UNHCR and UNIQLO unveil “Hope Away from Home” graphic shirt collection to support refugees

BANGKOK ­­– Today, UNIQLO and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, launched the “Hope Away from Home” graphic shirt collection, created to support refugees.

Featuring designs by five young artists from refugee and host communities, the shirts are available in select UNIQLO stores in 12 countries, including six across Asia. Profits will aid UNHCR’s efforts to address emergencies.

The designs were chosen from over 4,000 submissions in the Youth with Refugees Art Contest, which asked young artists to express hope in the face of forced displacement. The shirts are available in select UNIQLO stores across India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, as well as in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. 

“Each shirt tells creatively a powerful story of hope,” said Kelly T. Clements, UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner. “Know that by choosing to wear this t-shirt you will be a part of a broader movement to support the work that UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is doing on the ground, across the globe, in over 135 countries and 550 operations every day to help those fleeing war, conflict and persecution. Your support matters!”

The five UNHCR X UNIQLO art contest winners are Virag, Georgette, Afya, Asifiwe, and Mawardi (from left to right).

© UNHCR

The five artists behind the t-shirts are Asifiwe, a 14-year-old refugee from Burundi resettled to the US; Virag, a 28-year-old humanitarian worker from Hungary; Mawardi, a 20-year-old Ethiopian refugee in Somalia; Afya, a 14-year-old from the US; and Georgette, a 14-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Tanzania. 

“My friends are a source of strength and hope for me,” said Asifiwe, whose friends have found safety in different parts of the world after fleeing war. “We may be separate, but we are together in heart and our memories live on.” 

A jury of refugees, celebrities, artists and designers selected the winning designs. Among them, actress Ella Gross, who promoted the art contest to her 4 million followers, said: “Seeing all these amazing and unique drawings has inspired me and given me a fresh perspective on the true meaning of hope.” 

Also on the jury, the world’s first female Syrian refugee pilot, Maya Ghazal, a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, said: “It’s beautiful to read captions from artists being so passionate about the refugee cause, and to see such unity and compassion from around the globe.”

UNHCR and Fast Retailing (UNIQLO’s parent company) have been collaborating since 2006, through clothing assistance for refugees, self-reliance programmes, refugee employment and awareness campaigns. The shirt collection is named after UNHCR’s wider Hope Away from Home campaign, calling for urgent action and solidarity to protect refugees’ rights all over the globe.