By Tony Capstick

 

 

 

The Covid-19 Multilingualism and Migration research project seeks to identify how refugees share information about the coronavirus across their networks. We also seek to identify the languages used by refugees and their families to share information about the virus. By using online technology, our research seeks to understand how people are drawing on their existing linguistic resources and learning to use new resources to understand the information they share on social media. We are using the Internet to carry out our fieldwork and have designed a website where our community researchers upload their social media data. Equipping refugees and migrants with the skills to conduct research within their own community networks is a core aim of the project. Our second aim is the generation of a database where refugees and migrants, and those who work for them, can understand information about COVID-19. Our community researchers are all part of UK-based and international partners: Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA), Reading Refugee Support Group (RRSG), Mosaik (Jordan) and the Migration & Rights Lab (MaRL). Please visit www.cv19mm.net to find out more information.