Absorbing Cities: creative hosting in turbulent times

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What can London learn about hosting from the experience of European cities? Cities like Lisbon and Lublin understand the value of the European Intercultural Cities Programme actively promoting the fresh energy, thinking, and wealth migrants have always brought with them into cities. The UK is seemingly short of Intercultural Cities and is only represented by Swansea and Lewisham.

Three speakers who believe the capacity of a city to show its humanity is part of its developing identity and fabric will give short presentations to start a discussion about London.

Dr. Noha Nasser is an architect and academic with an interest in the influence of culture on urban form and design. She wrote Bridging Cultures: a guide to social innovation in the cosmopolitan city, she runs www.melasocialenterprise.com and is a trustee of the charity caravanserai.org initiated by Ash Sakula in 2010. She will talk about the tools and techniques used by the Intercultural Cities Programme to break down barriers between people.

Siraj Izhar Artist, urbanist and activist from XYZ London and amplife.org will share his experiences of taking newly arrived minors and families to host flats in different neighbourhoods of Paris, he shows how these very first experiences are vital in building mutual respect and resilience in the city.

Paris he says has managed to retain its radical dimension, situationism taking on unfamiliar new dimensions.

Dr. Federico Wulff will present design strategies for Palermo which like many other Euro-Mediterranean cities are facing a profound change which goes far beyond the current economic crisis. EMUVE which stands for Euro-Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology looks at how shrinking economies can creatively host incoming migrants and find a new resilience. He believes that architecture which captures the value of voids in the urban fabric, together with politics which challenge the standard scenarios of success are essential if we are to create a more inclusive city.

You can book online here: www.eventbrite.com/e/absorbing-cities-creative-hosting-in-turbulent-times-tickets-46317132791