Writers reach out to critics and supporters through virtual community
Sophie Nicholls shows Hassan how to blogMF clients have taken part in the launch of a pioneering online writing community that allows them to interact with a global audience. Work by members of the Write to Life group now appears on a blogging site set up to give asylum seekers and refugees a voice, enabling them to influence public opinion.
Starting from the premise that big ideas start small, writer and former Write to Life mentor Sophie Nicholls created what is believed to be the first interactive site dedicated solely to the work of exiled people living in the UK.
"My aim is to counter the distortions that you read about asylum seekers and refugees," says Ms Nicholls, who has established the Lots of Big Ideas (LOBI) site with the help of her partner, Tom Smith's technical wizardry. "Having worked with asylum seekers I realised how much they had the potential to change people's opinions. As well as the political aspect of getting their fascinating stories to a wider audience I also know how important it is for people to feel witnessed."
Some of the first pieces to be posted on the LOBI site are the works of Write to Life clients who have just returned from the International Book Festival in Edinburgh. Ultimately, the site will be open to asylum seekers and refugees from across the globe to submit their work and comment on the work of other contributors. By opening themselves up to feedback, contributors are effectively given free rein to publish their material and seek advice from experienced editors or simply to take part in critical discussions.
Ms Nicholls, who has just completed a doctorate in the therapeutic effects of writing hopes the collaborative nature of LOBI will encourage a constructive debate about asylum issues.
"My objective from the very beginning was to provide a platform that belongs to the contributing writers," she says. "One thing that used to frustrate me as a mentor was that most people don't hear the real stories about what it's like to be an asylum seeker or a refugee. My whole aim is to get their very real stories across to a much bigger audience."
For Sheila Hayman, co-ordinator of the Write to Life project, LOBI is the realisation of a long term goal to give roots to people who can otherwise feel displaced in the often isolated lifestyle that has been thrust upon them on arrival in the UK.
"They have a life where they have no fixed home and know they could be moved on at any moment," she says. "Their mobile phones are literally their whole home and even that is virtual. The conceptual idea with LOBI is that it's a home where they will always be able to go - a place where they can keep their thoughts, express themselves and their personality. Ultimately, it's a place where they can meet other people and have dialogue."
Log on to LOBI at http://lotsofbigideas.blogspot.com.