New Routes, Norwich City of Sanctuary, English Plus and the Zainab Project are organisations which supports refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in Norwich.
We work together with them to design writing and story-building workshops and drop-in activities for children, young people, and families, to promote cross-cultural integration and awareness, to introduce participants to each other, and to have fun with stories and language.
2022-23
Our pilot project, with New Routes, was ‘NCW Platform’. Thanks to Arts Council England and the Linbury Trust, NCW was able to deliver a bespoke, co-curated programme of work with and for New Routes.
NCW’s community work has demonstrated that story-making and writing have beneficial impacts on individuals and communities in terms of increased confidence, reduced social isolation and better community cohesion. This programme with New Routes sought to support and empower the Refugee and Asylum-seeking participants to explore their creative writing journeys with us, and to build a relationship with Dragon Hall, our Grade I listed literature house in Norwich’s historic King Street.
There were three strands of activity, delivered at the New Routes hub and at Dragon Hall. We worked to engage established communities in creative writing and storytelling with several different groups, but were also able to react to the needs and preferences of the community.
- Activities with girls and young women aged 8-14 years, led by Ellie Mckinlay-Khojinian
- Hands-on creative writing, games and play with children and families, led by Daisy Henwood
- Family-friendly English activity sessions at Dragon Hall throughout the summer holidays
We welcomed families from different backgrounds including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria, Albania, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Turkey and Sudan.
Participants’ feedback included feeling ‘confident’, ‘energetic’, ‘full of ideas’ and joyful’ after sessions.
We’re working with New Routes and our Community Advisory Board to establish other opportunities to work together in the near future.
‘It has been brilliant to watch our young people grow in confidence in sharing their writing and using their own creative ideas. We are excited to continue work with NCW’, New Routes.
I came away from each session feeling uplifted and thrilled at the creativity in these girls. Their confidence and their self-esteem was notable and impressive
2023-24
We transformed a commercial catering kitchen into a welcoming, open space that was used by refugees and asylum seekers in collaboration with the Zainab Project. These cookery-based sessions blend storytelling, the sharing of food, and learning about nutrition.
This initiative has strengthened our ties with Norwich City of Sanctuary as we worked towards
achieving accredited Place of Sanctuary status, secured in late 2024.
With thanks to The Geoffrey Watling Charity.
2024-25
NCW increasingly utilised our assets, local partnerships and experience to provide support to those who are beyond initial resettlement and entry-level ESOL; at the point of seeking new skills and confidence to make social connections, discover or rekindle creative writing skills, and ultimately live a more creatively, culturally, and intellectually fulfilled life in Norwich.
In 2024/25, 254 people attended activities supporting global communities and resettled individuals in Norwich:
- Taster creative writing and English Language classes at English+.
- Refugee Week events, including two community feasts for residents, participants, and writers.
- Zainab Project nutrition and storytelling course in NCW’s community kitchen.
- Family drop-in days welcoming refugee and asylum seeker families to access our spaces for free, collaborating with New Routes and Norwich’s ‘Sanctuary Ambassadors’.
- Writing workshops at Dragon Hall, enriching English+’s ESOL provision by using the building as a stimulus to create and experiment with spoken and written English.
At the close of 2024, NCW secured Place of Sanctuary status. Recognition for a commitment to inclusivity and support for those with refugee or asylum seeker status.
In October 2025, we co-hosted Platforma Festival.
The future
In 2025/26 and beyond, we’ll build on these activities by increasing support for resettled individuals with an existing creative practice; seeking to create opportunities for mentoring, peer exchange, performance and co-producing existing activities. Cumulatively, those we work with will (re)establish a writing network and practice in a new city.
The ambition to ‘amplify Norwich as a welcoming city’ and ‘harness the power of reading and writing to foster empathy and understanding for people seeking sanctuary’ is a priority within ‘Writing the Future’, Norwich’s 2025-30 UNESCO City of Literature Strategy.
With thanks to The Linbury Trust and Counterpoints Arts. Family Days are supported by Norwich Freemen’s Charity. ‘Stepping Into Dragon Hall’ was made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.
Being a refugee isn’t just about basic needs – eating, being given clothes or a home, it’s also about satisfying your intellect, who you are as a person, what you want to achieve.
