Today (21 November) is the last chance to stop by the TimesSquare_Portal project, a golden shipping container that connects visitors in New York’s busiest public space with people around the world, using advanced video chat software. During its seven-week-long run, the portable communications hub has linked up to cities in the US as well as Iraq, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Myanmar. Portals was created to foster one-on-one conversations across distances and different cultures, says the project’s founder and creative director Amar Bakshi. During a visit in October, The Art Newspaper spoke with a group of children from the Harsham Refugee Camp in Erbil, Iraq about some of their favourite activities—playing football—and foods—shawarma and barbeque. The project is always travelling, and there are plans to launch a Portal in a repurposed school bus in February, so keep an eye on the organiser’s website for future stops.

WASHINGTON, DC - Despite the horrific visuals coming out of Syria's civil war on a daily basis, it's easy to feel as if the conflict, and the associated refugee crisis, is a world away. But new technology is helping to connect Americans to Syrian refugees, in a way that puts people face-to-face, despite the distance. 

A Myrna y Osama no hay nada que les guste más que ir al colegio. Durante meses, las atrocidades de Estado Islámico y las bombas impidieron que cogiesen los libros pero ahora, poco a poco, sus vidas vuelven a la normalidad. Lo hace en medio de la nada. En uno de los 23 campo de refugiados que las organizaciones internacionales han habilitado para los desplazados de la guerra en Mosul. Están a solo 60 kilómetros de distancia, pero allí, la vida vuelve a tomar forma, lejos de las atrocidades de los bárbaros.

A video created by ABC News about a Portal Screen connecting the United Nations General Assembly to the Harsham Camp for Refugees & IDPs in Erbil run by UNICEF Iraq.