Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Established in 1998 in the UK, this annual festival aligns with World Refugee Day, celebrated globally on June 20th. In 2024, join us from June 17th to 23rd for a community-powered week!

Connecting Beyond Labels: A Global Movement

Refugee Week has evolved into an international movement, with events spanning the globe. To discover events near you or to connect with local, regional, or international organisers, visit our contacts page.

Through an exciting programme of events, activities and media campaigns, Refugee Week brings together people from different backgrounds to connect beyond labels, and foster a deeper understanding of why people are displaced, and the challenges they face when seeking safety.

Your Invitation to Participate: Join the Movement

Refugee Week is an open platform which means anyone can take part by holding an event or activity. Refugee Week events and activities are all shapes and sizes and take place in all sorts of spaces.

In the past we’ve had everything from city-wide festivals to group walks, exhibitions, film screenings, museum tours, football tournaments, public talks, activities in schools and so much more! Last year there were over 9,500 events and activities in the UK alone and over 1 million people took part. Nothing is too big or too small- everyone can play a part.

By providing a platform for people who have sought sanctuary to share their experiences, perspectives and creative work on their own terms, our vision is for refugees and asylum seekers to be able to live safely within inclusive and resilient communities, where they can continue to make a valuable contribution.

Explore Our Vision, Values & Shared Principles

For a deeper insight into Refugee Week’s vision, strategy, and values, explore our Theory of Change. We encourage all Refugee Week initiatives to reflect these core beliefs:

Celebrating Contributions

Refugee Week celebrates the contributions of refugees and people seeking sanctuary in order to challenge negative stereotypes and create a space where refugees can be seen and heard beyond their experience of displacement. We believe that everyone has a contribution to make, and reject the idea that people seeking safety should have to ‘prove their worth’ more than others in society.

Reclaiming ‘Refugee’

We use the word ‘refugee’ because of its legal and historical significance, and because we believe it is important to reclaim it from negative uses. At the same time, we recognise the danger of labels and respect people’s right to decide how they define themselves. Refugee Week celebrates the contributions of everyone seeking safety, regardless of the legal status they hold.

A Space for Many Stories

Refugee Week aims to be an empowering platform where people who have experienced displacement can express themselves on their own terms. We recognise that no single narrative represents ‘the refugee experience’, and support diverse representations of people and experiences through arts and culture.

There is a Bigger Us

We are not the same. Our experiences are different and we do not have equal access to resources and power. But we are also interconnected and interdependent, part of a ‘bigger us’. We believe that the safety of each of us matters to all of us, and strive to come together around shared values of fairness, mutual support, kindness and respect for universal rights.

Open to All

Refugee Week is an open platform and welcomes a wide range of responses suited to many different contexts. As a movement, we aim to make our activities inclusive and remove barriers to participation.

Arts and Culture Create Change

We believe that arts and culture can help us see migration and displacement differently by creating connection across difference, taking the voices and experiences of refugees to new spaces and helping us imagine how we can live better together.

Leadership Matters

We believe that, wherever possible, initiatives about refugee experiences should involve people with lived experience of displacement in their planning and leadership.

Refugees are not a Single Group

We recognise that refugees and asylum seekers are not a single group and have different experiences, including because of race, class, gender, sexuality, age and immigration status.

The Right to be Safe

We believe that everyone deserves a home and has the right to seek safety for themselves and their families.

Powered by Partnership

Refugee Week UK is a partnership project coordinated by Counterpoints Arts. Explore our national partners here, as we work together to make a positive impact.

To find your local, regional or international organiser visit here.