Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe In brief Date - 9 November 2026Venue - Room 2.14, Appleton TowerSpeakers - Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe (Co-coordinators of ECHO Mobile Library)Title - Connections not Collections - 10 years of Un-bordering Greece with ECHO Mobile Library Email an IMES colleague to join online About the eventECHO is a mobile library that has now been running in Greece for 10 years, providing library services, creative activities, respite and much more to thousands of asylum seekers, migrants and refugees during that time. Becka and Giulio, the library's co-coordinators, will detail the context that brought about the library's foundation and the continuing conditions that keep the ECHO's small volunteer team doing what it does - driving around 400km each week to offer books, a sense of community and just a little hope to 5 camps, 1 city square and other autonomous spaces.From an initial situation when it was possible to freely enter the camps and squats in and around Athens, the library now is forced to stay outside of the camps, regularly intimidated by camp security, surviving in the margins, much like the people it serves. It is from these margins that we tell the story of ECHO mobile library: it's a story of carceral "accommodation centres", the erosion of human rights, labour exploitation and the testing of both new surveillance technologies and regressive EU migration policies on asylum-seeker populations. It is also however a story of how a small library project and the power of literature can transform people's lives.About the speakersGiulio D'Errico currently lives in Greece, after obtaining a PhD in history at Aberystwyth University. He is Project Coordinator at ECHO Mobile Library since 2021. At one time or another he has cooked in social kitchens, translated and written - mainly about cultural histories and migrations. His work has appeared on Are You Syrious?, EMMA, Roar Magazine and on Agenzia X's and Active Distribution's books.Becka Wolfe, accidentally became a librarian in January 2019 when she started with ECHO, having been on Lesvos in January-March 2016 and moving to Athens a year later. She studied Arabic with Farsi at the University of Edinburgh and also did her masters in Arabic there.When not running guerilla library services Becka is a musician playing violin, oud and voice in various projects in and outside of Europe, most recently with Sound Passage, a collective founded in Lampedusa creating musical collaborations based on experiences of migration, Mediterranean cultures and the sea.About the seminar seriesThe IMES Research Seminar for this first semester of 2026/27 will showcase some of the latest research across the broad field of Islamic and Middle East Studies, both within the department and beyond, setting it within the context of IMES as it moves towards its 50th year.How to attendEvents are free and everyone is welcome. No booking is required. If you wish to join online, you can email a colleague in IMES for joining information.All talks are followed by a small reception. Email an IMES colleague to join online Are you interested in studying with us?We are the only university in Scotland to offer courses in the Muslim world's three main languages, placing Arabic, Persian and Turkish in the context of history, literature, culture, religion and politics, past and present.Choose from a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including PhD programmes. Find out more about Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Edinburgh Tags Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Nov 09 2026 5:15pm - 6:30pm Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe Join us for a hybrid seminar by Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe (Co-coordinators of ECHO Mobile Library) detailing the history and importance of the ECHO Mobile Library to asylum seekers, migrants and refugees throughout Greece. Room 2.14 Appleton Tower 11 Crichton Street University of Edinburgh EH8 9LE Find the venue: Appleton Tower Email an IMES colleague to join online This article was published on Tuesday 30 September 2025
Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe In brief Date - 9 November 2026Venue - Room 2.14, Appleton TowerSpeakers - Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe (Co-coordinators of ECHO Mobile Library)Title - Connections not Collections - 10 years of Un-bordering Greece with ECHO Mobile Library Email an IMES colleague to join online About the eventECHO is a mobile library that has now been running in Greece for 10 years, providing library services, creative activities, respite and much more to thousands of asylum seekers, migrants and refugees during that time. Becka and Giulio, the library's co-coordinators, will detail the context that brought about the library's foundation and the continuing conditions that keep the ECHO's small volunteer team doing what it does - driving around 400km each week to offer books, a sense of community and just a little hope to 5 camps, 1 city square and other autonomous spaces.From an initial situation when it was possible to freely enter the camps and squats in and around Athens, the library now is forced to stay outside of the camps, regularly intimidated by camp security, surviving in the margins, much like the people it serves. It is from these margins that we tell the story of ECHO mobile library: it's a story of carceral "accommodation centres", the erosion of human rights, labour exploitation and the testing of both new surveillance technologies and regressive EU migration policies on asylum-seeker populations. It is also however a story of how a small library project and the power of literature can transform people's lives.About the speakersGiulio D'Errico currently lives in Greece, after obtaining a PhD in history at Aberystwyth University. He is Project Coordinator at ECHO Mobile Library since 2021. At one time or another he has cooked in social kitchens, translated and written - mainly about cultural histories and migrations. His work has appeared on Are You Syrious?, EMMA, Roar Magazine and on Agenzia X's and Active Distribution's books.Becka Wolfe, accidentally became a librarian in January 2019 when she started with ECHO, having been on Lesvos in January-March 2016 and moving to Athens a year later. She studied Arabic with Farsi at the University of Edinburgh and also did her masters in Arabic there.When not running guerilla library services Becka is a musician playing violin, oud and voice in various projects in and outside of Europe, most recently with Sound Passage, a collective founded in Lampedusa creating musical collaborations based on experiences of migration, Mediterranean cultures and the sea.About the seminar seriesThe IMES Research Seminar for this first semester of 2026/27 will showcase some of the latest research across the broad field of Islamic and Middle East Studies, both within the department and beyond, setting it within the context of IMES as it moves towards its 50th year.How to attendEvents are free and everyone is welcome. No booking is required. If you wish to join online, you can email a colleague in IMES for joining information.All talks are followed by a small reception. Email an IMES colleague to join online Are you interested in studying with us?We are the only university in Scotland to offer courses in the Muslim world's three main languages, placing Arabic, Persian and Turkish in the context of history, literature, culture, religion and politics, past and present.Choose from a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, including PhD programmes. Find out more about Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at Edinburgh Tags Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Nov 09 2026 5:15pm - 6:30pm Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe Join us for a hybrid seminar by Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe (Co-coordinators of ECHO Mobile Library) detailing the history and importance of the ECHO Mobile Library to asylum seekers, migrants and refugees throughout Greece. Room 2.14 Appleton Tower 11 Crichton Street University of Edinburgh EH8 9LE Find the venue: Appleton Tower Email an IMES colleague to join online This article was published on Tuesday 30 September 2025
Nov 09 2026 5:15pm - 6:30pm Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies Research Seminar Series: Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe Join us for a hybrid seminar by Giulio D'Errico and Becka Wolfe (Co-coordinators of ECHO Mobile Library) detailing the history and importance of the ECHO Mobile Library to asylum seekers, migrants and refugees throughout Greece.
