Speaker from Cyprus Refugee Council:

Manos Mathioudakis, Senior Integration Officer

Soizig Carey, Scottish Refugee Council – Cross Borders

Mónica Laiseca, Refugee Festival Scotland

Soizig is Arts and Cultural Development Officer for Scottish Refugee Council, an independent charity dedicated to supporting people in need of refugee protection. Here, she initiated and leads Cross Borders – a programme of arts and cultural activism projects, advocating for the rights, care and protection of artists and activists while facilitating connections, support, exchange and artistic activity. 

Soizig graduated from Edinburgh College of Art in 2009 and has been working in the creative and cultural sector in Scotland as a curator, producer and facilitator for over a decade, motivated by care, compassion, collaboration and (actual) social equity. Soizig is also an artist and designer-maker specialising in contemporary jewellery. Her practice is rooted in slow design and making, feminism and anti-capitalist consumer culture.

Mónica is Manager at Refugee Festival Scotland, an annual celebration of the art, languages, customs and ideas that people bring with them when they settle in Scotland that is co-ordinated by Scottish Refugee Council, Scotland’s national refugee charity.

Prior to this, Mónica oversaw a European programme of Studios of Sanctuary residencies at Edinburgh Printmakers (2021-23) and co-convened the MLitt Curatorial Practice (Contemporary Art) programme at Glasgow School of Art (2014-2021). She has held curatorial roles in the UK and Spain, for example: Everyday Hope, solo exhibition by Najma Abukar, co-curated with Soizig Carey (Refugee Festival Scotland, 2023); and Uprooted visions, group exhibition co-curated with Tiffany Boyle (Edinburgh Printmaker, 2023).

Safi Adnan, MedeArts

Safi is the founder of the City Artists Network initiative (MedeArts) in Jordan since 2015. He is a cultural specialist with a focus on curating cultural and artistic projects, especially those that rely on alternative arts for social change or contribute to creating a decentralised cultural system.

His professional journey began when he joined the Karama Human Rights Film Festival in 2011, where he served as the Director of External Shows and Community Engagement Program for over 10 years. He is active in the Arab region as an ally and advocate for minority rights and marginalised groups, and is recognised as one of the feminist mentors in the region and the world. He excels in utilising digital arts as a means of awareness and advocacy.

He received a fellowship from the Ambassadorial Lab program by the French Institute in Paris and the Arab Cultural Policies Award and Grant by the Cultural Resource Foundation after completing the Ekmel Program, which specialises in training Arab cultural leaders, in 2017.

Aseel Eisa, MedeArts

Aseel joined MedeArts in October 2020 as coordinator for a society programme, fostering community engagement in Irbid. Subsequently, she managed the cultural exchange programme, overseeing communication efforts with local, regional, and European partners. In February 2022, Asseel represented MedeArts in Lebanon for research on Middle Eastern handicrafts, followed by further research to understand the industry’s needs. She managed Artists Connecting in Transition (2022-23) – a programme supporting artists in exile and minority communities across the UK, France and Turkey.

Aseel is a graduate in Business Administration. In 2017, she began her journey with AIESEC Jordan, a non-profit organisation, where she spearheaded volunteer projects connecting Jordanian students with global opportunities. Leading a team of 30 members across Irbid and Amman, Asseel facilitated impactful initiatives.

Clymene Christoforou, founding board member, D6:EU and Director, D6: Culture in Transit

Argyro Toumazou, Director D6:EU

​Clymene is a founding board member of D6:EU. She has a long history of international cultural development, working with artists, cultural organisations, communities and policy makers. She has led a number of international cultural programmes and advocates putting art and culture at the heart of public debate and decision-making.

Argyro is a founding board member of D6:EU. She works as an independent strategist, curator and producer of cultural activities. Over the last decade, she has cooperated closely with artists’ groups and Cypriot NGOs and has gained extensive experience in bi-communal programmes and art initiatives.

Andrea is the Lead Producer at D6: Culture in Transit, where she manages the development and delivery of D6’s artistic programme and audience development strategy. Andrea has worked extensively in the fields of visual arts and heritage, with a long-standing focus on socially engaged practice and a greater representation of marginalised communities and networks. Prior to her current role, she has produced and coordinated activity for Pixel Palace, a Digital Arts programme at Tyneside Cinema; and CORNERS of Europe for D6.

Amak is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist and educator from Iran. She began her career as a research-based photographer at the Art University of Tehran in Iran in 2003. Since 2007, she has been living in the UK where she practices as a visual artist and lecturer in Photography. In 2015, she completed a practice-based doctorate in photography at the University of South Wales.

Working with photography, text, video, drawing, and archives at the intersection of conceptual and documentary photography, Amak’s artistic practice explores the presentation of gender, identity, and displacement, bridging space between the personal and political.

Her work has been shown extensively and won numerous awards. She has published two books, Shenasnameh and Zanjir, which was the winner of The Best Photo Textbook award by Rencontres Arles. 

Paria is an Iranian-born artist and social art practitioner, a member of UNESCO RILA Affiliated Artist network, and The Young Academy of Scotland. A significant aspect of her work involves the creation of socially engaged art projects that respond to concepts of cultural belonging, representation, and displacement. These projects enhance the wellbeing and visibility of individuals from diverse cultural and social backgrounds.

“I use my art to explore cultural and political transfers and translocations, as well as reflecting the pull of the contemporary human condition, cultural identity, and displacement. I am a multidisciplinary artist, delving into the formation and representation of identity, often producing collaborative, participatory, and socially engaged artworks.”

Paria studied Textile Design, BA(Hons), from the University of Science and Culture in Tehran, Sculpture and Environmental Art at Glasgow School of Art, and has a Masters in Adult Education, Community Development and Youth Work at Glasgow University.