Empowering Multicultural Communities Alliance

Hey folks 👋🏿 hope you’re doing well — and thanks for staying in tune with us here. Today we’re sharing reflections from migrants in Craigmillar and Niddrie after attending our November 2025 workshop. Their words speak to learning, connection, and the power of coming together. Have a watch, listen closely, and sit with what’s being shared. This is what migrant-led action looks like — grounded in lived experience, building solidarity, and moving together into collective action. 💬👇🏿Let us know what resonated with you.

🎉 Happy New Year from Migrant Justice Edinburgh! 🎉 Migrants are often shown as powerless — but our article in The National explains why that story is wrong. At Migrant Justice Edinburgh, migrants are organisers, workers, and leaders. In November, migrants from Craigmillar and Niddrie came together to talk about fair work, housing, safe streets, and the urgent need for spaces to meet, organise, and build power together. One message stood out: we can be our own role models. Our lived experiences are sources of strength and change and we can be the change-makers ourselves. 📰 Read the full article in The National: 👉check it out in our bio ✨ Follow @migrantjusticeedinburgh and stay tuned for more updates on what we’re building together.

🌻 Migrant Justice Edinburgh in Scottish Left Review As we head into the festival break, we want to share some good news. Migrant Justice Edinburgh is mentioned in the latest issue of Scottish Left Review. The editorial highlights our work to build migrant solidarity and challenge racism in Edinburgh. It also reflects on our recent workshop in Craigmillar and Niddrie where migrants from many countries came together and called for a shared community space — a place to meet, organise, and support each other. Community spaces help people build relationships and create change. Enjoy the festival break, and stay tuned for more updates on what MJE is building and what’s coming next 💛

Today, as we mark #internationalmigrantsday, we want to introduce Migrant Justice Edinburgh, a new project proving that migrants are not passive or invisible, but that through our stories, ideas, actions and decisions we can change our city for the better.

Yes, we have been a bit missing over here for the last two months! We´ve been busy connecting with workers and migrant communities in Craigmillar and Niddrie, and we want to share with you more about this journey. ✒️ "Over the past four months, Migrant Justice Edinburgh has been working closely with local migrant communities in Craigmillar and Niddrie to explore what a migrant-led vision for justice, belonging, and shared futures could look like in this part of the city. We chose to pilot our work with migrant communities in this area because these neighbourhoods capture both the challenges and possibilities of Edinburgh’s evolving social landscape of migrant communities." Full article 👉 (link in bio) #edinburgh #migrantcommunity #Craigmillar #Niddrie #gigwork

Join Migrant Justice Edinburgh (MJE) for a migrant community gathering to imagine, share, and plan the Craigmillar and Niddrie we want to create together in the coming 10 years. 🗓️ Saturday the 22nd of November ⏰Time: 11.00 am -2.00 pm 📍The Bothy (92 Niddrie Mains Rd, Edinburgh EH16 4DT) Participation will be remunerated (£60). Places are limited. Register your interest using the form (link in bio)*. *Please note that not everyone who registers their interest will be chosen since we need a diverse and representative group of people with different backgrounds and experiences.

The Government and Reform UK want to make settlement harder — extending ILR from 5 to more years, even scrapping ILR, imposing unfair “earned” tests, raising fees, and forcing people to renounce other citizenships. Migrants already pay their fair share. This is scapegoating that tears families apart and divides communities. Sign & share: the link is on the bio-action network 5 years for everyone. Fairness, compassion, dignity. Once we reach 1,000, we’ll start reaching out to MPs, demanding they speak up in Parliament, and mobilising for peaceful demonstrations to show our unity and strength.

💫Real Utopias starts TOMORROW! 💫 👉Join us at the @grassmarketcommunity to watch this beautiful animated film that draws from the testimonies of three women whose geographically disparate stories are connected by the shared experience of being forced to leave their homes due to climate change. 🎟️Tickets are selling fast! Be sure to book yours soon on the Take One Action website. After the screening, join @emcalliance and Take One Action alongside Scotland-based filmmakers from minority backgrounds to discuss urgent issues – from environmental justice to social inequality – and celebrate the stories that unite and inspire change. Learn how local filmmakers turn their ideas into impactful films, and how you can too. Autumnal soup and hot drinks provided! [Video Description: Two people take turns describing the event, the camera is zoomed into a close shot of their faces.]

We are excited to welcome back the brilliant @takeoneaction next Wednesday (17th) for a screening of Black Butterflies as part of their film festival, in an event in collaboration with @emcalliance ! This animated film draws from the testimonies of three women whose geographically disparate stories are connected by the shared experience of being forced to leave their homes due to climate change. Tanit and her children migrate from Turkana in rural Kenya to the bustling city of Nairobi; Shalia leaves the small Indian island of Ghoramara to work in Dubai; and Valeria migrates with her children from the Caribbean island of Saint Martin to Paris. Life in each woman’s homeland has been rendered unliveable by different symptoms of climate change and various forms of colonial and imperial exploitation, and we are witness to their continued exploitation as they seek safety for themselves and their families. Despite the turmoil and uncertainties of their journeys, each woman carries with them deeply-rooted cultural traditions, spiritualities and mythologies which tether them to home and inspire their continued resilience. Through the stories of Tanit, Shalia and Valeria, Black Butterflies documents the bureaucratic, physical and emotional labour that climate refugees have to endure across the world, and considers the power of hope that lies in storytelling. Book your free ticket now through our eventbrite page in our bio! Beyond the Screen Join Empowering Multicultural Communities Alliance and Take One Action alongside Scotland-based filmmakers from minority backgrounds to discuss urgent issues – from environmental justice to social inequality – and celebrate the stories that unite and inspire change. Learn how local filmmakers turn their ideas into impactful films, and how you can too. Autumnal soup and hot drinks provided! Notes The films will start promptly at 7pm without trailers Light refreshments will be available for sale The films will be played with descriptive subtitles, transcribing both dialogue and key sounds from the film Grassmarket Community Project is a wheelchair-accessible venue.

REAL UTOPIAS FILM FESTIVAL as presented by: Take One Action! and Empowering Multicultural Communities Alliance Join us for an inspiring evening of film, conversation, and community! Be part of a powerful night with Scotland-based filmmakers from minority backgrounds as together we’ll explore urgent issues - from climate change to social inequality - and celebrate the stories that unite and inspire change: Enjoy the Scottish premiere of Black Butterflies (2024), a stunning film by David Baute. The exquisite animation depict the struggles of three families of climate refugees whose respective cultural traditions buoy them in times of crisis. We also bring to you a short story of resilience and the power of community alliance with Onyeka Igwe’s The Miracle on George Green (2022). At the heart of this artistic ode to the commons is the 1993 campaign to save a sweet horse chestnut tree in George Green, Wanstead. Before our screening, we’ll have the pleasure of a dynamic workshop led by acclaimed filmmakers. Learn how they turn ideas into impactful cinema—and how you can, too. Places are limited, please, book your FREE TICKETS here: .uk/event/black-butterflies/ 🎬 Storytelling. Connection. Action. 🥘 Food and drinks provided. #UnderrepresentedVoices #CulturalRepresentation #FilmFestival #Edinburgh #TakeOneAction #CollectiveAction

✊🏽 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE RECRUITMENT ✊🏾 We’re building an antiracist, non-hierarchical and grassroots platform organisation — and we want you to be part of it! 🌍 We’re inviting Women (including Trans Women) and Non-binary People from Global Majority & under-represented communities to join our Management Committee at EMCA. This is a chance to: ✨ Lead with lived experience ✨ Challenge racism and inequity ✨ Support grassroots organising & solidarity 📅 Deadline: 29th August 📧 Apply by sending your CV to [email protected] Together, we can build stronger, antiracist, collective actions based communities. 💛 #Antiracism #GlobalMajority #Grassroots #CommunityPower#SocialMovement #underrepresented

🌟 Big news from EMCA! 🌟 We’re joining forces with Citizens Rights Project and Workers’ Observatory to create Migrant Justice Edinburgh (MJE) 💪🏾✊🏽 From Aug 2025 – Jan 2026, we’ll be part of the Regenerative Future Fund’s capacity-building phase — piloting a bold 10-year vision for migrant solidarity, community organising, and collective action across Edinburgh. Our work will be rooted in Participatory Action Research 📚 — putting migrant voices, workers, and under-represented neighbourhoods at the centre of everything we do. 🤝 Together with 30+ organisations, we’re building a stronger, more inclusive city. 💌 Want to get involved? Drop us a message! More details follow the link👇in the comment #MigrantJustice #Edinburgh #CommunityPower #SolidarityInAction #EMCA