Parastoo Arts Centre
An arts space led by refugees, for refugees
Since 2022, Imagined Malaysia has forged a long-term partnership with Southeast Asia’s first and only refugee theatre company known as Parastoo Theatre. Parastoo practices the ‘Theater of the Oppressed’ (TO), a form of interactive theatre intended for community problem-solving. Upon becoming the Malaysian recipient of the Julia Taft Refugee Fund-US State Department, Imagined Malaysia is committed to assisting Parastoo Theatre in setting up a physical art centre to deliver more impact to refugee and marginalised communities through artistic activities, and to be a beacon of hope for all of Malaysian society.
——————————
Owning History: Stories of Reckoning
A creative writing initiative for refugee children
A youth initiative promoting positive perceptions of migrants and refugees by encouraging the voicing of anecdotal narrative from youth migrants residing in Malaysia. From March 2022 until April 2022, pieces of creative writing written by refugee youth between ages 13 to 18 will be published on our Facebook and Instagram pages. This initiative was in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM Malaysia) and funded by the EU Civil Protection & Humanitarian Aid.
——————————
#TanpaPerkauman: An Anti-racist History of Malaysia
#TanpaPerkauman: An Anti-racist History of Malaysia is an online advocacy campaign that explores the historical precedents for the manifestation, nature and impact of racism and racial discrimination. This project is in partnership with the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS Malaysia) and co-funded by the European Union in Malaysia. Research findings were presented in the form of infographics, in Bahasa Malaysia and English, published weekly over 30 weeks.
A summary of the project output is accessible . All infographics published are available on IDEAS Malaysia and our Facebook and Instagram pages.——————————
A History of Student Activism in Malaysia
A public history research project
A History of Student Activism in Malaysia is a research project run by Imagined Malaysia, supported by Malaysia Reform Initiative (MARI), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and U.S. Embassy Kuala Lumpur. The research project lasted for approximately four months, starting from late August until December 2020. This research project was conducted with two goals in mind: to probe the development of student activism in Malaysia from pre-Independence period, including the issues activists championed and how these changed or remained the same. We also aimed to probe and highlight the various narratives within student movements, and to propose a series of recommendations for various parties to further empower youth- and student-led initiatives in Malaysia. We conducted our research through literature reviews, surveys, and a series of focus group discussions and interviews. The research project is also Imagined Malaysia’s attempt to create opportunities for analytical historical research outside academia and institutions.
All output and findings of the project is accessible here.