Good Point

Finally in hand! The print copy of our comic book “The Secret Power”. This was conceptualised and written by me, and gorgeously illustrated by Salam Alhassan, for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. “Three young refugees in their adopted home embark on a journey to the past to understand the magical strength that brought them to safety – and how this power can serve their new lives. A story of trauma and resilience, and a comic look at the secret powers in all of us.“ I spoke with refugees and used parts of real testimonies for the story. It was amazing to work with the brilliantly talented Salam, from Syria and living in Berlin, to bring the story to life. Somehow Salam managed to capture every moment as imagined in my brain but make it wildly beautiful. The book is already being used internationally in schools and we hear it's stimulated some fantastic classroom debates in the UK for example. That's the point! Hope it can continue to open up the topic for young people all over. #Storytelling can promote radical empathy – for example helping people understand the complex reasons refugees take the awful step of abandoning their home, and how their difficulties rarely end when they reach safety. More hard copies will be made available and the plan is for more languages. Meantime the book is downloadable in digital form from this link (scroll to bottom): https://lnkd.in/dsjiEagb Thanks Frederik S. and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency for this wonderful collaboration.

The arts are under attack – with governments everywhere (looking at you UK) framing them as lacking value in society. In this context it felt significant to design and lead a #storytelling workshop at London South Bank University for the academics running the School of Creative Arts and Industries there. Even beyond the immense cultural significance, in terms of evolution of thought, empathy, psychology, the ability to imagine future scenarios – even in the narrow framing of profitability, the arts are clearly fundamental to staffing the enormous sectors of entertainment, advertising, management consultancy, etc... Though we all consume stories every day, a narrative persists that artists pushing the boundaries of storytelling are not worth investing in. It was fascinating to tackle this challenge together, coming up with a positive, proactive narrative, and to do some strategic, structured thinking with this group of insightful and charming professors from spheres as broad as sound, film, and fashion. On the Thames bank, the topic of “the river” emerged as an exciting way to reimagine how creativity nourishes and connects us all. Thanks Elena Marchevska and Kristina Nilles :))

My father Musci Marcello Labi survived the Holocaust as a child and on a day when people say #neveragain I pledge to keep alive his story for all it can teach humans about humans and help us all reflect upon and process our trauma so we can positively contribute towards peaceful societies. Marcello was a child refugee and prisoner of the Nazi concentration camps who saw horrors, losing his childhood and his father. He was never able to confront his trauma and that had an impact on many around him as well as upon his own wellbeing. I have spent the last few years exploring his story and touring a comic one-man show about him not just to share his story but to process my own heavy cargo and hopefully inspire others to do the same, whatever their story and background. "Never again" means opening our eyes to the fallout of war, repression, injustice and punitive policies everywhere, and being proactive in helping people heal. For me that's about bringing people together to cry and laugh, something that remains the most powerful weapon against hatred we have. #internationalholocaustremembranceday #holocaustmemorialday #holocaustremembranceday #weremember #yomhashoah