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The Tenth Anniversary of TogetherintheUK

Published by: Teresa Norman

Published on: 8 Feb, 2026

immigration | Migration | Shared Experiences | Story-telling

By Teresa Norman

On January 31st, 2026, we celebrated our ten-year anniversary and we combined this with announcing the Awards for the Then & Now competition.  It was an opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has supported us and to honour the brilliant writers who entered into the competition.  In this blog, I share our story and highlights of the party.

Our Purpose

When we first started, the idea was about sharing information and stories to help people settle, for people to learn from others who had made a similar journey.  In these difficult times, our work has become more urgent. It is about showing that we can listen to each other, that we can share the bonds that stories create between us and together we can create a more inclusive society.   We have been told by several leading thinkers in migration that hearing someone’s story is a very effective way of challenging prejudice.  We also know that sharing your story is a brave and meaningful act.  It is also something that gives back to the writer – an opportunity to feel seen and heard.  So, that is what we are, a storytelling platform plus we share really useful information about the UK. Our mantra is ‘we all have a story to tell but we don’t all have a platform to share it’ and we are a platform for the untold stories of migrants including refugee stories to the UK.   So below I share some of the reactions of writers to the competition:

“Having my voice included in this celebration means so much to me.”

“This competition has been such a breath of fresh air for so many young people like me that have finally had a chance to use their voice and find their tongue.”

“I always just trying to write stories where I can be seen and this competition and organisation have definitely given me that opportunity.”

“It means a lot to know that my story and my family’s journey were felt so strongly by the readers. Your message has given me confidence and motivation to continue writing.”

“That piece was really freeing because it is not many people who know my story.” 

Our Story

But, let me tell you our story.  I, with the support of Johann Taljaard, Kosta Eleftheriadis and Fatka Bermeo Mustafa founded https:togetherintheuk.co.uk in 2016.    You can find our story and our many products listed in the infographic below.

We have been able to achieve what we have with the help of the many talented people who have volunteered with us over the last ten years and crucially with very little funding.   We are so grateful to our volunteers and one of our greatest rewards is when a volunteer tells us that they have moved or made a start in their career because of the experience we have given them.

The Celebration

So, to mark our ten-year anniversary, we celebrated with about 120 people and created a moment of inclusivity. It made me think there is much serious work in the corporate field about what makes people feel included but not nearly enough about how joyful it is to bring people from different backgrounds together and to celebrate their storytelling. Our very happy event started with comedy from Ashish, Johann and I introduced TogetherintheUK, the judges shared their awards, the actor Sadiqa read the winning entries and we were entertained by singing from Thalia and Greg. We finished with Esua teaching us all how to dance Jersusalema so we ended with a splendid act of community participation. And we enjoyed fabulous food from Deaba. As Sita Barachmari said, ‘these rooms are curated with huge energy and love’ and we felt all the love coming right back to us.

We announced the winners in the competition and the judges were superb in introducing their thought process and how they had come to the difficult decision as to who the winners were.  I also mentioned that as it was a competition so there had to be winners but we will be looking for opportunities for other entrants to the competition, for instance, in publishing their work, with their permission on our website.  

For the party itself, we needed a team and you can find in the footnotes, our thanks to everyone who contributed.  But I will end with some of the feedback I have received which has been heartwarming and generous.

‘it was fabulous.’

‘we so enjoyed it, TGIUK is such a positive force for good. And hospitable too!’

‘A much-needed powerful positive message countering the anti-migrant rhetoric we are increasingly hearing nowadays. Fabulous food, great live music.’

‘Yesterday was wonderful. Congratulations to you, Johann and Kosta for creating such a vibrant charity and community.’

I ended my speech by saying ‘we walk by your side because we are TogetherintheUK’ and this is what motivates all of us.  Our work continues and we hope that you will join us at our next celebration.  

Footnotes

Thank you from myself, Johann and Kosta to everyone who joined us at the celebration and to 

The Judges

 Sita Brahmachari

Jane Farrell | LinkedIn

Camilla Reeve, Founder of  PALEWELL PRESS

 Maryam Qaiser | LinkedIn

Goran Baba Ali, founder of Afsana Press | Stories That Matter

The team who performed at the event:

Kingombe Onyangunga (the MC)

Sadiqa Esmail

Ashish Suri Pinpoint sharp comedy | Ashish Suri
Thalia Christopoulou

Greg Lyras

Esua Goldsmith

Deaba’s Catering

Nick Brown and Shayo Three of the Rosegold Group for filming the event

TGIUK volunteers who ran the show

Tabitha Collings

Hammad AlBachitie

Jane MckInlay

Boma Bliss

Sardar Abdalla

Khaled Edeidi


Highlights of Our Story

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