In 2019 she carried out primary school workshops with 284 year 3, 4, 5 and 6 primary school pupils in Welsh and English in Swansea, Llanelli, Brecon and Carmarthen, based on bilingual activity e-books for Keystages 2 and 3 on ‘Refugees to Wales / Ffoaduriaid i Gymru’. These are some of the charcoal drawings created by the children in the style of Polish refugee artist Josef Herman. ‘The workshop and materials fit perfectly with the core purpose of the new Welsh curriculum of Ethical, Informed Citizens who are ready to be citizens of Wales and the world’ [Year 6 teacher].
The commissioned the collection Perthyn i Gymru / Belonging to Wales (2019, http://etw.bangor.ac.uk/files/PerthynIGymru-BelongingToWales.pdf) was designed to promote dialogue about Wales as a destination for travellers and migrants, pre-existing visions and transformative experiences of Wales. The book was distributed and discussed at the ‘Freedom Writers: Censorship in Turkey and Exile in Wales’ event at the 2019 Hay Festival. It has enjoyed positive reader responses, for example being described on Twitter as ‘my dream book’ by a Frenchwoman resident in Wales. The Institute of Welsh Affairs, an independent progressive think tank, requested to reprint our four commissioned travelogues on Wales and use their framework for a major new series for the online presence (ClickOnWales) of its magazine the Welsh agenda. Taking the same title as our ebook, ‘Perthyn i Gymru / Belonging to Wales’ features ‘extraordinary stories from ordinary people across Wales and beyond. It will investigate how individuals find a sense of belonging to their local community and to the nation’. As well as providing a representative platform for exiles in Wales such as prominent Turkish playwright Meltem Arikan [https://www.iwa.wales/click/2019/08/belonging-to-wales-from-turkey-to-trebinshun/], works published in this new series have allowed the voices of Europeans living in a post-Brexit Wales to be heard. In addition, Wales PEN Cymru, an international association which promotes literature and defends freedom of expression of writers worldwide, republished these multilingual stories about arriving in Wales on its website.
Dr Jones collaborated with the community-based organization Swansea City of Sanctuary to develop a public workshop with adult learners. Held on 21 November 2017 during the UK-wide Being Human festival of the humanities, the workshop led to increased awareness and enhanced understanding of experiences of historical and contemporary refugees and asylum seekers which received press coverage in regional and national newspapers. Attendees also appreciated the opportunity to meet asylum speakers and hear of their experiences living in Swansea.
Dr Jones organised and led a series of public talks and workshops at Swansea Museum during the exhibition EuroVisions of Wales (16 October 2015 – 26 January 2016).
- 16 October 2015: Opening night for the second stop of EuroVisions with a talk by Heini Gruffudd.
- 24 November 2015: “A European Traveller to Wales: Dr Jörg Bernig at Swansea Museum”, an evening with the German writer Jörg Bernig in conversation with Tom Cheesman.
- 28 November 2015: Children’s workshop about Christmas traditions in Europe.
- 15 & 17 December 2015: Poetry writing workshop for refugees and asylum seekers.
- 13 January 2016: Talk by Gwyn Griffiths: “Fraternity of the Onion sellers and Growers of Roscoff, Brittany.”
- 20 January 2016: Talk by Peter Lord: “Merthyr Blues: Heinz Koppel and His Location in the Welsh Art World.”
22 January 2016: Talk by Heini Gruffudd: “Kate Bosse-Griffiths: Two Identities.”
