Progress Report on Living Refugee Archive

After too long, finally we are able to post an update here on the progress of the Living Refugee Archive website and project.  Apologies first for the long silence in terms of posting and updates, this has been due to changing workload demands combined with needing to revamp and update the design, layout and content of the Living Refugee Archive.  However, we are now in a position to re-launch the website and we would like to begin by outlining the site and our new features.

The Living Refugee Archive (LRA) website was initially established as part of a University of East London funded civic engagement project entitled, “Democratic access of privileged exclusion.”  Our aim is for the LRA is to provide an online medium to help support our refugee and migration archival collections at UEL, by providing online access to resources and materials relating to the refugee and migrant experience as well as providing a platform for engagement with practitioners, academics, researchers, and third sector workers involved in working in the refugee and migration fields.  I have been busy the last few weeks installing a new theme for the LRA and undertaking updates and maintenance work on the LRA to enable the site to provide a more engaging and interactive experience for visitors.

As part of this work we will also be introducing several new features including a new Events page section; a new Collaboration section showcasing the projects and work we are involved in; a more comprehensive and updated Archives section; and a New …. drum roll please …. Projects section highlighting our new Conversation and Blog series; Vox Pops; and Twitter Projects too.  Initial details are now available online and we will be posting further details on all of these in due course.  We have also just launched a new LRA Newsletter using the Mailchimp platform.  The Newsletter will be posted regularly online and you can also subscribe to receive the newsletter via email here.  We have also revamped our collaboration section of the website providing details of our UEL Collaborations  including our postgraduate teaching; cross-departmental projects; civic engagement projects and related content.  External collaborations are also highlighted including IASFM ; Emerginging Scholars and Practitioners on Migration Issues (ESPMI); Migration and Asylum Network and the Oral History Society Migration Special Interest Group.

We would very much welcome your feedback on the Living Refugee Archive redesign and of course the new projects and sections.  We are continuing to update and develop the website and if you would like to contribute the blog or have a suggestion for content, please do contact me at Paul V. Dudman, p.v.dudman@uel.ac.uk

The Living Refugee Archive can be accessed at:  www.livingrefugeearchive.org/