Over five months during 2026-27, a group of deep-thinking climate and migration justice folk joined us on a peer learning journey to explore cross-sector collaborations that might catalyse more holistic, justice-oriented strategy and action. Whilst sharing a snapsnot of this work below, we also invite you to read our deeper reflections on this peer learning journey on our Substack.

Reflections on peer learning - What if the way we respond to the crisis is part of the crisis?

Reflections on peer learning - From "how might we" to "how will we"

What did we do?

As we journeyed together, we started to name some of the tensions we were feeling in this work through a series of Wicked Questions - how can we respond to the interconnectedness of systems of injustice, while being able to do really deep work in one area? How can we be open and inclusive, and also hold strong boundaries around our values and principles? How can we keep space and time to explore, while ensuring that our actions have tangible impact in the shorter term?

It soon became clear through time in conversation that there were two clear yet interconnecting focuses of the group: community-led decision-making, and storytelling + narrative-building. We started organising around two questions:

• How might we (as climate, migration and racial justice organisations) collectively shape the narrative around climate migration so that justice is centred in our approach?
• How might we (as climate, migration and racial justice organisations) collectively develop community-led approaches to climate migration and adaptation so that justice is centred in our approach?

A strong feeling across both questions was the need to root both narratives and actions in people’s everyday lives, avoiding jargon - making things rooted in human experience. For people embedded deeply in justice-based work, this real-world approach sometimes gets lost amongst the systemic analyses - and we need to be careful to speak about these issues in ways that feel as real and relatable as they are.

These questions led us deeper into collaborative organising around:

• Approaches that are rooted in human experience (connecting with people’s hearts and minds, rather than corporate/organisational speak);
• Activating strong, connected, caring communities — what are the ingredients to activate latent care before urgent crisis;
• Building up the skills to have courageous conversations whilst looking after ourselves — upskilling with care and intention for ourselves and each other;
• Centring people’s lived experience in community-led, non-extractive ways to challenge anti-migrant narratives;
• Solidarity framing — designing anti-oppression work that both understands how multiple injustices are intertwined, and brings people together;
• What can we learn from the joint exploration of regenerative and decolonial frameworks.

What emerged?

As we moved our energies from ‘how might we’ to ‘how will we’, we started to imagine specific, concrete ideas for collaboration that brought together climate and migrant justice. The investment in relationships and connection-building early on was already starting to come to fruition, and several potential collaborations were already brewing.

Early in the programme, two participants recognised a significant overlap between their respective networks. Culture for Climate Scotland works with arts and culture organisations on climate justice, while City of Sanctuary UK’s Sanctuary in the Arts network supports arts organisations to engage with migrant rights.

Together, they explored how arts organisations could be brought into conversations about both climate justice and migrant justice, helping each sector recognise the importance of the other. This led to the development of a Refugee Week event that brings arts and cultural organisations together to explore the links between these issues, rather than treating them separately, and to encourage collaboration and cross-pollination. You can find out more about the event and register to attend online here.