Dr Nelli Stavropoulou

Nelli joined the Department of Psychology, Health and Professional Development as a Post Doctoral Research
Assistant, supporting the European Commission-funded project NEW ABC – Networking the educational world:
Across boundaries for community-building. The NEW ABC involves 9 pilot actions focused on improving the
educational lives of children and young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Adopting co-creation andparticipatory action research approaches as a conceptual and methodological framework, the project is investedin enhancing children and young people’s learning experiences, well-being, and sense of belonging.

The UK Team (Oxford Brookes University and the Open University) are collaborating on two pilot actions:

1) The ‘Empowering young translators’ pilot action engaged young people who speak multiple languages
and who regularly translate for their family, peers, and communities. The UK team set up an arts-based
after-school called the ‘Young Translators Club’, which explored the social and emotional aspects of
language brokering as a caring practice.

2) The ‘Exploring narratives of migration through storytelling: The adventures of the Little Prince’ pilot
action, employed the historical book ‘The Little Prince’ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry as a starting point to
nurture important dialogues about migration, belonging, and community. Working with schools, children,
and young people from both migrant and non-migrant backgrounds, it explored the role of storytelling as
a powerful medium to invite young learners to share personal experiences and build relations of trust
with their peers and teachers.