Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary and there are lots of activities in Newcastle and Gateshead. Find out how you can get involved in Refugee Week 20-26 June.
Through a programme of arts, cultural, sports and educational events alongside media and creative campaigns, Refugee Week enables people from different backgrounds to connect and understand why people are displaced and the challenges they face when seeking safety. It is a platform for people who have sought safety in the UK to share their experiences, perspectives and creative work on their own terms.
Refugee Week Activities in Newcastle and Gateshead
World Healing Event with Curious Monkey, 17 June, 2.30-8pm will be a celebration, a time to come together to eat, dance and share joy. Workshops between 2.30pm to 4.30pm which include yoga, singing and art (artist workshop in partnership with BALTIC). They hope to use Summerhill’s outdoor space for this activity, weather dependent. The Curious Caravan will be there and you can visit the Story Collectors who are ready to tell and to hear stories. From 5pm to 8 pm, everyone will gather together to hear a little from the Arriving group members, have some food together and an open dance floor with music from around the world.
Sharing and Connection, 10am-5pm 20 to 26 June at Seven Stories: Student’s artwork will be displayed at Seven Stories on the theme of Sharing and Connection.
The Comfrey Project in Gateshead invites people to their Windmill Hills garden to enjoy gardening and creative activities, see their ‘Belonging’ photography exhinition and enjoy delicious food. There are activities all week from 20th to 25th June 10.30am to 2.30pm. Click here to download the programme of activities.
Newcastle Sanctuary Forum: 10.30-12.30, 22 June at Discovery Museum: Come along to the Newcastle Sanctuary Forum as part of Newcastle’s celebrations for Refugee Week 2022. The Sanctuary Forum is a space for people to come together to learn, share and explore the issues related to migration and seeking sanctuary in Newcastle. Click here to register for a free place.
The Sanctuary Forum will be exploring how to maximise opportunities to harness and consolidate the goodwill of people supporting the work in the city, as well as looking at how to increase the ‘reach’ of the City of Sanctuary values, narrative and ideas. People who are seeking sanctuary or working in the sector are invited to attend, share experiences, join the discussion and help shape responses in terms of how we work within the city.
Baltic Healing through Art: Drop in sessions 10am-6pm, 22-26 June and a bookable performance on Saturday 26 June. Baltic is collaborating with with the Neighbourly Working Group, as well as many of the people and organisations that have worked with them, guided them and been part of their sanctuary work. Together they will be celebrating refugee week and exploring the theme of healing through art, singing, food and community
Exhibition in Exile, 11am-3pm,23 June to 26th June: The Dialogue Society (a Turkish Community Group), working with St James’s Church, Benwell, Time to Help and Human Right Solidarity and GemArt are holding an event at St James’ Church. For the refugee week, they an have exhibition of a special caricature collection. This collection is composed by international professional caricaturist’ works.
ENACT celebration 10am-4pm, 24 June, Boiler House, Newcastle University or online: The event will offer a variety of opportunities to learn about the ENACT web app, which shares languages and cultural activities from 153 countries. There will be demonstrations, talks and a chance to try hands-on activities to learn different languages through culture. Prof Judith Rankin (Newcastle University) will welcome you to our campus. Keynote speakers include Rosie Tapsfield (Newcastle City Council, City of Sanctuary), Bridget Stratford MBE (North-East Solidarity and Teaching) and Chi Onwurah MP. Click here to register or click here to join on zoom (Meeting ID:873 5692 1032 Passcode: ENACT). Email for enquiries: enacteuropa@newcastle.ac.uk
Newcastle Libraries is holding a Welcome to Your Library event on 1-3pm on 25th June at City Library. The event will be a fun, informative and warm welcome to their spaces and services.
Refugee Week national resources and events
This year Refugee Week will run from 20-26 June.
Click here to find out more about this year’s theme of ‘Healing’.
Anyone can get involved by holding or joining an event or activity. Refugee Week events happen in all kinds of different spaces and range from arts festivals, exhibitions, film screenings and museum tours to football tournaments, public talks and activities in schools.
For updates, click here to sign up to the Refugee Week newsletter, and follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. #HealingTogether #RefugeeWeek2022
Simple Acts are everyday actions we can all do to stand with refugees and make new connections in our communities.
Click here to get ideas for 6 simple acts that people can get involved in: Send a message; Share a dish; Have a chat; Watch a film; Read a book; and Walk together.
Anyone can hold an event as part of the week. Click here to find out about events during the week and to submit an event and click on the links below for event and media packs and free resources.
- Refugee Week 2022 Event Organiser Pack
- Refugee Week 2022 Social Media Pack
- Shop + free materials
- Moving Worlds Film Programme
- Refugee Week Conference Resources
- Platforma Arts and Refugees Network
- Traces
There are lots of ways schools and children and young people can get involved and ways teachers and famlies can support them to develop an understanding of refugee experiences.
- Children and young people’s pack with information ideas, links and free resources, toolkits, teaching resources for primary and secondary schools, as well as links to family events and suggested activities.
- Simple Acts
- Schools speakers
- Online films
Other Sanctuary links and information
- All schools in Newcastle are being encouraged to become Schools of Sanctuary and training has been provided to support schools to apply. There is ongoing support from Newcastle City Council. Contact Rosie Tapsfield (Newcastle City of Sanctuary) and Sarah Edgar (School Effectiveness). This is part of the national Schools of Sanctuary work led by UK City of Sanctuary. Schools are encouraged to access the resources for children and young people to get involved in Refugee Week.
- Click here to find out more about Newcastle City of Sanctuary and to sign up for updates or share your ideas.
- As part of the Sanctuary network in the city, we regularly update our page for refugees and asylum seekers in Newcastle, with links on ways to help. Click here to access the webpage.
- Click here to find out more about the UK City of Sanctuary movement, groups, awards, resources and how to get involved.
- IMIX are running free online media and social media classes for groups and people with lived experience. Click here for more information and to sign up.
- Together with Refugees campaigns for fairness and compassion in the UK treatment and support of refugees. They are proposing community picnics to celebrate this year’s Refugee Week. Click here to find out more.
- Migrants’ Rights Network have put together this useful guide: Words Matter: Migrants and Migration how language shapes the narrative around migration, and what we can do to stand up against harmful rhetoric.