Our City: Our Home, encompassing Refugee Week Norwich (10 - 30th June 2024), all across Norwich!

Celebrating the contributions, creativity, and resilience of refugees and migrants every June, around World Refugee Day (Thur 20th). This year’s program, around the theme of Our City: Our Home, is our biggest ever! New Routes, the Norwich Integration Partnership, Norwich City of Sanctuary, and Welcome Wheels present over 50 events, across three weeks.

The program, from Monday 10th – Sunday 30th June, features open houses, open gardens, a group art exhibition at Anteros Gallery with weekend workshops, wellbeing and history walks, films at Cinema City with Q and A discussions, books-galore including two launches (a national one at Waterstones, and our Families Club's gorgeous book at Anteros), plus music, performance and feasting! Phew!
The (very) full program is here: www.newroutes.org.uk/refugee-week-norwich

Highlights of Our City: Our Home:

- 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).

- 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 and 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.

Alongside these public events runs a series of closed events for refugees, people seeking asylum, and isolated migrants only.

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 was 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.

Home can be more than one place and finding it can be a journey, as it is for so many of us who have to leave our countries and rebuild our lives. Sometimes we can find home in a single person. Other times it’s in a whole community. Often, it’s in a single gesture of care and welcome.

What would happen if this Refugee Week we learn from others’ stories... then extended our warmth and hospitality beyond our own homes, making entire neighbourhoods more welcoming? Taking simple acts like having a chat, walking together, or sending a message of welcome can help everyone feel like they belong. Together, we can work in solidarity ensuring all our neighbours, new and familiar, have safe and welcoming homes.

Others Details

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Instagram: https://go.evvnt.com/2478756-3?pid=6581

Category: Community | Fundraisers | Charities

Artists / Speakers: Rose Feather, Zannie Fraser, The Common Lot, The Sanctuary Ambassadors, Art@Work, Norwich Theatre