A unique project created by award-winning photographer Robin Hammond called “One Thousand Dreams” seeks to change prevailing refugee narratives through a storytelling project that tells the stories of 1,000 refugees across Europe. The project is entirely authored by storytellers with a refugee background.

The 1,000 interviews, conducted entirely by storytellers with a refugee background, “amplify the voices of refugees and open a door to their misunderstood and misrepresented world,” the project’s website notes.

Click here for a story about the project published in the Guardian.

Immigrants and refugees in Oregon “will enjoy expanded protections and benefits from legislation that majority Democrats passed during this year’s session,” reports April Rubin in the Oregonian. “And lawmakers are continuing to press for more policies and spending to improve the lives of those new Oregonians in the session’s waning days,” she reports.

Bills headed to the desk of Gov. Kate Brown will make Oregon a safer sanctuary state, create an Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement and expand a tax credit for working non-citizen parents of U.S. citizen children, Rubi reported.

The Office of Immigrant and Refugee Advancement “will advocate for Oregon’s newest residents, seek to connect people to resources and programs helping to reduce social, economic and health disparities,” reports Stan Stites for Oregon Public Broadcasting.

The office “will be tasked with collecting data on immigrants and refugees who are new to Oregon in an attempt to better understand their needs and to track progress in reducing social, economic and health disparities. It will also track legislation impacting both populations and advocate for federal resources to support local programs and groups, as well as monitor investments made by the state to ensure resources are being allocated effectively,” wrote Stites.