Following her arrival in Derry on May 29 2026, Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw was greeted by Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council Ruaíri McHugh who bestowed on her a mayoral gift. From the Mayor’s Parlour, Professor Crenshaw walked the short distance to North West Migrants Forum where more than a dozen women gathered to discuss issues such as violence against women, intersectionality and critical race theory. Lunch was also provided with foods from Iran and Sudan being served.

Derry’s Guildhall was packed to capacity on Friday evening, May 29, for a visit by eminent American civil rights scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw.

Professor Crenshaw added the city to her European book tour following an invitation by North West Migrants Chief Executive Lilian Seenoi Barr.

The two women struck up a friendship during a visit in 2024 by Councillor Barr to the USA as part of her year as Mayor of Derry and Strabane.

Kimberlé Crenshaw, a distinguished professor of law at both UCLA School of Law in California and Columbia Law School in New York, is one of the most influential thinkers in America.

Following the publication of Backtalker, Ms Crenshaw’s hotly anticipated memoir, she embarked on an American and then European tour with engagements in France, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Derry.

On Friday, May 22, the North West Migrants Forum, in collaboration with the North West Regional College, participated in a busy day of multiculturalism.

The Black History and Cultural Diversity Activity formed part of our Intercultural Cross-border Inclusion Programme, supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).

In terms of our offering on the day, we invited three of our members to cook foods of the world, with the dozens of people who visited North West Regional College being treated to Sudanese aubergine toasties, Somali rice chicken, Nigerian spring rolls and Sudanese cucumber salad.

Our Ukranian members got involved with a very interesting doll making workshop while we rounded the afternoon off with a session of African drumming.

This was a great event for us, one which enabled us to get information on our work and on our ICI Programme out in a fun and interactive manner.

OVER 100 people gathered in Cultúrlann on May 21 2026 for ‘Integration Craic’, a family-orientated evening of fun, food and friendship.
Integration Craic was organised to coincide with World Diversity Day and saw the North West Migrants Forum and Sole Purpose Productions invite members of the public to join them for a unique celebration of culture, music and connection.
Performers from a number of countries tuned up to take part in ‘Integration Craic – Connecting Cultures, Creating Community’ which aimed to bring people together and open them up to a deeper understanding of the value of cultural diversity.
Now in its 23 rd year, World Day for Cultural Diversity encourages individuals, institutions and organisations to take action in support of diversity, inclusion and intercultural dialogue. Responsible for organising Integration Craic was the North West Migrants Forum’s Welfare and Integration Officer Gaëlle Gormley.
She said the aim was to build relations between Northern Ireland’s two traditional communities and those from overseas who have made the north west their home in recent times.
Ms Gormley added that the 2026 event was of added importance, given the unprecedented levels of hostility being directed at migrants across Northern Ireland and beyond.
“At a time when the atmosphere in the UK, Ireland and other European countries is becoming increasingly hostile towards migrants, especially refugees, it is more important than ever to bring local people and minoritised communities together for a friendly, welcoming and fun event.
“Refugees are often demonised and many false narratives are spread on social media. We aim to debunk these stereotypes by showing that we can live together in peace, create bonds, connect cultures and build a unified community,” Gaëlle Gormley said.

The ICI Programme was developed by drawing on existing learning from organisations working to combat racism, prejudice and hate throughout communities and society on both sides of the border.
The programme will also upskill people with lived experience of racism and hate and will work specifically with community leaders, policy makers, teachers and school pupils to address the misunderstandings and prejudices causing division within our society and communities.

We held our annual Christmas party in NWMF’s offices on December 10 2025. Why did we make the conscious decision to have it on International Human Rights Day? Well while the lights twinkle and little faces light up, Christmas isn’t always the happiest of occasions for our members, the majority of whom are far from their family and loved ones.

We do our best to cheer them up by providing food, music and a place where they can get together and talk and laugh. This year was no exception with upwards of 75 people joining us for a what was a lovely, joy-filled evening, made all the more special by the appearance of Santa Claus who handed out presents to all the children. We hope everyone enjoyed attending as much as we did preparing the food and the gifts.

All being well, we will do it all again next year!

Twenty of our members enjoyed an overnight stay at the Waterfoot Hotel on Friday November 15 and 16 2024 as part of a women-only residential funded by Bank of Ireland.

During their break away the women enjoyed a relaxing Myofascial Release class delivered by Louise Carey and Laurie Schneider at Embodied Pilates Studio.

After an early night, Saturday began with a highly informative workshop from Clare McLaughlin and Mary Crumley of Derry Credit Union Limited while in the afternoon, Michelle Major from The Sunshine Project delivered a fantastic programme focused on women’s mental health.

The feedback from the residential was brilliant with participants describing it as an interesting, relaxing, informative and helpful experience.

ON October 24 2025 we gathered in The Great Hall of Ulster University’s Magee campus for our fifth annual Black History Summit.

As in previous years, it was a fabulous day of discussion followed by a musical fusion where Kenya met Ireland in the form of Maasai singer Nelson Ngotiek and Irish star Ritchie Remo.

Our guest speakers on the day included Zita Holbourne who travelled from England to be with us. As well as being a writer, multi-award-winning artist, educator, community activist and trade union leader, Zita has done momentous work in exposing the Windrush Scandal.

Joining her on the podium was Lisa Williams, founder of the Edinburgh Caribbean Association. Ms Williams curates education programmes, arts events and walking tours to promote awareness of Black Scottish history and links between Scotland and the Caribbean.

Rajvi Glasbrook, senior implementation manager for the Welsh Government Anti-racist Wales Action Plan, also addressed the Summit. Rajvi worked on the ‘Cynefin’ report which made the teaching of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic histories mandatory in the Curriculum for Wales.

The event was moderated by Lilian Seenoi Barr, Chief Executive of the North West Migrants Forum, while the panellists included Dr Naomi Green, one of the researchers on our Black Heritage NI: Hidden History Project, Ulster University researcher Seun Awonuga and Daniel Sanusi, organiser of Ulster University Students’ Union’s first-ever Black History Month.

Closing remarks were by author and activist Chantelle Lunt, also a researcher on our Hidden History Project.

We want to put on record our thanks to everyone who contributed to make the event a success and to National Lottery’s Heritage Fund, British Council, Ulster University and Housing Executive for their support.

Our annual Summer Club ran throughout July and August 2025 and once again proved to be a huge success.

Almost 60 young people across three age groups – 7-9 years, 10-12 years and 13-15 years – signed up to participate and subsequently enjoyed a wide range of fun activities.

From fishing at Oaks Fishery to wall climbing at Foyle Arena to workshops with art therapist Dr Pamela Whitiker, visits to the bowling alley and a day out at the beach along the north coast, there was lots to keep young minds busy and young faces smiling.

We even managed to make the headlines three times (once accidentally!) – on Radio Foyle and on BBC Newsline which we were thrilled about.A huge thank you has to go to Cara Gilliland and Cathy Malcolm, our youth leaders who took over duties from Adrian Baena and Aoife Greenberg.

We look forward to Summer Club 2026!

ON July 19 2025 we returned to Brooke Park for our family fun day, hoping to recreate the magic of the year previous when 300 people joined us.

It is hard to gauge how many families and individuals came along this year but one way of doing it is this: We brought with us 250 burgers and even more sausages for hotdogs. By the end of the day there wasn’t a burger or a sausage to be found!

It was another very successful day for us as an organisation and we enjoy immensely seeing smiles on faces, both young and older and from both the local community and those only now making a life for themselves in Derry.

Thank you to everyone who came along and everyone who helped make it such a wonderful event. To our funders, National Lottery Community Fund, Esmeé Fairbarn, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Co-op Foundation, without you none of this would be possible. To our facilitators, our volunteers, St John’s Ambulance and Derry City and Strabane District Council who look after Brooke Park, we are immensely grateful for all your help and support.

All being well we will be back next year. Hopefully we’ll see you then if not before. For now, enjoy our photo gallery, the majority of which were captured by Marie McGrellis.

Following years of development, research and planning, we launched our first Black Heritage NI: Hidden History Project exhibition in Derry Central Library on July 1 2025.

Among those in attendance were Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Ruairí McHugh, researchers Chantelle Lunt and Dr Naomi Green, Project Manager Aynaz Zarif and National Lottery Heritage Fund Committee Member Jim McGreevy.

Those gathered were told about the genesis of the project and its subsequent progress before being given a guided tour by Dr Naomi Green.

The exhibition will visit ten libraries, starting with Derry Central where it will remain on display for a month.

Thank you as always to National Lottery Heritage Fund for financing the project.

On June 3 2025 we held our annual get-together to thank our volunteers for their hard work throughout the year. As much of a cliché as it may be, it is also a truth when we say that we could not continue with the work that we do without the support of our volunteers. Fun days, residentials, our summer club, or Black History Summits – our volunteers are front and centre when it comes to making these events the success that they are. There were quite a few members who couldn’t join us due to other commitments, but rest assured they received their gifts and certificates. Thank you to each and every one of you