Centrala is proud to launch Quiet Power: Migrant Voices for Economic Justice, a two year
project running from January 2026 to December 2028, supported by Barrow Cadbury Trust.
Quiet Power is built on over a decade of Centrala’s work supporting migrant communities in
Birmingham to participate in civic life, influence decision-making and challenge inequality.
The project responds to a clear reality: migrants are more frequently affected by economic
injustice, including insecure work, low pay, housing exploitation and barriers to public
services; yet their voices are often missing from economic justice debates and campaigns.
What project has to offer?
Through this project, Centrala will work alongside migrant communities to strengthen
leadership, build organising skills and amplify lived experience as evidence for change. The
project will support migrant participants to develop confidence, campaign skills and collective
power, enabling them to shape conversations about fair work, safe housing and equitable
services in Birmingham.
Main outcome of the project
A central part of the project will be Quiet Data, meaningful, creative and participatory
methods such as storytelling, photography and reflection, to document lived experiences of
economic injustice. This approach allows migrant participants to share their realities safely
and on their own terms, while producing powerful evidence to inform policy, advocacy and
public debate. Each year, the project will produce a Migrant Economic Justice Report for
Birmingham, grounded directly in lived experience.
Collaborative, value-driven partnerships
Quiet Power will also create regular spaces for dialogue between migrant leaders, local
authorities, public services and civil society organisations through roundtables, exhibitions
and public-facing events. By combining community organising, research, creative practice
and policy engagement, the project aims to ensure migrant experiences are recognised and
acted upon within Birmingham’s wider movement for economic justice.
At its heart, this project is about shifting power from being unheard to shaping solutions. It
reflects Centrala’s ongoing commitment to creating inclusive spaces where migrant
communities can connect, build confidence and influence the systems that shape their lives.
We look forward to sharing updates as the project develops and welcoming migrant voices,
partners and allies into this important work.