The MENA Archival Lab is a collective project dedicated to the documentation, analysis and archival of experienced trauma and underreported incidents by individuals from the MENA region – living within Arab homeland and in diaspora. Through our project, we aim to create a space where two pillars of our research intersect:

• Advocating for trauma-informed archival processes: Working on tangible goals towards language justice by documenting stories about to underrepresented groups driven by linguistic awareness; for achieving better navigation of social systems. 
• Highlighting underreported news: Enhancing reachability of news pieces that do not receive the same noise as others through an educational perspective – how to train news salience to achieve less news selectivity and more equity. 

Our common goal is to enhance integration for migrants in Western host communities, while also providing the chance for those around them to be better informed about their country of origin. By representing their news and personal stories better, and providing them with access to translation, we can prepare refugees and migrants for better assimilation into their new societies, while also adopting a more exchange-based approach. The MENA Archival Lab would use these listed mechanisms to achieve an overall approach that turns archived incidents into evidence. 

It is crucial for us to apply all these processes with a focus on Global South stories – using an emancipatory approach which diverts from placing Western media sources at the center of our research basis.