Migrant rights activist and social innovator Ake Achi speaks about labour exploitation in 21st century UK
Read hereEco Furniture Factory supported community organisations across Coventry
Read hereFREE, accredited course to boost your CV and research knowledge
Register hereMiFriendly Cities present ‘Beyond’, an e-magazine for Black History Month, created by migrants participating in our Media Labs!
Read hereWe are a finalist in The Innovation in Politics Award's 'Human Rights' category!
Read hereTo mark Black History Month, Victor speaks to MiFriendly Cities about his struggles as an asylum seeker in the UK and how he has found strength in helping others.
Read hereTo mark Black History Month, Faye speaks to MiFriendly Cities about her struggles as an asylum seeker in the UK, how she overcame them and what we can do to support villages in East Africa.
Read here*Coronavirus national lockdown update*
Since the first national lockdown measures came into place in March, the MiFriendly Cities project has adapted to continue programme delivery where possible, and also to help fight Covid 19 through some of our projects – like our Community Health Champions.
Now that we are in a second national lockdown, we want to re-iterate that the safety and wellbeing of staff, volunteers and service users participating in the project is our first priority.
We are continuing to support users, projects and live initiatives, and will continue to deliver sessions and courses remotely, using video conferencing and social media platforms.
Many staff and partners delivering support and programmes continue working from home and should be contactable on their usual telephone and email addresses.
All programme changes will be updated on the MiFriendly Cities website and on social media.
Find us on Twitter here.
Find us on Facebook here.
For further support and information on COVID-19 we recommend you visit your respective council’s website
Birmingham – https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/coronavirus_advice
Coventry – https://welcometocoventry.co.uk/
Wolverhampton – https://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/coronavirus-advice-and-information
In October 2017 the EU’s Urban Innovative Actions fund awarded more than £4m to Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton for the MiFriendly Cities project, a 3-year initiative that is developing innovative, community-led and sustainable approaches to enhancing the contribution of refugees and migrants across the region. Our exciting programme has been designed to create opportunities for migrants and bring communities together, building cohesion across Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
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Migrants and refugees have helped to develop this initiative and to establish what makes a city ‘Migration Friendly’. With this grassroots approach we hope to see citizens across the community working with local businesses, government, and voluntary organisations to build a MiFriendly region together. The project will continue to be shaped by the community across the 3-years, and we hope that this will encourage a spirit of solidarity, with the West Midlands becoming a place in which everyone feels a true sense of belonging.
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The project is being delivered by an innovative partnership of 11 organisations. These include the three city councils from Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Coventry, a multinational company, a university, a law centre, a consultancy and three migrant-run charities. All are working together to achieve one common goal, and to push the boundaries of what has been previously attempted in the EU.
Find Out MoreLearn more about our innovative programme of activities and find out how you or your organisation can get involved.
Get Involved
Inger
Coventry
Coventry made me very welcome when I arrived as a migrant 20 years ago. We arrived before our belongings and our new neighbour immediately knocked with her spare kettle! Years later, and I still love Coventry for its curiosity and openness to new ideas, and many partnerships between different groups and communities
Debora
Coventry
We are so proud of being selected as City of Culture. There is such a diverse multi-cultural communities living together in harmony. Stoke Heath Community Centre, CV2 3QH, is working wonderfully with everyone who wishes to join our community projects
Neil
Coventry
For me a MiFriendly City is a place where all are welcome and there is opportunity for all to build a life for themselves and their families
Nicole
Coventry
It's a place where everybody is supported to make a meaningful contribution to their community, whether they were born in that city or have recently arrived.
Gamika
Coventry
A place of inclusion, opportunity and welcome.
Sunairah
Coventry
I am a migrant myself, and if I didn’t have the right support from other people in Coventry I wouldn’t be where I am today. For me, the support of your neighbours and community is what makes a place migration friendly.
Employers reached by the MiFriendly Employment Brokers
We’re aiming to reach 2000 in 3 years, creating links between employers and our migrant communities and highlighting the skills available.
Refugees and migrants trained in digital fabrication
Digital fabrication is a key skills need for the region, and we’re planning on training 250 future migrants in this exciting new skill.
Migrant entrepreneurs granted funding start-up social enterprises
We're supporting 16 refugee and migrant entrepreneurs to set up new businesses which have a social mission. Successful ideas get up to €5000 and mentoring to start up. So far 6 have gone on to register as businesses.
Train to be a Citizen Social Scientist
January 2021
MiFriendly Cities is offering refugees, migrants and asylum seekers the opportunity to join an accredited course with experienced researchers from […]
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Media Lab
Tuesday 1st December
Migrant Voice and MiFriendly Cities are inviting you all to a Media Lab that they are hosting in the West […]
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Online CV Workshop
Friday 20th November
Photo by Dylan Ferreira on Unsplash Drop in for FREE support with your CV. 10am-11am. Because of the changes we have had to […]
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Laser Cut Christmas Trees
Thursday 3rd December
Photo by Gantas Vaičiulėnas from Pexels These miniature Christmas trees are cute little additions to decorate your home this Christmas. Learn how to […]
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MiFriendly Cities Social Innovation Project Fights Labour Exploitation in West Midlands
December 22, 2020
Migrant rights activist Ake Achi is using his lived experience to raise awareness of migrant labour exploitation and what needs […]
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Coventry-based eco factory donates over 6,000 pieces of PPE & 1,000 pieces of furniture to community organisations
December 7, 2020
How the FabLab Eco Furniture Factory stepped up to donate over 1,000 pieces of up-cycled furniture to 30 local organisations, […]
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Farisai Brings the Power of Holistic Healing to Wolverhampton Locals
October 23, 2020
Fleeing abuse in Zimbabwe, Farisai arrived in the UK in 2008. During Black History Month, her story of hardships and […]
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This project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Urban Innovative Actions Initiative.
