The 20th June each year is World Refugee Day, and since 1998 ‘Refugee Week’ - the week in which 20th June falls - has been marked by events and activities across the UK.

The Refugee Week website www.refugeeweek.org.uk states:

The purpose of Refugee Week is to deliver positive educational messages that counter fear, ignorance and negative stereotypes of refugees, through arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK, and promote understanding about the reasons why people seek sanctuary.

Refugee Week was first held in 1998, and was created in response to the increasingly negative perceptions of refugees and asylum seekers held by the general public in Britain. It remains the only UK-wide event that promotes the importance of sanctuary and the benefits it can bring to both refugees and host communities.

During Refugee Week 2007, between 400 and 450 events took place across the UK, organised by charities, local government, small refugee community organisations, schools, churches, arts organisations, day centres, refugee umbrella networks, regional and national consortiums amongst many others .

Each year here in Leicester there is a varied program of events and activities throughout the week and beyond! Those organisations and groups locally who are involved in supporting asylum seekers, refugees and their communities have a very strong ethos of partnership working and each year we meet regularly in the run up to Refugee Week to make sure we are developing a varied program to run throughout the week, and to discuss opprtunities for partnership working / ways of supporting each other.

If you are interested in having a display, holding an event / activity, or in supporting events / activities that are being organised (as a volunteer or with a donation), then you are welcome to come along to the next (or a future) meeting -

for more info contact Gill Buttery on: leicester@cityofsanctuary.com

Next meeting: Wednesday 9th April 2008, at 3pm at the Central Library on Belvoir Street in the city centre.

Tags | asylum, refugee, Resources