Jong
Join us at the Riverfront on Thursday 9th February, 6pm, when we bring our current exhibition We Are Here, Because You Were There to Newport through discussions and a projection installation!
This promises to be an engaging evening where we can focus on the situation of Afghan interpreters who had to flee their homes following the withdrawal of foreign troops and resettlement in the UK. All are welcome to join us and help to carry on the conversation.
The timings for the evening are:
6pm - Welcome - Riverfront foyer
6.15 - 6.30pm - Outdoor installation: Join us at Newport’s Wave to see projections of a short film created from images and audio in the exhibition shown against the side of the Riverfront building.
6.45 - 7.45pm - Panel discussion - The Resettlement of Afghan Interpreters in the UK and Newport as a City of Sanctuary.
The café will be open afterwards for refreshments.
Throughout the evening, artist Stephanie Roberts will also be running a free drop-in mosaic making workshop.
Chair: Dylan Moore
Panelists: Ali (interpreter), Mark Seymour, Sara de Jong
Photo © Andy Barnham
About Artists
Mark Seymour
Mark has lived in Newport for 27 years. He worked professionally as a Lead teacher in a multicultural school in Cardiff for 25 years. In 2005, Mark founded the Sanctuary to support asylum seekers and refugees rebuild their sense of community and belonging in Newport. The project, run by the small local Newport charity The Gap Wales, is based on Stow Hill and offers a range of holistic wellbeing support and activities to refugees and asylum seekers. He enjoys cycling, gardening, watching rugby and is passionate about tackling injustice.
Dylan Moore
Dylan Moore is a prolific commentator on the media and culture of Wales. He currently leads media policy work for the Institute of Welsh Affairs and has edited the welsh agenda magazine since 2014. His journalism and cultural commentary has appeared widely, including in the Times Educational Supplement, Daily Telegraph, Vanity Fair and on BBC Radio 4 and Radio 1Xtra.
Dylan’s latest book is the novel Many Rivers to Cross, which won a Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship 2022. The book is partly based on his experiences volunteering and working at the Sanctuary Project for refugees in Newport, and concerns migration from Ethiopia.
His first book Driving Home Both Ways, a collection of travel essays, was published in 2018 – the same year Dylan was awarded Hay Festival’s International Fellowship.
Dylan lives with his family in Cardiff.
Dr Sara de Jong
Dr Sara de Jong is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Politics, University of York, who researches the protection and resettlement of Afghan interpreters employed by Western armies. Since 2017, she has conducted more than 80 interviews with interpreters and advocates in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, France and the Netherlands. She is also the co-founder of the charity Sulha Alliance, which advocates for Afghan interpreters who worked for the British Armed Forces.
Channel
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