Creating a safe and welcoming home this Refugee Week
An exciting week of events is planned for this year’s Refugee Week, running from 17 June to 23 June.
Refugee Week is a worldwide celebration of the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary, centred around World Refugee Day on 20 June.
The theme of this year’s Refugee Week is ‘Our Home’, reflecting on what home means to all of us, from the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet Earth.
Together, this Refugee Week, let’s work in solidarity to make our home a more welcoming, safe and sustainable place for all.
Libraries of Sanctuary
Join our libraries in celebrating the Refugee Week along with a recent award granting all our libraries ‘Libraries of Sanctuary’ status.
The ‘Libraries of Sanctuary’ award recognises the dedication of our libraries and library staff to creating welcoming spaces inclusive to all and making people with lived experience of displacement feel like they are a part of the Brighton & Hove community.
Brighton & Hove libraries have previously become only the second library service in the country to be awarded ‘Library of Sanctuary’, with Jubilee Library receiving this title in 2020.
A thoughtfully curated programme of events and activities suitable for families and individuals of all ages is planned for the week, and library customers can discover related stock collections highlighted in libraries, the online library catalogue and Borrowbox.
Being a City of Sanctuary
The council is currently working with Sussex University and Sanctuary on Sea on a project researching the current situation of welcome and integration in the city.
The project is looking at 4 main areas - health, housing, education and access to legal advice, investigating how well those areas work for the people offering the support and the people experiencing it.
The project continues until 31 July 2024 and is also looking at where Brighton & Hove can learn from inspiring examples in other areas. The aim is to produce a ‘where we are now’ report to help shape and inform future support.
Simple acts of kindness
This year our libraries invite you to join them in showing solidarity by taking part in Simple Acts - everyday actions we can all do, to stand with Refugees and Asylum Seekers and make new connections in our communities.
Every action makes a difference, and when we come together, we are powerful.
What's on in the city's libraries
Live music and poetry from around the world with Best Foot Music
12 noon to 4pm, Saturday 22 June, Jubilee Library ground floor
Join us for a special musical finale to Refugee Week 2024 in Brighton & Hove. You can look forward to the performances of:
- Kurdish folk songs from Suna Alan
- Afghan folk music from Milad Yousofi
- Ukrainian poetry from Vlada & Naomi
- Syrian/Ukrainian fusion band Fol’klor Musiqaa
No need to book, just drop in for free.
Sunday 16 June
Film screening
2pm, Jubilee Library
A screening of an animated documentary film by Amin Nawah & Jonas Poher Rasmussen. The film is rated for over 15s. No need to book, just drop in for free.
Monday 17 June
Refugee Stories for families with children aged 5 and above
4pm to 5pm, Jubilee children's library
Listen to stories about children and their families seeking sanctuary then borrow books to take home with you to explore and discuss. Take part in the creative backpack activity and make a badge of welcome, one for yourself and one to gift. No need to book, just drop in for free.
Wednesday 19 June
The Network of International Women gathering
10am to 12 noon, Jubilee library community space
Celebrating the Refugee Week theme of Our Home at this week's gathering, The Network of International Women invites you to bring an object that is important to you and reminds you of home or a poem or story about home to share. Free snacks and refreshments available, you are welcome to bring food to share if you are able, but it's not a requirement.
This group meets weekly at Jubilee Library and provide a safe space for women from diverse cultures and backgrounds to meet, share experiences and knowledge, and to support one another as well as sew, knit, craft and make friends.
No need to book, just drop in for free.
Thursday 20 June
Story Tree
10am to 12 noon, Jubilee Library community space
If you love stories and are a refugee or asylum seeker who wants to improve your English, join us for a weekly Story Tree session. Refreshments and snacks provided. No need to book, just drop in for free.
Music, journeys and stories from people seeking sanctuary
5.30pm to 6.30pm, Jubilee Library community space
An evening of Sudanese poetry, music from Bashir Al Gamer and readings of people’s lived experiences of seeking sanctuary organised by Brighton & Hove Libraries, Sussex Interpreting Service, Best Foot Music and EuroMernet. No need to book, just drop in for free. Refreshments provided.
Saturday 22 June
Welcome Mat Community Artwork and Tide Mills Choir
12 noon, Jubilee Library information point
A ‘Welcome’ live performance by Tide Mills choir singing a song of solidarity with sanctuary seekers from around the world. No need to book, just drop in for free.
Live music and poetry from around the world
12 noon to 4pm, Jubilee Library ground floor
Join us for a musical finale to Refugee Week 2024 in Brighton & Hove. Kurdish folk songs from Suna Alan, Afghan folk music from Milad Yousofi, Ukrainian poetry from Vlada & Naomi and Syrian/Ukrainian fusion band Fol’klor Musiqaa, brought to you by Brighton & Hove Libraries and Best Foot Music. No need to book, just drop in for free.
Exhibitions and ongoing events
In Limbo | Highlighting life in a hotel photographic exhibition
Monday 17 to Saturday 22 June, Jubilee Library window gallery
The In Limbo photography project is made up of anonymous portraits of adults and children who are seeking asylum and have been housed in temporary hotel accommodation.
Alongside the images, interviews with the subjects are shared and hard-hitting facts and figures about the temporary accommodation provided by the home office, the asylum system and its impacts on people's health and wellbeing.
‘Home: Faraway yet within’ EuroMernet exhibition
Monday 17 to Saturday 22 June, Jubilee Library community space
This exhibition features examples of short creative writing pieces on the topic of home, including stories, poems, song lyrics and statements by current and former refugees in the UK and around the world curated by Umit Ozturk Coordinator of EuroMernet.
For more information and events from Euromernet in Refugee Week, email info@euromernet.org or follow their regular posts on Instagram.
The Launch Pad Collective Welcome Mat
Monday 17 to Sunday 23 June, Jubilee Library information point
The Launch Pad Collective's community artwork installation, a giant ‘Welcome Mat’ created by community groups from Brighton & Hove and nationwide will be on display.
Storytime for preschool children and their parents and carers
We extend a warm welcome to all families to join us for storytime sessions celebrating diversity and inclusion.No need to book, just drop in for free.
- Monday 17, Tuesday 18, Thursday 20, & Friday 21 June, 10.15am, Jubilee children’s library
- Monday 17 and Wednesday 19 June, 10.15am, Hove children’s library
- Tuesday 18 June, 10.15am, Saltdean children’s Library
- Wednesday 19 June, 10.15am, Coldean children’s Library
Refugee Week creative backpack activity for families
Monday 17 to Sunday 23 June, all Brighton & Hove libraries when staffed
Home can be found in smells, tastes, and sounds. In the clothes we wear to the words we grew up with. It’s in food, music, and arts. It’s in our cultures and in our landscapes.
To explore what being a refugee might feel like, imagine you have to suddenly flee your home with only a backpack. What 5 things would you take with you?
What’s on in the city
For a full programme of events marking the Refugee Week, visit the Sanctuary on Sea website.