Little Amal

The Walk was a "travelling art festival ... which [was] a celebration of migration and cultural diversity", organised by the British production companies The Walk Productions[1] and Good Chance in collaboration with the South African Handspring Puppet Company. The artistic director was Amir Nizar Zuabi, and the producers were Stephen Daldry, David Lan, Tracey Seaward and Naomi Webb. The project involved "celebrated artists, major cultural institutions, community groups and humanitarian organisations". The event consisted primarily of a puppet representing a displaced refugee child who was fleeing from war and separated from her family, walking across Europe to find her mother, and wishing to attend school:[2][3][4] "The puppet represent[ed] displaced children, who [had] been separated from their families, and by travelling over 8,000 kilometres (5,000 miles) they hope[d] that Little Amal [would] share the urgent message from all young refugees Don't forget about us".[3]

The founders of Handspring Puppet Company, Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler, have said, "The story of refugees is so important for the whole world. Many countries are on the move because of conflict, climate change, farmers that can't work anymore through lack of rain. It's the big story of our time. Because it's an outdoor event, The Walk has the potential of bringing people together again. At a moment when theatres are struggling to re-open this is something everyone can be a part of".[5] Project director Amir Nizar Zuabi said, "The purpose of The Walk is to highlight the potential of the refugee, not just their dire circumstances".[2]

Note: The dates below cover not only the dates of Little Amal's passage via 65 towns and cities across Europe and the UK,[6] but also those of other events organised in connection with The Walk project.[7]

• Turkey 27 July – 8 August.[7] In Gaziantep, Little Amal followed a path of lanterns to a dance with live music and a suitcase of gifts for the journey. In Çeşme, she followed a path of shoes to the sea, where many refugees had lost their lives.[4]
• Greece, 9 August – 5 September.[7] In Chios there were songs in Little Amal's honour, and in Ioannina, light boxes illuminated words of encouragement. At Katsikas refugee camp, Amal was greeted by refugee children.[4]
• Italy, 7 – 19 September.[7] In Sanremo there were artistic installations and musical events. In Bari, Amal was met by a nonna, or grandmother-figure, who imparted words of wisdom. In Rome she was greeted by Pope Francis, who took her hand.[4]
• France, 21 September – 17 October.[7] In Marseille an epic dance, titled When the Waves Have Come and Gone, took place.[4]
• Switzerland, 28–29 September.[7] Little Amal was photographed outside the United Nations building in Geneva, and visited CERN.[8]
• Germany 1 – 4 October.[7] In Stuttgart Little Amal was entertained by the 5-metre-tall puppets of Dundu.[9][nb 1]
• Belgium, 6–10 October.[7][10] Here, Little Amal handed over "a mountain of letters to the European Parliament in the Belgian capital, all drawing attention to the difficulties experienced by uprooted refugee children".[11] She visited Antwerp, where she met the Reuskens van Borgerhout (little giants of Borgerhout), Brussels and Bouillon.
• United Kingdom, 18 July – 3 November.[7]

• UK venues included: Folkestone 19 October,[12] where Little Amal was greeted by Jude Law who held her hand,[13] Dover 20 October,[14] and Canterbury 21 October where a Refugee Tales project was hosted by Niamh Cusack,[15][16] and Little Amal walked in procession from Canterbury Cathedral to the University of Kent campus.[17]
• Little Amal visited London between 22 and 24 October.[3] On the South Bank Little Amal was greeted by Joey the War Horse puppet, which accompanied her on the South Bank walk.[18][19] London venues included: Lewisham and Royal Docks 22 October,[20] St Paul's Cathedral,[21] Globe Theatre,[20] Southbank Centre,[18] Royal National Theatre,[20] Somerset House 23 October,[22] Victoria & Albert Museum where Little Amal celebrated her 10th birthday,[23] Trafalgar Square,[20] Roundhouse 24 October,[20][24] and Westminster Cathedral 25 October, where Little Amal was greeted and given a blessing by Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster.[25]
• The other UK venues were: Oxford 26 October,[14][26][27] where she was greeted by a similarly sized puppet of Alice,[28] Coventry 27 October,[29][30] Birmingham 28 October,[29] Sheffield 29 October,[14][31][32] Barnsley 30 October,[14] Rochdale 2 November,[33][34][35] Wigan 2 November,[34][36][37] and Manchester 3 November, where she was welcomed at Old Trafford.[14][34][38][39]

• 
  Little Amal at Coventry Cathedral
• 
  Little Amal in Birmingham
• 
  The Mayor of Barnsley greeting Little Amal, in Barnsley
• 
  Little Amal with Anbesa the lion in Rochdale
• 
  Little Amal among puppet birds in Castlefield Bowl, Manchester.[40]

The puppet Little Amal was created by Handspring Puppet Company, which built the puppets for the 2007 play War Horse.[5] The Little Amal character first appeared in The Jungle, an award-winning 2015 play created by Good Chance in the Theatre of Hope dome in the former Calais Jungle, which was an unofficial refugee camp outside Calais.[41][42]

There are three identical Little Amal puppets, created to allow simultaneous events at different locations.[41] They were constructed for the 2021 passage and carried between venues. They were presented as one puppet and were not seen together. Separately, they performed short walks in each location, taking part in events arranged locally. The puppet design represents a nine-year-old Syrian female refugee named Little Amal, amal being Arabic for "hope".[3]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Little Amal, The Walk.

• Levene, David (27 October 2021). "Little Amal in London, in pictures". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2021. (Photographs by photojournalist David Levene of Little Amal in London, including a picture of Little Amal with Joey the War Horse)
• "Welcome to Coventry, Little Amal!". birminghamdiocese.org.uk. Archdiocese of Birmingham. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021. (Contains a video of the Cardinal of Westminster describing his experience of meeting the Little Amal puppet)
• Daldry, Stephen; Lan, David; Seaward, Tracey (7 October 2020). "The Walk" (PDF). 60.uwc.ac.za/. Good Chance and Handspring Puppet Company. Retrieved 4 November 2021. (Document setting out plans for The Walk)