The University of Leicester will host a free public lecture later this week, to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Ugandan Asians to the city.
The lecture, Migration and the Making of Leicester, will take place on Thursday, October 13 at 6.30pm in Lecture Theatre 1, Bennett Building on University of Leicester’s main campus.
Speakers will include City Mayor, Peter Soulsby and Ugandan-born writer and commentator, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown alongside a panel of academic and community speakers.
The expulsion of the Asian population of Uganda in August and September 1972 is a key moment in the recent history of Leicester.
Many of those affected established themselves within the city and would go on to shape its image and experience as a diverse and multicultural city.
Professor Bernard Ryan, the chair of the Migration Mobility and Citizenship network at the University of Leicester, said: “The arrival of Ugandan Asians in 1972 was a pivotal moment in Leicester’s recent history.
“Despite the city council’s initial opposition, many Ugandan Asians established themselves here, and helped Leicester acquire its reputation as a successful multicultural city.
“To mark the 50th anniversary, we are delighted to have organised Migration and the making of Leicester.
“This series of five public events will cover the Ugandan Asian experience, and that of many other communities who have settled in Leicester since the 1950s.”
John Williams from the Unit for Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement (DICE) at University of Leicester said:
“Fifty years ago, the city of Leicester muddled along as a pretty nondescript, and rather tired, East Midlands city. Few people from outside knew little about the place and its people.
“But then we had this forced injection of a group of talented and educated new arrivals from a completely different cultural background and Leicester was suddenly sparked into life.
“Migration and the making of Leicester tells the story of the city’s revival from 1972 and how Leicester has since become home to a range of different migrant communities who help make it the thriving and successful multi-cultural place it remains today.”
To find out more about the event and to book a ticket, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/migration-and-the-making-of-leicester-tickets-418158833327
The lecture is the first of five events being held by the University of Leicester as part of its Migration and the making of Leicester series.
More information can be found at: le.ac.uk/migration-making-leicester
