Refugee transformed story into interactive game in Glasgow

Efruz Kaya worked extensively with feminist, LGBTQ+, and migrant-led organisations, focusing on empowerment and inclusion—work that ultimately forced her to leave her home. 

Since then, the LGBT activist and community organiser has made Glasgow her new home. 

Efruz said: "I first visited Glasgow in 2019.

"Everyone I met was incredibly warm and welcoming.

"When I was forced to leave Turkey, Glasgow was the first place that came to mind.

"Local people helped me feel like I belonged somewhere again at a time when I had lost so much.

"Now, wherever I am, I find myself wanting to create safer, more inclusive spaces where people can feel seen, valued, and connected."

Now she is turning her lived experience into a creative contribution to Refugee Festival Scotland, using art to build understanding and connection.

Efruz has created the Interactive Memory Game, a participatory event designed to explore Glasgow’s hidden histories.

The game will form part of the festival’s closing event on Sunday, June 21 at The Hidden Gardens.

Participants will uncover migrant and refugee histories through play, moving between memory stations, solving clues, meeting storytellers, and discovering the influence of diverse communities on Glasgow’s neighbourhoods, cuisine, and culture.

Efruz said: "This event doesn't ask participants to debate migration or convince anyone of anything.

"It invites people to explore, remember, and discover together."

She also emphasises the importance of memory over official history.

Efruz explained: "Official histories tend to be written by those with power, while memory is something more human that lives in the conversations, traditions, and texture of everyday life."

For Efruz, sharing her work as part of Refugee Festival Scotland holds special meaning, with his year’s programme featuring artists and performers with connections to 78 countries.

She said: "This festival creates a space where we can see migrants and refugees as active contributors to culture, creativity, and community life.

"It showcases the many ways people bring knowledge, skills, stories, and new perspectives into society.

"The festival is also one of the reasons I have been able to feel at home in Glasgow.

"As a refugee, finding spaces where your experiences are welcomed and celebrated can be incredibly meaningful.

"Events like this help create connections between people.

"They remind us that culture is something we create together."

The interactive Memory Game is free and open to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Spaces can be reserved at refugeefestivalscotland.co.uk.