Guest post: The T06411 is a North African migrant boat named after the official code given by Italian customs when it was seized close to Lampedusa in 2012, with 36 migrants on board. The boat is moored in London this Refugee Week as part of a ‘floating installation’ by artist Lucy Wood. Read more about her incredible journey and creative process here[…]
Guest post: Nosy Crow children’s author Karen McCombie tells us about Scotland’s forgotten history of the Highland Clearances, when thousands of Highlanders were displaced from their homes during the 18th and 19th centuries […]
Guest post: Meet Pam, an activist in exile and one of our new 2019 Refugee Week Ambassadors
As an activist for political freedom in her native Thailand, Pam was an outspoken student critic of the junta regime. Because of this she was mistreated, jailed and persecuted. Pam is now an activist in exile and has been living in the UK with refugee status since 2016. She works with Refugee Week partner STAR (Student Action for Refugees) as their Communication and Campaign Volunteer Officer, working to improve how we welcome students from refugee and asylum seeking backgrounds here in Britain. She has written a blog for us about her work, and how volunteering in the Refugee Sector transformed her life as a refugee in the UK […]
This year will see the third annual Great Get Together, inspired by the MP Jo Cox, happening on the last weekend of Refugee Week (21 – 23 June). The Great Get Together (GGT) is a major national campaign that brings communities together to achieve national unity. It was founded by The Jo Cox Foundation […]
Guest post by Eva Jonsson, Herne Hill Welcomes Refugees After watching one too many bodies float ashore in Europe, many felt powerless and not knowing what to do. Civil society and communities like us thought the UK isn’t doing enough and started asking what can I do? Here’s the thing, YOU can do something, you can do […]
Guest post by Ernest Zhanaev, Refugee Journalism Project It is a crisp February morning and I am on the train heading to the Refugee Week Conference hosted at Coventry Cathedral. It’s the city where before the Norman Conquest, Lady Godiva entered naked in a merciful plea to her husband, the Earl of Mercia, to protect […]
Guest post by Usman Khalid, Haven Coffee Hi, I am Usman, a refugee from Pakistan who has lived in London for the last 12 years. I have always had a passion for good quality coffee. For me, my day doesn’t start until I’ve had that first cup. I have always dreamed of having a coffee […]
Guest post by Emma Skeet, Friendship Arts Projects I travelled to Athens in 2016 with two artist friends, wanting to show support for the thousands of refugees stranded there on their journey trying to find a safe place to live. It was one of those choices which shaped the story of my life. Having watched […]
Guest post by Brian Donnelly, Chorleywood4Refugees For the last three Refugee Weeks, the Chorleywood4Refugees Voluntary Group has operated a Pop-up Cafe at their local railway station, which is on the Metropolitan Line between Aldgate and Amersham. Like most small stations, this one does not have a cafe of its own, but even if it does, […]
The charity Breaking Barriers celebrated 20 years of Refugee Week by completing every single on of our 20 Simple Acts! Their communications lead Isabel Buruma writes: It is easy to sit up and take notice, What is difficult is getting up and taking action. – Honore de Balzac We joined in on the celebrations by participating in Refugee Week’s 20 […]
To mark 20 years of Refugee Week, in June 2018 the British Museum created a trail of 20 objects from different cultures that tell stories of migration and displacement throughout history. Visitors to the museum were invited to take the trail as part of the British Museum’s Refugee Week 2018 programme, which also included music, film, […]
Guest post by Hari Reed, UEA Refugee History The UK’s first Refugee Week took place in 1998. The first World Refugee Day (20thJune) followed shortly afterwards, in 2001. It was also around this time that Britain’s asylum system mutated, via various pieces of legislation, into the one that we know and experience today. It was […]
As part of the 20 Simple Acts campaign for Refugee Week 2018, Music in Detention invited choirs across the UK to sing a song written in immigration detention. The responses was powerful, with at least seven choirs and groups recording covers of songs written in Music in Detention workshops, helping to take the music and […]