About the issue:

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We are thrilled to share our anniversary issue with you, in celebration of five years since the publication of our first issue in 2019!

 

Our anniversary issue brings together the voices of the Routed team, largely comprising articles from in-house authors, along with some special contributions from the outside. Instead of setting a specific theme, we have decided to go back to our roots - to our first issue, where our editors were also our authors. We have invited all our newest team members to share their stories and research, in celebration of five years of Routed. 

 

Reflecting back, the world has changed in immeasurable ways since 2019. Mobility—something many of us took for granted—is perhaps now more treasured, with many forms of travel still experiencing the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Meanwhile, conflicts and atrocities across the world strengthen borders and people’s immobility, impinging on freedom of movement and basic human rights.

 

Routed’s mission remains relevant and critical in this changing world: challenging perceptions of migration as a binary choice between roots and routes. For the last 5 years, we have worked to bridge the divide between academic literature - frequently inaccessible to communities—and popular portrayals of migration—all too often based on simplistic and damaging stereotypes.

 

This issue once again aims to foster understanding and empathy, the only way out of the world’s challenges. From shining a light on the hypocrisy of treatment between the capsizing of boats of refugees in the Mediterranean and the loss of the billionaire Titan submersible; to a lived experience of being trafficked for labour; from revisiting an article from Routed’s first issue and comparing it with Venezuela nowadays, to a fresh, critical perspective on multiculturalism in Canada; we advocate for better media representation of people of colour on the move, hear stories from post-World War II and present-day France through the red-thread of sewing machines, and explore the role of art and cultural exchange in youth diaspora movement as well as the interdependence of music and movement.

 

To our readers, thank you for travelling with us for these last five years. Our work is nothing without an audience, to hear the stories and spread the word. Along with our team of editors and other volunteers, and our valued contributors the world over, you have been instrumental in shaping Routed Magazine's success. Your unwavering support has fuelled our mission and propelled us forward.

 

Looking ahead, Routed remains committed to fostering dialogue, challenging perceptions, and advocating for meaningful change. This issue marks the beginning of our anniversary celebrations. Stay tuned for more throughout 2024 - and, if you are passionate about our cause, join us, whether as article or web editors, or avid readers. Here's to five years of inspiring storytelling, transformative insights, and a future filled with endless possibilities.