This year, Refugee Week will take place from 19th to 25th June, coinciding with World Refugee Day  on 20th June.

Refugee Week is a celebration of refugees’ contributions to art, culture and society. The theme for Refugee Week 2023 is ‘Compassion’. The aim is to create a world where everyone can be more connected by being compassionate towards others.

This week-long celebration features nationwide educational events and media campaigns. All are designed to raise awareness and highlight the importance of showing compassion to refugees as valued members of society and local communities.

This year, the campaign takes on extra resonance in the context of the government’s increasingly toxic anti-migrant rhetoric, with Home Secretary Suella Braverman describing the arrival of asylum seekers on UK shores in overcrowded, fragile boats as an “invasion”.

The government’s callous attitude is underlined by shocking policy failings, as a result of which the most vulnerable are needlessly suffering.  This weekend health professionals raised concerns about the increasing number of children in asylum seeker hotel accommodation being diagnosed with malnutrition. One told the Guardian: “Children are losing weight rapidly, going to school and saying they’re starving, eating two portions of lunch. They are saying that they don’t want to return to the hotel which they describe as ‘prison’.”

The government believes its contempt for migrants will play well with voters ahead of a general election they are almost certain to lose. But voters are unimpressed: Britain is one of the countries with the most positive attitudes towards refugees, a recent survey found.

This year is the 25^th anniversary of the first Refugee Week. Founded in 1998, the aim was to enable people from different backgrounds to:

Form connections and share experiences.

Break down stereotypes pictured in the media about refugees.

Open up meaningful conversations about why people are forced to leave their home countries.

Let people learn about how refugees can become displaced.

Bring awareness about the challenges refugees face when seeking safety.

Help people to understand that no two refugee experiences are the same.

No matter where we come from, all humans deserve the same, equal rights. Anyone could become a refugee, so it’s important to help those that have had to abandon their homes and leave everything that they know behind to start their lives again, build a new home and contribute to the community.

How to celebrate Refugee Week:

• Donate to charities like Refugee Action that are campaigning for a fairer asylum system.
• Share your support for the event on social media with #RefugeeWeek, #SimpleActs and #CompassionIntoAction.
• Buy products and gifts for others made by refugees themselves.
• If you’re a teacher, learn about how to welcome refugees into your school community using our helpful YouTube video.
• Get involved in helping refugees in your local community, or even volunteer with the British Red Cross.
• Create your own Refugee Week event using the official Event Organiser’s Pack.
• Learn more about Refugee Week and its core values in our dedicated Twinkl Teaching Wiki page.
• Head over to Refugee Week’s website, downloading the artwork to share in your school or workplace. The Refugee Week campaign is happy for you to use this, as long as you share the same vision and values as they do.
• Help the next generation to understand compassion for refugees, using Twinkl’s resources below in the classroom and at home.
• Take part in Refugee Week’s new initiative, Simple Acts, to take small steps in making the world a more inclusive and equal place for everyone. You might read a book written by a refugee, watch a film about refugees’ lived experiences and widen your circle of compassion.

More information about resources for Refugee Week here and here.

Find events in your area here.