Refugee Week Events 13 – 20 June 2020
Saturday 13 June Sunday 14 June Monday 15 June Tuesday 16 June
Wednesday 17 June Thursday 18 June Friday 19 June Saturday 20 June
Sunday 21 June
Imagining A More Welcoming Australia
Recorded on World Refugee Day Saturday June 20th July 2020, this video
is an edited version of the World Refugee Day forum and features the online discussion
with panel members:
This forum was hosted by the Australian Refugee Action Network (ARAN).
Refugee Week 13 – 20 June
Add your events to this listing via the ARAN Contact Page form
with the subject line: Refugee Week event information.
You can also register your event on the Refugee Council calendar by sending details to https://action.refugeecouncil.org.au/create_event.
There’s more Refugee Week information on the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) Refugee Week website.
The Countdown To World Refugee Day
(Saturday June 20)
• The Social Media Campaign
Please ‘like’ or follow the Speaking Up for Refugees Facebook page and share our posts, ideally with a short comment.
• Winter 2020
Watch this video (on YouTube) from the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre.
• Local Actions
At the beginning of June, Victoria’s South Gippsland Rural Australians for Refugees held an action in Wonthaggi to preview and highlight Refugee Week June 13-20.
Here’s how the local paper, The South Gippsland Sentinel Times, reported it
Refugee Week 13 – 20 June
All times mentioned below are AEST (unless otherwise indicated).
Are you planning an action or event for Refugee Week? ARAN is keen to promote the activities of member groups and other support groups:
• add your events to the ARAN website via the ARAN Contact Page form with the subject line: Refugee Week event information
• check the events listed at https://aran.net.au/actions/#rwe
• register your event on the Refugee Council calendar by sending details to https://action.refugeecouncil.org.au/create_event.
Refugee Week Events: Share These With Your Friends
All Week
• Contact Politicians During Refugee Week
Tell them: “this is the year of welcome – now is the time for change!”
The key messages are:
• We can give protection to people who need safety
• We can support refugees in the community while their
claims are resolved
• We can give permanent visas and allow people to become the
productive Australian citizens they wish to be
• We can change the policies now.
Find draft emails and contact lists on the ARAN Actions page.
• An Online art exhibition featuring the work of Farhad Bandesh: Musician, visual artist and, at present, a refugee in detention in Melbourne. As a Refugee Welcome Zone, Darebin City Council is proud to host the Northsiders with Refugees online art exhibition featuring the work of Farhad Bandesh
• Read this related article by long-time advocate and friend of refugees Arnold Zable
• Have a look at the Ballarat Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR) video on YouTube: Welcome Refugees and People Seeking Asylum. Also, watch the group’s videos about their activities over the last 18 months (pre-Covid).
• Grandmothers for Refugees NSW June 2020 Virtual Vigil
A Covid-19 alternative to Sydney Queen Victoria Building lunch time vigil on the first Tuesday of each month. View it on YouTube.
• SBS On Demand Films for Refugee Week
To honour the stories of refugees all around the world, a collection curated by the Immigration Museum. View them on SBS Movies.
Saturday 13 June
Day of Action – End Detention – Free The Refugees
• Organise a local action to be part of the day of action: send the details to the ARAN Contact Page form and we will help to promote your event.
• Brisbane: 2.00pm to 4.00pm
721 Main St, Kangaroo Point
With Asylum Seekers in Brisbane Detention. More details on Facebook.
• Sydney: 2.00pm to 4.00pm
Free the refugees: National day of action: Sydney Town Hall
Hosted by Refugee Action Coalition Sydney RAC and Pride in Protest
More detail on Facebook.
• Melbourne: 2.00pm to 3.00pm
Detention is a COVID risk: Free the Refugees
MITA, 150 Camp Rd, Broadmeadows AND Mantra Bell City Preston
Hosted by Refugee Action Collective (Victoria)
More detail on Facebook.
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Sunday June 14
• On ‘Welcome’: Migration, First Nations and Refugee Communities – 6.15pm
For the official Refugee Week 2020 launch, panelists from first nations and refugee communities take a deep dive into the meaning of ‘welcome’ and the intersections of indigenous and refugee rights. Hosted in collaboration with the Wheeler Centre.
Watch this event on the Wheeler Centre website.
• Newcastle Amnesty: Opposite sides of the fence:
Zaki and Zac 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear from both sides of the immigration detention fence, as Amnesty International hosts an online conversation between Zaki Haidari (asylum seeker and RACS – Refugee Advice and Casework Service Ambassador) and Z T Quinn (former Manus Island Support Worker and author of Sanlundia). Other speakers to be announced.
Broadcast on Zoom and YouTube Live.
• Each day from Sunday 14 June to Saturday 20 June at 10.00 am & 7.00 pm:
Online screenings of The Staging Post. Meet the refugees stuck in Indonesia and learn about their refugee-led education revolution. Each screening will include an introduction to the star of the film and a Q&A with the refugee community in Indonesia. To register or for more information email: jolyon@cisarualearning.com or muzafar@cisarualearning.com
• BR4R 2020 Seeking Asylum Poetry Prize
Entries are now open for 2020 Bellina Region for Refugees poetry prize. This year’s theme is Holding Patterns. Prizes and publishing opportunity: 50 line limit. Entries close on Sunday 16 August. Find out more on the BR4R website.
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Monday 15 June
• Six Online Events Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group:
Monday 15 June – Saturday 4 July:
Refugee Week: Celebrating the ‘Year of Welcome’ Online Sessions.
Register on Humanitix.
• Moreland Refugee Week: My New Neighbour series
Barbara Reekman with Sami and Roaa who run the Harmony & Symphony
Syrian Food Truck. Monday 15th June 10.30am – 11.30am.
More details including registrations on Eventbrite and Facebook.
• Words Without Borders: Monday 15 June 6.15pm
An evening of spoken word and poetry performed by members of Australia’s Refugee communities, in collaboration with The Wheeler Centre.
Watch it on the Wheeler Centre website
• Screening of Music From Manus-Five Days Not Five Years
and a Q & A with singer-songwriter Dawn Barrington and Moz, a refugee currently in detention at the Mantra hotel, Melbourne. Monday 15 June
at 6.30 pm. Hosted by Refugee Action Collective Illawarra.
More detail on Facebook.
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Tuesday 16 June
• Forum on Strategic Regional Welcoming: Midday to 1.00 pm.
There’s more detail on the Humantix Refugee Week: Celebrating the ‘Year of Welcome’ Online Sessions.
• Voices from the front line: Midday
Refugee women and COVID-19: Refugee and asylum seeking women and leaders of frontline services share their experiences of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. There’s more information at refugeecouncil.org.au.
• Grandmothers NSW acknowledge Refugee Week: an online interview with Syrian refugee Marella Mourad, interviewed by Sarah and Maya Ghassali, 18 year old Syrian born twins, who host the award-winning podcast
Refugees On Air. Find out more on the Grandmothers website.
• Neighbourhoods of Covid-19: in conversation with Ali Al Battaat
Tuesday 16 June 2020 between 7.30 pm and 9.30 pm
An Amnesty International Australia Zoom event discussing how people with refugee backgrounds are making our neighbourhoods much brighter, especially during the past few months! RSVP via this Google form.
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Wednesday 17 June
• Victoria: Yarra Refugee Week: You Can Ask That
In Conversation with Nayran: Wednesday 17 June 12.30pm -1.30pm
More details, including registration, on the Yarra Council website and Facebook.
• Global storytelling night: 6.00 pm – 7.00 pm
From the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) in partnership with Refugee Week UK. Join four amazing people from around the world as they share their stories of ‘welcome’ and ‘imagination’, based on this year’s themes. MC’ed by the awesome Mariam Issa.
More detail and how to RSVP on the RCOA website.
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Thursday 18 June
• Multicultural Australia’s free online concert to celebrate Refugee Week Celebrates the stories, resilience and strength of refugees and asylum seekers and the contribution they make to Queensland. Spoken word artists, poets and storytellers plus live music and dance.
Thursday 18 June, Midday to 1.00pm (live stream)
Thursday 18 June, 8.00pm to 9.00pm (repeat)
Saturday 20 June from 8.00pm to 9.0pm (repeat)
Find out more on Multicultural Australia’s Facebook page.
• Foundations for Belonging: 1.00 pm
Join ABC’s Lydia Feng in conversation with Shanthi Robertson (Western Sydney University), Dor Achiek (Settlement Services International) and Shukufa Tahiri (Refugee Council of Australia) for this special Australia at Home event.
• 2020 UNHCR World Refugee Day Live Online Event
Thursday 18 June 2020 4.00 pm – 5.00 pm AEST
A live and in-depth conversation with UNHCR Special Representative Marta Dusseldorp, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Cate Blanchett AC and UNHCR frontline staff and other high profile supporters from around the world about how they are responding and how we can all make a difference.
Tickets $60: Book on Humanitix.
• Refugee Advice and Casework Service
Stories of Courage and Resilience: Refugee Week 2020
at 5.10pm on Facebook.
People seeking asylum and refugees are facing challenges in Australia and around the world. Join us as we explore these issues and gain a snapshot into life in the world’s largest refugee camp – Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh.
• Child immigration detention in Australia Webinar
The End Child Detention Coalition is holding a free online webinar to discuss the issue of child immigration detention in Australia. Hosted by Hayat Akbari, Chair of the Youth Working Group at the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network, with pediatrician Professor David Issacs and lawyer/advocate Alison Battisson founder of Human Rights for All.
Thursday, 18 June at 6.00 pm AEST
Register on Zoom.
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Friday 19 June
• Bendigo rally: 4.00 pm
View Street end of Rosalind Park
More details on Facebook.
• Celebrating Women Refugees & Resilience: 4.00 pm AEST
Book on Humanitix.
• For Sama: 7.30 pm
Tune in for this special screening of Oscar-nominated and multi-award winning film For Sama. Presented by the Refugee Council of Australia in partnership with the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival.
• Hobart Honkathon
Friday June 19 after dark
More information is on the Amnesty Tasmania Refugee Rights Facebook page.
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Saturday 20 June
• Imagining a more welcoming Australia
An ARAN World Refugee Day Online forum
Saturday 20 June, 1.00 pm – 2.00 pm AEST
Join this discussion with special guests including Angela Fredericks (Back to Biloela campaigner) and Najeeba Wazefadost founder of Asia Pacific Network of Refugees and Gender Advocate Settlement Services International. Moz will join the forum from the Mantra. This forum is hosted by the Australian Refugee Action Network (ARAN).
Join us on Zoom to imagine a more welcoming Australia.
The meeting ID is 941 8188 2576.
• Brisbane Mass Rally: End the Cruelty – Let Them Hug!
2.00pm at 721 Main St. Kangaroo Point.
Hosted by Refugee Solidarity Brisbane and others
There’s more detail on Facebook Events.
• Afternoon Tea with Grandmothers and Friends
Reading the Lives of Refugees
An online event: 2.00 pm – 4.00 pm
Invite your family and friends to join you for afternoon tea, hear the stories and join the discussion afterwards with author Christine Cummins. When we welcome people into our homes, we usually offer tea. We sit together, get to know each other. Grandmothers for Refugees invite you to welcome refugees by hearing what they shared with Christine Cummins as told in her book, Dignity in a Teacup: True stories of courage and sacrifice from Christmas Island.
Hosted by Grandmothers for Refugees.
Join via Zoom anytime between 2.00 pm and 4.00 pm.
• WA Online Solidarity Protest (#RefugeeWeek)
Hosted by Amnesty WA Refugee Rights Group. We are asking people to upload messages of support and solidarity at midday AWST with the hashtags #GameOver, #RefugeeWeek, and #FreeTheRefugees.
There’s more detail on Facebook Events.
• South Gippsland Victoria
Wonthaggi Community House Gathering
Here’s how the local paper, The South Gippsland Sentinel Times, reported it
• World Refugee Day Telethon
Saturday 20 June 2020
Join the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) for the 5th annual telethon celebrating the strength and resilience of refugees and a $750,000 fundraising goal to support people seeking asylum. This year the ASRC Telethon will be a live online fundraising appeal.
Find out more at asrc.org.au/telethon and on Facebook. Also, sign up for alerts at https://bit.ly/3cgCeZX and get live notifications when all the performances and interviews are happening.
• Humanists Victoria: Helping Rainbow Refugees in Kenya
Zoom Meeting: 3:30 pm to 4:30pm
Guest Speaker: Ian Seal from Many Coloured Sky
World Refugee Day also coincides with Pride Day being celebrated by some African LGBT groups. World Humanist Day is on Sunday 21 June.
Register to attend on the Humanists Victoria website.
• Refugee Action Collective Illawarra: Special Forum with Q&A
Saturday 20 June 20 6.00 pm
Speakers will outline the plight of refugees and asylum seekers under COVID19. Speakers include prominent barrister Julian Burnside, author Mark Isaacs, human rights lawyer Alison Battisson and a representative of the National Refugee Led Advisory and Advocacy Group. More detail on Facebook.
• Multicultural Australia’s free online concert to celebrate Refugee Week Celebrates the stories, resilience and strength of refugees and asylum seekers and the contribution they make to Queensland. Spoken word artists, poets and storytellers plus live music and dance.
Saturday 20 June from 8.00pm to 9.0pm.
Find out more on Multicultural Australia’s Facebook page.
• Asylum Seekers Centre NSW Refugee Week Movie Night
Saturday 20 June in your own home.
Get your Refugee Week Movie Night Ticket.
Additional information
There’s more Refugee Week information on the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) Refugee Week website, including all of the 2020 resources; posters, resource packs and more. You can also read about our incredible ambassadors.
Receive a daily update during Refugee Week to let you know what’s happening every day and share with people who might be interested.
The Campaign Continues
Sunday 21 June
• Brisbane Rally
End the Cruelty – Let Them Hug Their Families
Changed Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Changed Location: Raymond Park, Baines Street, Kangaroo Point.
Was: 2.00pm 721 Main St, Kangaroo Point.
