This event will present ‘Heartsick’, a short film showing a group of young people from refugee backgrounds grappling with the experience of intergenerational trauma and how to move forward. A panel comprising of people with lived experience of intergenerational trauma and people working in refugee spaces will then discuss the options for action in connecting the intergenerational gap. Forms of creativity will be explored and showcased as ways of transforming intergenerational trauma.
Lydia Gitau is a Research Fellow (Psychosocial Practice) at BARC who specialises in creative interventions that have potential to support healing for survivors of refugee trauma. She works collaboratively with people from refugee backgrounds and colleagues to explore cultural and creative approaches that have this potential. She is committed to co-design and decolonial approaches in investigating what works in different communities of refugee background, and to using different art forms to engage individuals and communities
Caroline Lenette is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences and Deputy Director of BARC. She uses arts-based methods to explore the lived experiences of co-researchers from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds. Caroline explores the ethics of participatory research approaches, especially in creative collaborations.
Achol Juk is a South Sudanese poet who explores themes of identity crises, mental health, conflict and wars. She moved to Australia in 2005. Achol has recently completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in International Law at Macquarie University. She has shared her poetry at various events, including BARC’s The Big Connect – Communities, Culture and Mental Wellbeing in Naarm in September 2022. You can read her poetry here
