IN-PERSON: Prague – Section B

Abstract

My presentation addresses the topic of the socio-spatial inclusion of African and Middle Eastern refugees in Portugal, namely their access to adequate housing spaces and proper living conditions. It refers to the mismatch between societal misperceptions and the hardships experienced by these refugees in real life, fuelling anti-refugee sentiments and xenophobic/racist hate speech and attitudes while shrinking the broad need to seek transformative approaches committed to inclusion. My aim is to introduce media arts and communication tools as methodological approach potentially capable of bringing about transformation leading to such inclusion, all the while involving these refugees in transformative experiences for envisioning and building new lives. These experiences are associated with the intangible realities that intertwine with urban life, referring to urban cultures and spatialities. In fact, digital media art and communication tools can vividly shape, enable and represent these experiences by building bottom-up participatory and interactive narratives and immersive experiences based on local perceptions. They can transform social imaginaries based on the rapid sharing of information, and create common emotional landscapes that, in turn, change realities. These tools have, therefore, an important role to play in deconstructing urban and housing policies and practices, and living conditions of the under-represented, while strengthening networked spaces of visibility, support and solidarity among other intangible heritages supporting socio-spatial and housing inclusion. They can also boost experiences of coexistence with the potential to enhance feelings of belonging of those that embody different experiences and cultures.