Starting in 2015, the eight cities which have supported The Encyclopedia of Migrants project all committed to acquiring a copy of the paper version, which was the only absolute condition for localities wanting taking part. Partners such as third-sector organisations, municipal authorities and institutions took responsibility on a local level for publically presenting the Encyclopedia and increasing awareness of it by developing a long-term dynamic in the form of exhibitions, readings, debates, associated projects and any other initiatives they may wish to implement or support. The official handover ceremonies are scheduled from 4 March 2017 (in Rennes) to 28 June 2017 (Gibraltar).
– France –
Brest
Official handover ceremony: 16th March at 6pm
Location: Médiathèque François-Mitterrand-Les Capucins ‒ Ateliers des Capucins, 25 rue de Pontaniou, 29200 Brest
The official handover ceremony for The Encyclopedia of Migrants will be preceded by a speech by François Cuillandre, Mayor of Brest, and Paloma Fernández Sobrino, the designer and director of the Encyclopedia of Migrants project coordinated by L’âge de la Tortue. A schedule of cultural events is currently being organised at the Capucins site and throughout the city of Brest.
Rennes
Official handover ceremony: 4 March 2017 at 11.30am
Location: Le Triangle, cité de la danse, boulevard de Yougoslavie, 35000 Rennes
Reading marathon: from 4 March (6pm) to 5 March 2017 (6pm)
Location: HĂ´tel Pasteur, 2 place Pasteur, 35000 Rennes
The official handover ceremony has been organised for Saturday 4th March at 11.30am at the Le Triangle cultural centre. This public ceremony is open to anyone and everyone, and it will involve the project team (artists, migrants, third-sector activists, social scientists and so on) handing over a copy to Nathalie Appéré, Mayor of Rennes. This Encyclopedia will then move to the Les Champs Libres library, where it will be kept and made available to the public.
A marathon reading session will then take place at L’Hôtel Pasteur from Saturday 4 March (6pm) to Sunday 5 March 2017 (6pm). This performance aims to provide a comprehensive, continuous reading of all 400 stories by a group of 100 volunteer readers. L’Hôtel Pasteur will be open to the public for 24 hours and the event is free and open to all.
Nantes
Official handover ceremony and public reading: 6 April 2017
Location: HĂ´tel de ville, rue de la Commune, 44000 Nantes
The city of Nantes will receive its copy of The Encyclopedia of Migrants in front of an audience that will include the project’s authors and partners.
The official handover ceremony will be followed by a reading of a selection of letters by the writers themselves. A celebration is organised for after the event.
– Spain –
GijĂłn
Official handover ceremony and cultural events: 8 May 2017
Location: Town Hall, Plaza Mayor 1, 33201 GijĂłn
The three volumes of The Encyclopedia of Migrants will be officially presented to the local authority and media in a ceremony followed by a reception for migrants who wrote their piece for the project and a public reading of selected letters. This public presentation will lead into a series of cultural events held as part of GijĂłn’s European Week up until 12th May, including photography workshops with two of the project’s own photographers, Laura RodrĂguez and Lluc Queralt, at Barjola de GijĂłn museum on 9 and 10 May 2017. There will also be a handover ceremony for the Encyclopedia on 12 May 2017 at the Museum of the People of Asturias, which will be responsible for keeping it and passing on its contents.
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Cadiz
Official handover ceremony: 20 March 2017
Location: Cadiz Town Hall, Plaza de San Juan de Dios S/N, 11005 Cadix
To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Encyclopedia will be presented to citizens, social organisations and cultural and institutional bodies at a public event. Participants include the Mayor of Cadiz and representatives of the city’s migrants who contributed their stories to the project, as well as the AsociaciĂłn Pro Derechos Humanos de AndalucĂa (APDHA), which acted as local coordinator. The presentation will be followed by a reading of a selection of letters in the Encyclopedia and a tribute to the contribution made by the migrant community to the city of Cadiz. For its first year, the Encyclopedia will be kept at ECCO, before moving to its long-term home in the JosĂ© Celestino Mutis municipal library.
– Portugal –
Porto
Official handover ceremony: 18 May 2017
Location: Almeida Garrett municipal library, R. de Entre-Quintas 268, 4050-344 Porto
The official handover ceremony will involve a public enouncement of suggestions made by students following on from debates based around the Encyclopedia about migration and improving intercultural management in schools (the context to which was the Human Library project). The event will take place with an audience that includes students, the Mayor of Porto and the city’s officer for culture, as well as the team at the Associaçao Solidariedade Internacional (ASI).
Lisbon
Official handover ceremony: 30th of May 2017
Location: Lisbon Town Hall (Sala dos Arquivos, Paços do Concelho), Praça do MunicipĂo, 1100-365 Lisboa
A roundtable and letter-reading session at Renovar a Mouraria, Mouradia-Casa comunitaria da Mouraria, Beco do Rosendo n Âş8-10, 1100-460 Lisboa
The Encyclopedia will be handed over to the Mayor of Lisbon. There will be a roundtable debate and a presentation of what happened in Lisbon during the city’s intercultural forum, as well as a letter-reading session at the Renovar a Mouraria association.
– Gibraltar –
Official handover ceremony: 28 June 2017
Location: Mario Finlayson National Art Gallery, City Hall, John Mackintosh Square, Gibraltar, GX11 1AA
The Encyclopedia will be officially presented in Gibraltar to an audience of local dignitaries, Gibraltarian project participants, the European team and members of the public. It will be handed over to the Mayor of Gibraltar and members of the Gibraltarian Parliament. A reception will then take place. The Encyclopedia will be kept at the Mario Finlayson National Art Gallery in City Hall and it will be accessible to the public. The Encyclopedia’s concluding seminar will take place after the presentation, with members of the eight cities’ project teams and the L’âge de la Tortue association that coordinated the project.