Celebrate Compassion in Action This June at Refugee Week Hong Kong

Grassroots Future, and the UNHCR, alongside other community organisations, team up to commemorate Refugee Week Hong Kong throughout the month of June 2023.

Refugee Week Hong Kong returns for its second edition of the annual open source festival in June 2023 to celebrate the contributions, creativity, and resilience of refugees and people seeking asylum. Co-organised by Grassroots Future, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Hong Kong (UNHCR HK), Justice Centre Hong Kong, Branches of Hope, RUN Hong Kong, Kowloon Union Church, Youth Global Network, Christian Action Centre for Refugees, refugee artists, and other independent collaborators, Refugee Week features a programme of arts, cultural, and educational events to bring together communities across all corners of the city.

Celebrating compassion in action, the event kicked off with a RUN Fashion Show for World Refugee Day at Central Market spotlighting handmade clothing designed and made by RUN refugee and asylum seeker women from RUN’s own Education Programme.

Refugee Week Hong Kong_Celebrate Compassion in Action This June at Refugee Week Hong Kong

@refugeeweekhk

Refugee Week was founded in 1998 to commemorate World Refugee Day (20 June), and is a growing global movement, now marking its second edition in Hong Kong.

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Running throughout June and July is the City Canvas Mural Project by UNHCR with murals on display on Francis Street and Queen’s Road East in Wan Chai, the Viva Blue House, The Vine Church, and Eaton Hotel. Telling the untold stories of the displaced through art, embrace the courage that has taken them so far and reconnect with the local communities they are now part of through these artworks.

UNHCR’s 16th Charity Refugee Film Festival will be held from the 16th of June to 10th of July spotlighting a series of movies and shorts showcasing the importance of inclusion and solutions for refugees. Featured movies include Under the Stars of Paris, Rosemary’s Way, the Academy Award-nominated short Hunger Ward, and Beyond Borders.

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Grassroots Future, the Justice Centre HK, Alison Tan from Savour Cinema and Otium, and Ukranian business Ivan the Kozak will be teaming up for a Tastes From (My) Home: Roots and Recipes multi-course vegetarian dinner engaging 3 cooks from the refugee community on the 16th and 17th of June. Explore questions of home, belonging, and who we are in this intimate dinner.

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Community art project Blobs & Brushes and Grassroots Future will also be co-hosting a Zine Workshop on the 20th of June at the Africa Center where participants will learn how to create a zine with recycled materials.

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A Community Art Exhibition from the 19th to 24th of June organised by Kowloon Union Church, Justice Centre HK, and Global Arts Outreach Project will include music, dance, song, fashion, stand up and storytelling performances celebrating our interconnectedness through art. Additionally, Branches of Hope will be hosting a movie screening and panel discussion on the 24th of June at The Vine Church.

Rounding up Refugee Week, Christian Action will be holding a Celebrating Dignity in Action event at PMQ Courtyard on the 25th of June. Be immersed in an assortment of fun-filled experiences, including henna, tinikling (bamboo dancing), African Djembe try-outs, and mini leather wallet making workshops. Enjoy performances dancing, drumming, and music, performances as well as a cultural diversity fashion show. Join this upbeat cultural extravaganza to learn more about the stories, talents, skills, hopes, and dreams of amazing men and women who do not choose to leave their countries, but are building a new life for their families, free from fear, with dignity, hope and dreams for the future.