Turning 18

  • Ravina Bajwa
I produced a series of original audio short stories written and read by refugees published to mark 18 years of The Refugee Council’s Childrens' Section - a partnership project between Refugee Council, Penguin Books, and Channel 4.

The project began with a refugee writing workshop held at the Penguin UK headquarters. Participants from a variety of backgrounds either imagined forward or reflected back on their eighteenth birthday to reveal a myriad of thoughts, feelings, and experiences on coming-of-age. Selected entries were then developed and recorded at the Penguin Studio, along with supporting voiceover and video content from Grayson Perry, Vivienne Westwood, and Joe Dunthorne.

The series was formally launched at a major donor fundraising event at the Museum of Childhood. The stories and supporting content were then released in a two-month digital serialisation across the partner social channels (soundcloud, twitter, facebook, and web), to a combined audience of over 2 million followers, forming a key strand in the Refugee Council's winter fundraising campaign.