Since 2019 we have used Cultural Heritage to help displaced persons feel at home in Barcelona
In 2023 Abuab was awarded a grant by UNCHR Spain (ACNUR) for the inclusion of refugees through culture and youth empowerment. This allowed us to initiate a new iteration of the project focusing on interactive experiences and with the aim to reach a broader range of cultures within the refugee community.
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Abuab utilizes their established relationship with museums, music and concert halls to facilitate free access for refugees to museums, and when possible, Spanish & Catalan intangible heritage such as musical performance, dance, and theatre.
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The activities are be conducted with the participation of refugees and local residents alike to foster cultural interaction, bridge building, cultural awareness, and healing.
The project will culminate with a lecture series on Arabic and Ukrainian art held in Barcelona.
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You can read more about our previous excursions here.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Spanish ministry of the Interior has given over 180,000 Ukrainians temporary protection in Spain. Of the myriad of difficulties that affect the diaspora ABUAB Ukraine sought to help those residing in Barcelona to preserve their national heritage, while using local cultural heritage and the arts as tools for integration and increased wellbeing.
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From June to December 2023 Abuab facilitated translated guided tours, concerts, museums entries, workshops, and events for over 200 Ukrainian refugees in Barcelona. The project was managed and deployed entirely through volunteer efforts.
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We are grateful for all the support we received from individuals willing to give their time, and cherish the connections we made within the Ukrainian community.
Abuab Ukraine
Abuab Árabe
In 2019 Abuab aimed to work on the use of cultural heritage as an instrument of social integration for Arabic-speaking refugees/immigrants. This was conducted through group visits to different museums in the city of Barcelona by Arabic-speakers from countries on the southern shores of the Mediterranean and the Near East, carried out in standard Arabic.
The project aimed to better understand how cultural heritage could be used for social integration in populations threatened by situations of conflict and extremism. The proposal sought to improvement in the quality of life of refugees/immigrants, with a special concern for females, aiming to increase their capacity of social interaction with other Arabic-speakers and with local society.
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This pilot project to took place over two years, working with a collective of Arab immigrants and refugees in Barcelona. The project benefited from the experience obtained in the Multaka project, carried out in Berlin from November 2015 to December 2016, in which Arab refugees were helped to access several museums in the city.