The first ever Global Migrant Festival was held in Singapore over the weekend. With migration becoming a hot-button topic around the world, the festival aimed to give migrant workers and refugees a platform to share their stories through art. CGTN's Miro Lu takes us through the two-day event, which included a wide array of film screenings, cultural performances, theater, music and panel discussions.

Enthralling performances, mesmerising dances and beautiful poetry, the First Global Migrant Festival was a celebration of art and culture from about 25 countries and regions. The festival saw migrants from within Singapore and from other countries and regions come together and share their stories in their own words.

One such story was that of Joan Santillan Amurao. Joan, who is a foreign domestic worker in Malaysia, shared her tear-jerking story of leaving her home and family through her poem "Far Away".

JOAN SANTILLAN AMURAO MALAYSIAN FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKER "For me, this is a very great kind of event, it's because we can, migrants and even a refugee can showcase their talent."

MIRO LU SINGAPORE "About 10 percent of Singapore's population are transient migrant workers, they are construction workers and domestic helpers. Although some of them have lived here for many years, their talents and their dreams are often unknown to locals."

Shivaji Das has been working to give a voice to migrant workers and refugees for several years now. As the artistic director of the festival, he is aware that migration is a challenging and complex theme in the current global environment. He believes festivals like this are an important first step towards allowing the society to get to know the migrants through a new lense.

SHIVAJI DAS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, GLOBAL MIGRANT FESTIVAL "It always used to be NGOs and other international bodies which used to talk on behalf of them and often those stories don't have that power, if it is not coming directly from migrants and refugees. So that's the whole idea of getting this platform for them directly to interact with the wider population."

The finals of the annual Migrant Worker Poetry Competition were also held as part of this festival. Since its debut in 2014, the poetry competition has developed into an important event for migrant workers in Singapore. Among the audience, many are fellow migrant workers, and some are local Singaporeans and expats who usually have little social interaction with migrants.

KARMEN WONG PROJECT MANAGER, SINGAPORE "I think it is great that migrants workers have a platform to showcase their poems, and you get to hear a lot of their stories, get to hear their pain and suffering. And that's something we don't really hear about, but kind of know."

Having received a decent response in its first year, the organisers are now looking to move the festival to different locations across the globe so that more and more migrants may come forward and share their experiences. Miro Lu, CGTN, Singapore.