Want to learn more about the struggles, experiences and contributions of refugees? Interested in films, books, music or discussions that offer new perspectives?
Refugee Week may be over for another year, but there’s still plenty online to revisit or discover.
Here’s a selection of things to watch, listen to, explore or read that were created or shared for Refugee Week 2020.
FILM
Image: Walk, Run, Cha-Cha
For Sama (1 hour 40 mins)
An epic and intimate journey filmed through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria. Waad al-Kateab tells the story of how she fell in love, married and gave birth to her daughter Sama. Watch on Channel 4 Player
Q&A with For Sama director Waad AlKateab
Hosted by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, this Q&A is available to watch again on the Refugee Week Facebook page
Walk Run Cha Cha (20 mins)
Paul and Millie Cao reunited in California after the Vietnam War. Forty years later, they are rediscovering themselves on the dance floor. Watch on Vimeo
Strung Out (5 short episodes, full length 37 mins)
Phosphoros Theatre
Losing an instrument is like losing a limb, right? If it’s what binds you to home. ‘Strung Out’ follows a group of friends on a mission to find the missing piece of the puzzle. Created under lockdown for Refugee Week 2020. Watch on the Phosphoros Theatre website
Imagine: On the Line Festival (48 mins)
Compass Collective and Shakespeare’s Globe
Created in isolation by young people from across the UK, this film combines spoken word, animations, lockdown stories and songs, and invites everyone to celebrate the creativity and contribution of those seeking sanctuary. Watch on Shakespeare’s Globe Youtube channel
CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE
Image: Kazzum Arts’ ‘Help them Feel at Home’
Refugee Week Children & Young People’s Activity Pack (age 5 – 18)
Creative activities, films and learning resources to help young people explore refugee experiences, either at school or at home. Explore
Onjali Q. Raúf reads from ‘The Boy at the Back of the Class’ (age 7+)
Author Onjali Q. Raúf reads from her award-winning book, which offers a child’s eye view on the experiences of refugees. Watch again on the Refugee Week Facebook page
Chris Naylor-Ballesteros reads ‘The Suitcase’ (age 2+)
Seven Stories with Nosy Crow
When a strange-looking animal arrives pulling a big suitcase, the other animals are curious. Author Naylor-Ballesteros reads a tale of trust and new beginnings. Watch again on the Seven Stories Facebook page
Superman, Dr Who and more Famous Refugee Heroes for Young People
PopChange Library of New Narratives (Counterpoints Arts)
Author Onjali Q. Raúf reminds us of the surprising refugee themes in some of our favourite young people’s books. Read more on the PopChange website
BOOKS, WRITING & SPOKEN WORD
Image: PopChange
Imagine Anthology
Counterpoints Arts
A digital collection of global voices writing on the Refugee Week 2020 theme of ‘Imagine’. Celebrated authors such as Mohsin Hamid, Edmund de Waal, Dina Nayeri and Rupi Kaur feature alongside new voices, including writer Mandla Rae and activist Md Mominul Hamid from the Refugee Week Leadership Project. Explore
A Decision Filled with Colour: Global collective poet curated by Inua Ellams
Good Chance Theatre & The World From My Window
A poem curated by internationally-renowned poet and playwright Inua Ellams, drawing together voices of reflection and hope of 50 people from 28 countries. The work came out of a workshop held for Refugee Week 2020. Watch on the Good Chance Theatre Youtube channel
Pride and Prejudice: The Best Books on the Refugee Experience
PopChange Library of New Narratives (Counterpoints Arts)
From a comedy about a childhood in wartime to a memoir smuggled from Manus Island on a phone, author Dina Nayeri selects the best books about asylum. Read more on the PopChange website
TALKS
Image: Migration Matters Festival
Is Covid-19 Racist?
Migration Matters Festival and Stand Up to Racism
Former Sheffield Lord Mayor and MEP Magid Magid, doctor and campaigner Dr Sonia Adesara and NHS worker and BAFTA winner Hassan Akkad explore the relationship between government policy, healthcare and institutionalised discrimination within today’s society. Watch again on the Migration Matters website
Shaping the city: History of the Huguenots
Museum of London
Bite-sized talks on the history of the Huguenots, showing how London’s first refugees shaped the city in a way that is still felt today. Watch again on the Museum of London website
‘What Can Practitioners Learn From the Narratives of Young Refugees?’
Migration Matters Festival
Dr Jawad Shah from Sheffield University shares his research exploring the narratives of young refugees about their journey from their home countries to the UK. Watch again on the Migration Matters website
MUSIC
Refugee Week 2020 – Imagine
Spotify Playlist curated by Mohammed Yahya. Listen on Spotify
UNITY by Lady Leshurr – Football Fan Song
PopChange (Counterpoints Arts)
A specially commissioned song celebrating the diversity of football, written by rapper Lady Leshurr and produced with football fans from refugee and migrant backgrounds. Watch on the Counterpoints Arts Youtube channel
Mirrors – Tardast
Counterpoints Arts
Short atmospheric and sonic film by Iranian grime MC Tardast and collaborators from his Manteq Collective, reflecting on the Liverpool-based MC’s experiences of displacement. Watch on the Refugee Week Facebook page
Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham
Songs, spoken word and workshops by international artists in the West Midlands, commissioned for Refugee Week by Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham. Watch on the Celebrating Sanctuary Youtube channel
Everyone CAN
Community Arts North West
Performances and workshops in English and Arabic, Farsi and Cantonese, commissioned for Refugee Week by Community Arts North West. Watch on the Community Arts North West Youtube channel.
PODCASTS
Image: The Worldwide Tribe Podcast
Integrate That! by Abdulwahhab Tahhan
Launched at Migration Matters Festival during Refugee Week, this is a podcast about refugees, by refugees.Read more on the Refugee Journalism Project website + listen wherever you get your podcasts.
On the Record – Refugee Stories
National Archives
A special Refugee Week episode of the National Archives’ ‘On the Record’ podcast, highlighting a few of the many refugee stories that have found their way onto its repository shelves. Listen
The Worldwide Tribe Podcast
Interview podcast hosted by Jaz O’Hara, sharing stories of people on the move and volunteers who work with them, aiming to give a platform to the humans behind the statistics and the headlines. Listen wherever you get your podcasts
ONLINE EXHIBITIONS
Image: Havens East
Havens East
Anglia Ruskin University and partners
An online exhibition uncovering the forgotten stories of Basque child refugees who sought sanctuary in Cambridge and Norfolk during the Spanish Civil War. Explore
What Will We Have Left
Refugee Rescue
An exhibition exploring stories of search and rescue, including though dance, film, photography, writing, podcasts, and visual arts. Explore
Goal Click
UNHCR and Goal Click
A photography exhibition documenting the personal stories and experiences of refugees and asylum-seekers across the globe through the lens of football. Explore
Their Dreams (recommended age 11+)
Migrant Help
An exhibition sharing the stories of survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking, their dreams when they came to this country, and the new dreams they are building now as they leave their pasts behind. Explore
Fabric of Our Lives
Migration Matters Festival
An immersive exhibition of photography, textiles and audio created through collaborative workshops with local and refugee women living in UK textile and industrial towns, the Migration Museum and a Refugee Women’s Safe House in Calais. Explore