Between 16th and 22nd June thousands of activities will take place internationally to celebrate the positive contributions of refugees and promote a greater culture of welcome. Here in the UK we thought we would put a spotlight on the refugee children and young people who make (and go on to make) such positive contributions to our future.
With 50% of the worlds refugees reported to be children and young people we want to highlight the importance of welcoming, protecting and supporting refugee children and young people as a basic human right that give them the chance to realise their potential and contribute to a shared future. We want to explore how young refugees perceive their futures and celebrate how they will influence our society. We hope that Refugee Week will inspire young refugees to see a place for themselves in the UK and hold on to their aspirations as achievable however big or small.
We have invited young people to come on board as Young Ambassadors to help us to make sure that we are doing what we can to reach new audiences, especially the young people of our future. Our young ambassadors are working hard to make positive contributions to the UK despite the challenges set them. They are full of talent and determination and we look forward to being taught a thing or two this June!
When we asked young people what their dreams were for the future one young person responded: “My dream is that every human on earth will be treated equally regardless of name, age, nationality, race and religion.” Another said: “I hope to be independent and give back to the community whilst working hard”. This is an aspiration that all of the young people share, whether they want to be: doctors, teachers, politicians, campaigners, musicians, architects, IT programmers, actresses, air hostesses.
The range of Refugee Week activities continue to amaze us: concerts, exhibitions, film screenings, debate and discussion, photography projects, youth arts sharings. You can search for events taking place near you on the Refugee Week website here. We are excited to be developing collaborations with a range of people already: BFI, British Council, City of Sanctuary, Celebrating Sanctuary, Brighter Futures & Praxis, Refugee Youth Project, Platforma, V&A Museum of Childhood, Museum of London, V&A Museum and all of our Refugee Week partners.
And not to forget our ‘simple acts of welcome’…. We’d like to encourage you show your support new arrivals to the UK by completing your simple act of welcome. There are hundreds to chose from: www.simpleacts.org.uk.
