In 2024, France’s National Museum of the History of Immigration in Paris, the Musée national de l'histoire de l'immigration at the Palais de la Porte Dorée, acquired as part of its permanent collection over fifty stories that the Afghan Voices of Hope project collected from France. In November 2024, the museum will feature stories from the collection as part of its next exhibition, "Every Life is a Story," which runs until February 2025.

On August 23, 2024, Afghan Voices launched its first Afghan Voices of Hope Storytelling Workshop in Washington, D.C., marking the third anniversary of the Taliban's resurgence and offering a creative and collaborative space for Afghan voices to be heard. The workshop aimed to create a space for Afghan storytellers to revisit their narratives from three years ago, reflect on their lives in exile, and map out paths for the future. By focusing on these deeply personal stories, the workshop provided participants with the opportunity to confront their losses, process their experiences, and move toward healing.

The overarching goal was to build solidarity and a supportive environment where participants could share without fear of judgment, thereby fostering resilience and empowering them to navigate their individual journeys.

The workshop provided a safe and meaningful space for participants to reflect on their stories, build solidarity, and begin the process of emotional healing. The workshop’s structured activities—emphasizing storytelling, creativity, and community—offered opportunities for deep reflection and self-expression. Future workshops will benefit from integrating additional therapeutic support and continuing efforts to strengthen the community, ensuring participants feel empowered as they navigate their personal and collective journeys.

In December 2023, Afghan Voice of Hope returned to France to reconnect with project participants. They conducted follow up interviews documenting their perspectives and experiences and reflecting on their lives in exile over two years later.

We formally launched our Afghan Voices of Hope exhibition in the United States at the Military Women’s Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery in October 2023 in partnership with Global Friends of Afghanistan. We have plans for the exhibition to travel in 2024 and beyond.

The Afghanistan Voices of Hope project participated in the Galway International Film Festival on July 22, 2023 as part of the First Thought Talks series. The Project Director shared her personal experiences as an Afghan woman activist and discussed the recent challenges women are facing in Afghanistan. The hopeful stories collected as part of the Afghan Voices of Hope project and the challenges that Afghans in exile are facing were the focus of this discussion.

Afghan Voices of Hope participated in an evening event at the Military Women's Memorial honoring the Afghan Female Tactical Platoon (FTP). The FTP team was comprised of 68 Afghan women who were trained by the U.S. military to interact with women and children during U.S. Special Operations missions in Afghanistan. 41 members were evacuated to the U.S. since August 2021. The event was an opportunity to help amplify their voices and advocate for a guaranteed way for them to remain in the U.S. We were invited to share hopeful stories and messages from the younger generation of Afghanistan to help inspire and build solidarity.

On April 3, 2023 Clark University’s Integration and Belonging Hub’s Visiting Scholars participated in a brown bag discussion, “Refugees, Rights, and Belonging,” bringing perspectives from their work on human rights, gender justice, and the educational rights of refugee and migrant children. Gaisu shared insights from her experiences as an Afghan refugee and her role in the Afghan Voices of Hope Project, focusing on the lives and aspirations of Afghan women.

The Afghan Voices of Hope project debuted a traveling exhibition in Paris, France as part of a week-long celebration of the Persian New Year (Nowruz). They collaborated with the Afghan community in Paris with partners supporting refugees and exiles across France, including MADERA (Mission d'Aide au Développement des Economies) and AFRANE (Amite Franco-Afghane) and worked with other stakeholders to use these testimonies in programming to help refugees across the country.

Clark University’s Integration and Belonging Hub is a nexus for fostering migrant and refugee-inclusive communities locally, nationally, and internationally. Integration and Belonging Hub has been hosting virtual webinar series aiming to look at integration through a wider lens where refugees are resettling in different places belonging to different communities across the world that creates challenges and opportunities. Afghanistan Voices of Hope participated in one of the virtual events and discussed what belonging means to Afghans in exile in host countries. She covered countries such as Poland, France, Canada and the United States using Afghan Voices of Hope stories.

France-based partners Mission d/Aide au Development des Economies Rurale (MADERA), Refugees Welcome, YES Akademia, BATIK International invited Afghan Voices of Hope to participate in a round table discussion around the national Festisol’s 2022 theme of “Youth, Interculturality, Living together and Commitment” at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, France on November 20, 2022. The Round Table “On the importance of memory” dealt with the psychological aspect of this theme by addressing resilience and the importance of integrating the stories and memories of refugees for better integration in France thanks to the interventions of psychologists and professionals.

After a competitive application process, the Oral History Association selected Afghan Voices of Hope to present at its 2022 annual conference. During the presentation, we discuss the testimonies of Afghans who evacuated from Afghanistan after August 2021. It was also an opportunity to network and interact with other experts from different regions on various oral history topics.

This panel discussion brought together policy makers, practicioners and academics to discuss how storytelling and listening can be used as an effective advocacy tool and help shape policies around the resettlement of Afghan diasporas in the United States. The event included panelist from Welcome.US, Global Friends of Afghanistan, Honor the Promise, and George Washington University.

Afghan Voices of Hope presented the project and stories from the project to the academic community. The discussion aimed to educate and share the project’s objectives and long-term plans working with Afghan diasporas in the United States and in other countries around the world.

This virtual event focused on Afghanistan and Ukraine refugees and the consequences of war and trauma. The panelists discussed the psychological impact of war on civilians both in Afghanistan and Ukraine. They also discussed how different organizations and actors should prioritize the mental health of refugees throughout the resettlement process. Panelist addressed the importance of sharing and listening to stories of the refugee experience to generate empathy and solidarity and raise awareness within their new communities.