Experiencing hospitality through collaborative storytelling between forcibly displaced people and the host community: narratives from an Irish university of sanctuary

The reception of populations in situations of forced migration in Europe has been at the heart of many heated debates, with the question of the integration of newcomers having received particular attention. In the Irish context, the reception and accommodation system for international protection applicants, known as Direct Provision (DP), while ensuring that basic needs are met, has been criticised for isolating people in its care and depriving them of their agency. This research project focuses on intercultural education through the medium of collaborative storytelling. Drawing on the Derridean views of hospitality for its theoretical framework, it explores concepts of hospitality and reciprocity as democratic praxis, and aims to answer the research question: How can collaborative storytelling between forcibly displaced people and the host community facilitate hospitality? Developed as an action research project, the study follows four cycles of a collaborative storytelling project, including photovoice methodology, which pairs-up university student and staff and people in situations of forced migration to exchange life stories, with a focus on shared human experience. Qualitative data were collected from various sources including focus group interviews, evaluations, artifacts, classroom observations and journal reflections. Exploring the workings of the physical and symbolic spaces created by the project, findings show that through participatory methods and democratic approaches, it is possible to develop mutual understanding and respect. In addition, there is evidence that participation in the storytelling project contributed to a recovery of agency by the participants residing in DP, from alleviating boredom to creating new opportunities for participation in the wider community. Finally, it revitalises the notion of integration through the dual lenses of hospitality and reciprocity and questions notions of vulnerability or benevolence towards people in refugee- like situations, favouring those of agency and democracy instead