Projects
Ambassador Programmes
IMIX runs two lived experience ambassador programmes each year, one for Refugee Week in collaboration with Counterpoints Arts, and another for International Migrants Day with International Organisation for Migration, UK (IOM UK). The ambassador programmes provide training, mentoring and support to people who feel ready to tell their story and want to grow in confidence speaking to the media. Through online workshops and in-person days the ambassadors are coached by our professional communications experts and journalists as well as given an opportunity to network and build up key relationships within the sector. Many ambassadors receive excellent media coverage in outlets such as the BBC, Metro, Evening Standard, The Guardian and local news networks. For many this is the first step in growing into leadership positions and becoming significant sector spokespeople. IMIX has a growing network of over 70 media spokespeople from the sector which has grown out of the ambassador programmes.
Migration. Making Britain Great
Funded by the European Programme for Integration and Migration (EPIM) and using education, facts and sporting role models, the initiative aims to challenge and address many of the myths surrounding migrants and celebrate those who have sought asylum and sanctuary in the UK.
IMIX works alongside sector partners Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) and Migrant Voice on this innovative new campaign. Sport is well known as an area that transcends barriers, builds friendship and trust, positively impacting people’s opinions and perceptions. The campaign takes learning from SRtRC’s current education programme, IMIX’s sector expertise in narrative change with Migrant Voice providing contributions from people with lived experience.
Migration. Making Britain Great includes a public facing campaign and educational programme rolled out across 2024 and beyond in key regions of dispersal and aims to change the narrative on migration.
Human Journeys
Human Journeys is an Instagram project which tells the human stories behind the headlines. To date over 300 people have shared their experience of migrating to the UK through this ground-breaking project. From people who were forced to leave their homes because of conflict, to those who had to make dangerous journeys to reach safety, to migrant domestic workers trafficked and left without status to entrepreneurs setting up successful businesses, these stories paint a powerful picture of what it is like to be a migrant in the UK today. If you would like to share your story, please do get in touch.
Un/Documented
Un/Documented is a podcast from IMIX empowering hidden voices which digs deeper into the stories of those who make the journey to the UK and what the impact has been on their lives. Each episode includes the voice of a person with lived experience of the UK immigration system telling their story as well as a campaigner or expert within the sector sharing their insights. Hosted by Elahe Ziai and Ali Ghaderi, we speak to journalists, charity directors, activists and change-makers about what we can do to change the migration narrative and create a more compassionate, welcoming society.
The Power of Words Project
IMIX invites you to be be part of The Power of Words Project, led by Motaz Amer, award-winning refugee advocate and Mary Leach, a charity campaigner. The project is dedicated to challenging and reshaping harmful narratives surrounding migrants, specifically refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK.
The first step is a short but important survey to understand:
🔹 The effect of terminology on refugees and people seeking asylum`s mental health, well-being and integration.
🔹 How the media portrays migrants, including refugees and people seeking asylum.
Your contribution will drive actual change by supporting:
📌 Advocacy: Engaging policymakers and media for ethical reporting.
📌 Media Reform – Promoting Fairer Narratives
📌 Community impact: challenging stereotypes and amplifying voices.
Refugee Journalism Mentoring Project
Building media careers. Amplifying lived experience.
The Refugee Journalism Mentoring Project supports people with lived experience of forced displacement from a journalism/communications background to build a pathway into UK media and communications careers.
Developed by IMIX and funded by The Rayne Foundation, this six-month pilot programme connects refugee and asylum-seeking journalists across the UK with host charities, professional mentors, and hands-on training to help them rebuild their careers and tell their own stories in their own words.
Each mentee spends one day a week volunteering in a grassroots charity’s communications team. There, they gain valuable UK work experience, have the use of a dedicated laptop and phone, and are guided through a structured curriculum of six digital learning modules covering:
🔹 The UK Media Landscape
🔹 Social and Digital Media
🔹 Safeguarding
🔹 Video and Broadcast
🔹 Media Law
🔹 Communications Industry Jobs
They also receive one-to-one support from both an IMIX mentor and a working UK journalist, and take part in professional workshops, newsroom visits, and peer networking sessions.
Mentees complete real-world communications tasks – like writing blog posts, making social media videos, and conducting interviews – that directly support their host organisations while building their own portfolios.
By investing in the skills and stories of refugee journalists, the project increases the media capacity of small charities, strengthens regional voices, and brings authentic lived experience into UK journalism.
We are proud to be working with brilliant mentees from around the world, host charities across the UK, and a growing network of media professionals committed to fairer, more representative storytelling.
Interested in partnering with us or becoming a mentor? Get in touch
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