OUR HISTORY
On a day-to-day basis IM International works to fulfill the immediate needs of the community by offering an array of high quality services to the public at no cost. Functioning as a community center for learning and growth, IM International has collaborated with more than 30 organizations in order to meet the needs of the community.
In the first year of the project, IM International organized several social, political, and artistic actions. The first Sunday of every month we held Make a Movement, a day dedicated to carrying out actions related to cultural enrichment and reflection on immigration pressing issues. Some previous actions include the Immigrant Respect Letter Campaign to elected officials in Washington; visiting immigrants in detention centers; hosting a town hall meeting on the DREAM Act with the New York State Youth Leadership Council; and our Slogan Writing Workshop.
In addition to our monthly community actions, IM International put on several major events. In the spring of 2011, we hosted a Conversation on Useful Art featuring panel discussions with artists and a group discussion with the community.
In November, we held Re-Conceptualizing the 21st Century (Im)Migrant, a convening which brought together politicians, activists, academics, and community members – all of which were immigrants – to discuss issues relating to immigration. The convening culminated with the development of our Migrant Manifesto, a document declaring our vision for the rights of migrants. The first reading of the Migrant Manifesto took place at the United Nations Annual Student Conference on Human Rights. The manifesto was read in 2012 at the church of Saint Bernard in Paris, where the sans-papiers movement began.
Following the convening in November, IM International announced an open call for artists around the world to respond to the Migrant Manifesto by taking action on December 18th, International Migrants Day. There was an overwhelming response, with more than 200 artists participating worldwide. On December 18th, IM International also participated in a joint action with Occupy Wall Street’s working group on immigration. It was the first time that a public immigration stand was taken with OWS.
These actions highlighted the fact that human migration is an increasingly central phenomenon of contemporary global existence, asserting and promoting the fundamental human rights and dignity of migrants and their families.