Tower Hamlets celebrates Somali Week Festival

A talk at the Somali Week Festival pic: Somali Week Festival

Tower Hamlets Council will host a week-long programme as a part of Somali Week Festival, including performances, talks, music and arts activities.

Somali Week Festival is a community arts project which runs from October 20-29, and is funded by the council’s Somali Taskforce, which aims to share stories and engage with the Somali community in Tower Hamlets.

The festival Chair , Cllr Ali said: “East London and Tower Hamlets in particular has a long and established history of Somali migration and settlement in the local community.”

“Coming Here, Being Here: Archiving British Somali presence in the East End of London is aimed at capturing some of these experiences through film, photography and digital mapping, creating a legacy piece for generations to come.”

The programme includes various art workshops such as: history walks, films, photography exhibitions and celebratory events.

Community volunteers also lead content of the project, with storytelling, educational activities in schools and workshops for older people.

The Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs, said: “We know from the taskforce that the Somali community in Tower Hamlets often faces significant challenges, and having undertaken this work we have put together an action plan to address this.”

“I am pleased that the council is supporting this programme of events to celebrate the contribution the Somali community makes in the borough.”

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