Refugee week celebrations across Norwich 

Norwich charity New Routes is organising a packed programme of events for Refugee Week from June 10.  Our City: Our Home involves celebrations across the city for everyone, including a peace camp, open garden, wellbeing walk, music and film events.
 

Refugee Week is the world’s largest Arts & Culture festival!

In Norwich this celebration of our new community members’ contributions, creativity and resilience has grown solidly year on year – now across three packed weeks of 45+ events ( 10 – 30th June ).

The celebration is coordinated by New Routes Integration, working closely with the Norwich Integration Partnership, and City of Sanctuary. Events are hosted by everyone from the Cathedral, UEA/ Norfolk schools network, businesses, not-for-profit charities, Theatre Norwich, the Library Service, Cinema City and many others.
This  year’s launch, on Sunday 9th, is kindly hosted and attended by the Dean of Norwich Cathedral, The Lord Mayor, Sheriff and Civic Heads of supportive organisations, alongside refugees, asylum seekers and isolated migrants. Bringing every strand of Norwich life together, over delicious African Kitchen food. 
The program, from Monday 10th – Sunday 30th June, features open houses, open gardens, an art exhibition with workshops, wellbeing and history walks, films with Q&A discussions, books-galore including two launches, and music, performance and feasting!  Phew!

The full program is here:  www.newroutes.org.uk/refugee-week-norwich  

Highlights of Our City: Our Home include:

• The Migration Matters Fair, at The Forum on Saturday 22nd June. Meet Norwich’s Integration charities, plus performances of I Will Heal (The Sanctuary Ambassadors, with Common Lot members perform poetry about settling in Norwich).
• A Housewarming for New Routes, at 15 St Martin-at-Palace-Plain, on Tuesday 11th June. Little presentations of the services provided at New Routes, with a community meal.
• Our City: Our Home Group Show at Anteros Art Gallery during the 3 weeks, including weekend art workshops, a Public Open View (evening of Thursday 13th, and the launch of our Families Club’s very own book of stories! 
• Sanctuary Ambassadors Launch at the Garage, Thursday 20th June.  This diverse group of refugees aim to change the dialogue around seeking refuge, and influence health, education, research and systems policies – their next mission: training City Council workers through conversational sharing, and showing the film they have made about settling in Norwich: Rediscovering Home.
• Losing Us film showing and Q&A, at Cinema City, Saturday 29th June.  Locally made, using actors with lived experience, this beautiful but brutal short film examines modern trafficking. Followed by discussion with the Films Director, writer and an actor.  Bonus showing of Rediscovering Home by The Sanctuary Ambassadors too! 
• The Schools Day of Welcome.  Last year taking in 531 UK schools, 216 from the eastern region.  Provides free, live activities and resources for Teachers and pupils of all ages. Especially useful for those seeking to gain Schools of Sanctuary Awards. Register: schools.cityofsanctuary.org/a-day-of-welcome 

Other highlights of this jam-packed program include:  

an Open-mic night for local talent at Theatre Norwich’s Stage Two, and performances in the library for International Make Music Day, the launch of Tawseef Khan’s first novel following Muslim, Actually and The Muslim Problem, at Waterstones, and writing workshops using Norfolk’s archives and current materials by New Routes participants.  Of note are the open gardens:  The Bishop of Norwich’s outstanding garden on Sunday 23rd, Grapes Hill Community Garden on Sunday 30th (with ice-cream van!), and photographic competition and exhibition at Waterloo Park on Saturday 29th. Walking tours and pop-up performances sprinkled throughout (details in our program), led by The Common Lot.  And not least the Welcome Feast, finale at St Catherine’s on Sunday 30th. 

Communications, Partnerships & Development Coordinator Alaine Mukene-Drew said, "More than ever Norwich’s refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers themselves have brought their ideas, talents, volunteering to support the programme.  Some Our City events will be closed to the public, as safe spaces for these participants to enjoy. Every event has free spaces, food, and travel for participants to access. The celebrations raise funds for Welcome Wheels – where sanctuary seekers receive refurbished, donated bikes.  These make a monumental difference – enabling independence, access to language classes, advice appointments, the city, opportunities, socialising, physical and mental health activities, taking kids to school, and more."

Pictured: Some of the events from last year's Refugee Week