World Refugee Day 2003: Italy

On June 20, a conference was held at the Chamber of Deputies, with participants like the Italian Ministers of Interior and Social Affairs, UNHCR's Representative in Italy and a young refugee. It was attended by NGOs, university students and youth organisations.

The Chamber was also the venue of an African art exhibition, "The Flight and the Memory", by Ghanaian artists. Another art exhibition, "Contemporary Art for Refugees", showcased works donated by 44 famous contemporary Italian artists. These works were later auctioned in collaboration with Christie's auction house and S. Salvatore Museum, with proceeds going to a UNHCR project for malnourished children in Guinea, Tanzania, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In the municipality of Rome, a series of events were held to mark World Refugee Day, including theatre performances, movie screenings, football games and art expositions.

To raise awareness among young Italians, the Scouts association distributed World Refugee Day materials in their summer camps for 25,000 teenagers.