BC Refugee Hub Training Webinar: The Importance of Storytelling for Refugee Advocacy

Leila Shifteh’s background is in multimedia storytelling and human rights law and policy. She is a passionate refugee advocate and has worked with global human rights organization, WITNESS, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and she is currently Manager of Global Programs at the Refugee Solidarity Network, a legal rights advocacy organization for the forcibly displaced. Leila has also been a co-director of Fake Honey Pictures, a Canada-based global video production company for nonprofits and NGOs.

Richard Belcham is the host of the podcast “Along the Way”, which features refugee stories, as well as Executive Director of Inasmuch Community Society in Abbotsford and Co-Chair of BC’s Multi-Agency Partnership. He is a passionate advocate for refugee claimants and loves to remove barriers to service access, giving them the very best start to their new lives in Canada.Prior to working for Inasmuch he was Employee Experience Manager at a large manufacturing company in Abbotsford, BC. He has an extensive background in HR, corporate communications and marketing. Originally from the UK, Richard immigrated to Canada in 2011 and has been a resident of the Fraser Valley ever since.

Shanga was a journalist and women’s activist in Kurdistan and editor-in-chief for a women’s rights newspaper that focused on violence against women, honor killing, and female genital mutilation. She holds a B.A in Media Studies. She came to Canada in 2015. After leaving her life in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq with all the difficulties and changes in her journey to Canada. But she found a light to rebuild her life again. She participated in The Shoe Project writing workshop and wrote her story as a female journalist, which she has performed at different universities and events. She also writes stories with other organizations, and one of her stories has been selected to be published by The Vancouver Writers Fest. She is currently participating in global writing project titled “Stories from Newcomers”, expected to be published in the fall of 2021, in collaboration with the University of the Fraser Valley.Shanga is studying English at UFV to continue her education. She has a passion for improving her writing skills and has educational aspirations and enthusiasm for learning new things now that she is in Canada.