What is Refugee Week?
Refugee week is a yearly week-long festival that is celebrated across the world, but what is refugee week and how can you get involved? Find out more below.
World Refugee Day takes place on 20 June, and every year the UK celebrates Refugee Week around this date. Refugee Week 2025 will run from 16th – 22nd June.
This programme of cultural events, sport, community arts and education highlights and celebrates refugees’ unique contributions to our national and local culture. It also aims to create dialogue and understanding about why people flee their homeland in search of safety and seek asylum abroad.
How is Refugee Week celebrated?
By holding lots of different, fun events throughout the country, Refugee Week brings asylum-seekers together with other members of the general public. Film screenings, football matches, public talks and theatre performances – these are just some of the events you can take part in over the course of the week. Refugee Week is an umbrella festival, so if you have an idea for an event, there are plenty of ways to get involved.
How did Refugee Week start?
Refugee Week was established in 1988 to counter negative depictions of refugees in the media, and to overcome community objections. The events and educational opportunities of the programme are now an annual highlight for people all over the country. It is operated by Counterpoints Arts in partnership with UNHCR, the British Red Cross, the National Education Union, Refugee Action, Oxfam, and many other national and international organisations.
What is Refugee Week’s theme for 2026?
Each year there is a new theme which encourages conversations throughout the celebrations.
This year, the theme for Refugee Week 2026 is courage. Inspired by the lives of people seeking sanctuary, it celebrates the courage that refugees show every day – facing unknown journeys, rebuilding lives, and stepping into an uncertain world. Courage isn’t only theirs to carry: Refugee Week invites all of us to share in it: to welcome, to connect, and to stand for what we believe in.
The guiding principles of Refugee Week 2026
More than anything, Refugee Week aims to celebrate the talents and contributions of refugees. While no one should feel like they need to ‘prove‘ themselves in order to find a safe home, it’s important to give people the space to demonstrate their unique skills and stories.
It’s open to everyone
Everyone can take part, and organisers aim to remove all barriers to participation.
There is a bigger ‘us’
While everyone has their own experiences and differing access to power and resources, everyone can come together to create an interconnected ‘us.’
There is power in the arts
Arts and cultural events can help people understand other perspectives and give them insight into refugees’ experiences.
A platform for stories
Refugee Week provides a platform for people to share their unique stories.
Leadership
Whenever possible, leadership on refugee initiatives should come from people who have relevant lived experience.
A diverse group
Refugees are not a single entity – every refugee has their own experience based on their age, gender, class, race and sexuality. No one narrative speaks to their diverse experiences.