Refugee Week is here! Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts & culture festival and from the 16th-22nd June, people across the world will be celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of people seeking sanctuary.
At STAR, our mission is to create a fair and welcoming society in the UK where refugees and people seeking asylum can thrive and Refugee Week is a perfect time to come together with others striving for the same thing and celebrate the contribution of refugees and people seeking asylum in our communities. Whether you are still on campus or elsewhere there are many ways you can get involved.
What is on?
There are a host of events taking place during the week across all nations of the UK, including supper clubs, film screenings, art workshops, talks and discussions, picnics, walks and so many more!
To see a full list of the Refugee Week programme head to the What’s On section on their website here.
In Scotland, it is the Refugee Festival – check here for events that are taking place this week.
Here are some online events that look really interesting:
– Various radio stations are coming together to broadcast stories of resilience, join from anywhere!
– Poetry Readings with Other Side of Hope and City of Sanctuary
– The Right to Protest with Green and Black Cross
To find in person events in your region and area take a look at the Refugee Week events calendar and check local organisations in your community.
What are STAR groups getting involved with?
STAR groups are also busy with getting involved with Refugee Week. Here are some of the things the network is up to!
- Edinburgh STAR book swap
- STAR is collaborating with the Edinburgh Refugee Sponsorship Circle to present ‘Stories behind Stories,’ a community book swap event. Our two organisations will host a curated collection of books specially chosen by members of our communities. This will be accompanied by written accounts describing the chosen stories’ significance and personal meaning, for guests to read and reflect upon.
- Greenwich STAR Refugee Week talk
- Greenwich STAR group will take part in their university’s Refugee Week event and will be giving a talk to advertise and raise awareness about the STAR group. The group is currently setting up so it will be a wonderful opportunity to spread the word about their group and kinds of activities that they want to get involved with next year!
- Warwick STAR Potluck dinner
- Warwick STAR are putting on a potluck! People will come together to share delicious dishes from their heritage to share, and help create welcoming cards for people seeking asylum locally. It sounds like a lovely event and one we wish we were able to attend to enjoy the delicious food.
UNHCR Refugee Week Reading Challenge
One of this years’ Simple Acts for Refugee Week is very simple: picking up a book.
With this in mind, UNHCR have launched a reading challenge for everyone to get involved in this Refugee Week (and beyond)!
Visit their page on The StoryGraph to sign up, see some recommendations. And make sure to share with your networks, friends and family!
Here are some prompts from the UNHCR to get you thinking about your next read:
- Read a book based in a different country to the one you live in
- Read a book with themes around migration
- Read a book who has experienced forced displacement
- Community is a superpower- read an empowering book
- Read a book recommended by a friend
Here are just a few recommendations to get you started:
– Small Boat, Vincent Delecroix
– Exit West, Mohsin Hamid
– The Boy with Two Hearts: A Story of Hope, Hamed Amiri
– I Don’t Want to Talk About Home, Suad Aldarra
– We Are Displaced, Malala Yousafzai