Publisher:Refugee Phrasebook

i am giving a talk about the phrasebook and how institutions like art schools can develop projects for and with refugees at the art school in basel on friday. 

i would like to report on what you did, too, so if you could send me some more info on your experience, 

how it worked, 
how students got involved, 
what the problems were, etc, 

plus even maybe some pictures, that would be fantastic. anything you think is relevant.

Welcome to Benelux PDF

http://publicationstation.wdka.hro.nl/phrasebook/RPB-basic-Benelux.pdf

Who collaborated

• Willem de Kooning Academy students and tutors
• Piet Zwart Institute students and tutors
• Publication Station (Willem de Kooning Academy) staff
• Publication Studio Rotterdam staff
• many volunteers

collaboration involved

• compiling a new version
• creating illustrations
• layout design
• printing
• folding
• distribution

How did students get involved?

Just like the tutors or volunteers from the outside, by receiving an email about the project, asking if anyone would be interested in collaborating. And there were a few of these, for different moments in the process and modes of collaborations - designing the phrasebook, folding it, or distributing. But it all happened very organically. It students really deciding what they could or could not do.

After the team has gathered the phrases, agreed on essential languages, the format of the phrasebook, and it's structure, the design team - that consisted mostly of 2nd year BA Graphic Design students - organized itself to complete the layout. That involved having some doing illustrations, others making the layout, and someone assembling it together. Tutors worked with them, like equals, mostly fine tuning some rough edges.

Folding was the most fun part where many friends from the outside came to give a hang. We folded 2000 booklets so far.

And currently are in the process of distributing them, but the lack of information of shelters is making it difficult.

Issues