Children play leading role in new project: ‘Butterflies are also migrants’

Butterflies, birds and whales travel around the world throughout their lives. But humans have also been moving around for centuries: in search of food, water and safety. Manuela Pinto, Assistant Professor Linguistics, was awarded the Public Engagement Seed Fund for her project 'Butterflies are also migrants'. Children play the leading role in this project. Pinto: "With their drawings and stories, I want to contribute to greater understanding and respect for people who migrate. In this way, I hope to make the word 'migration' less scary."

"Migration can also be found in their families. Did their grandfather move from the countryside to the city for work? Did a great-aunt emigrate to America for a better future for her children? Did their cousin come to the Netherlands through an Erasmus exchange? That is also migration. Together with primary school children, we explore how that happened and what feelings were involved: excitement and hope for something better, but also homesickness, uncertainty and loneliness. Those feelings are part of all forms of migration."

In class, the children are allowed to share their stories and depict them in drawings. "We then use this material to create an exhibition, for example in the library. The children proudly display their work there and tell visitors about their stories." 

This idea arose in response to the violent demonstration against immigration. "I wondered what the children of the demonstrators would conclude from this. Perhaps that migration is something very negative and that migrants are terrible people. That's why I came up with the idea of showing children that migration is a normal phenomenon: in the animal world, as well as in human history, throughout the ages, and even in their own families. Perhaps these children will look at migrants differently later on."

"My research is not just about recording migration stories. Above all, I want to understand what we can learn from those stories. In everything I have heard, I see how migrants demonstrate resilience: perseverance, curiosity about others, and an interest in the new country. There is incredible strength and positivity in that attitude, and that is exactly what I want to highlight."