A Refugee Week event of conversation, food and music exploring how we build connection and understanding across differences.

Join Migraetful as part of Refugee Week and Bristol Refugee Festival for an evening of conversation, food and music, bringing together local community members, organisations and supporters to explore an important question: in a time of increasing division, how do we build meaningful connection and understanding across differences?

We are honoured to welcome the newly elected Lord Mayor of Bristol, Yassin Mohamud, to speak at the event. Yassin, a former refugee from Somalia, has said: “Unity is the biggest priority for the city.” For many in our Migrateful chef community, who have questioned how welcome they feel in Bristol following anti-migration protests and hostility, his appointment sends a powerful message, showing that refugees are not only welcome in Bristol, but can also become leaders within it.

On the night, Jess Thompson, Migrateful’s Founder and CEO, will interview Yassin about how we can continue building unity across Bristol. She will also be speaking with our Trinidadian chef Kele, an inspiring public speaker, who will share her experiences of building connections and community in Bristol while navigating the UK asylum system.

Joining the conversation will also be Kalpna Woolf, founder of Bristol-based social enterprise “91 Ways to Build A Global City”, which brings communities together through food and storytelling. Kalpna, who was serving as High Sheriff of Bristol in 2025, has spent many years creating spaces for connection across Bristol’s diverse communities and will bring her experience and insights on building understanding and belonging in an increasingly polarised world.

The event is also an opportunity to learn more about Migrateful and the work we do to support refugees, asylum seekers and migrants through cookery classes and shared food experiences.

What to expect:

• Hear from our speakers about how we build connection and understanding in a polarised world

• Live performances from refugee musicians, including MoYah (Mohammed Yahya), a Mozambican-born, UK-based rapper, poet, educator and interfaith activist who fled Mozambique’s civil war as a child before later relocating to London

• Delicious tasters prepared by Migrateful chefs from across Somalia, Sudan and Sri Lanka

• Opportunities to meet local organisations and community members

From £13.45

Tickets are limited and offered on a first come first serve basis – all proceeds from the event will go towards the cost of refreshments and paying our chefs for their time on the night. Please note this event is non-refundable. If you can no longer attend, please feel free to give the ticket to a family member or friend, but please ensure you contact the Migrateful team with the updated name and contact information.