When Birds Fly: A Silent Story of Belonging
(29-08-2025) When Birds Fly: Stories of Landing’ is a wordless graphic novel on loneliness among newly arrived minors, based on Sarah Devos’ PhD research. It fosters recognition, connection and dialogue in classrooms and beyond.
Sarah Devos, Katrijn Delaruelle, Benedicte Deforche and Piet Bracke created a graphic novel together with an illustrator on loneliness among newly arrived minors, based on data from Sarah’s PhD research. When Birds Fly: Stories of Landing follows the journeys of three characters as they navigate departure, travel, arrival, and the search for connection in a new environment. By telling the story visually and without words, they aim to create space for recognition, connection, and dialogue — both in classrooms and beyond.
This graphic narrative was created with support from the UGent Societal Valorisation Fund.
If you have questions about this fund, or how you can similarly translate your research findings into valorisation efforts, please contact Katrijn Delaruelle (Katrijn.Delaruelle@ugent.be).