In the aftermath of the heart-breaking shipwreck off Pylos in Greece, that continues to shock us and fill us with deep sorrow, we cannot but mark this World Refugee Day humbled and with the profound acknowledgement that this world is tragically short on solutions for people forced to flee.
This World Refugee Day, on 20 June 2023, we invite you at T.A.F. / The Art Foundation (5 Normanou Street, Monastiraki) from 6 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. to join together with the people who have been forced to flee their homes in an event dedicated to their voices and creativity, as well as our mutual need for solidarity and inclusion.
The event is organized as part of the Refugee Week Greece cultural festival, which is taking place for the second time in Greece, from 19 to 25 June, focused on the theme of compassion in action.
The event includes:
18.00-19.15 Open discussion “Refugees speaking to refugees”, 1st floor
Focusing on women’s empowerment and inclusion, Yana Danyuk and Soodabeh Balesini share their stories and describe their own perspective on the difficulties of the refugee integration process and what helped them keep hope alive and overcome obstacles. Yana, a refugee from Ukraine, will talk about her career path and how she came to have her own clothing and jewellery collection. Soodabeh from Iran talks about her journey in Greece and how she has managed to work as an interpreter today.
19.30 – 21.00 “Athens and its Voices: Filming with Compassion in the City’”, 1st floor
Part A: This “Compass Films” selection explores the complexity and ethics of filming on social issues in the city of Athens and presents the “Video and Storytelling Lab“, an interactive workshop implemented by Karpos, Center of Education & Intercultural Communication, with the support of UNHCR. In the framework of the workshop, 15 Greeks, refugees and migrants enhanced their skills in narration and video production and created five short films, working in groups. The valuable experience of this powerful collaboration will be shared through the lenses of the workshop participants and their trainers. “Compass Films” will also present the independent filmmaker Myriam Rey, who has worked with refugee women in Athens. Finally, Karpos will screen two films from the video-making workshops within the European project Speak Up! Media For Inclusion. During these workshops young refugees who were staying in Athens in 2021 were taught the principles of filmmaking and created their own films.
Part B: Ornela and George, participants of the Video and Storytelling Lab, the Lab trainer and Director Maria Leonida and the filmmaker Myriam Rey, discuss how filming can be a vehicle of compassion in action and the social impact it can have.
Parallel activities
12.00 – 21.00 “Living in-between”, 1st floor: Nine artists and art groups, including with refugee background, will engage in a multimedia conversation with the refugee past and present, the concept of mutual aid, their personal view of compassion, the cruelty of uprooting and the reality of refugees’ daily lives. The exhibition Living in-between is open at T.A.F. from 19 to 25 June, from 12.00 to 20.00.
18.00-21.00 “Makers Market”, Ground floor: Displaced women present their handmade creations and invite us to a workshop on handmade pins, while sharing cultural elements and traditions from Ukraine and Iran.
18.00 – 21.00 Recreational activities for children, Ground floor: Refugee and migrant women who have been trained in the context of the “Childcare Assistants” project implemented by METAdrasi with the support of UNHCR, will run during the event recreational activities for our little friends in a designated space for children.
Entry to the event is free. See the detailed programme of the Refugee Week Greece festival here.
UNHCR and World Refugee Day 2023
Each year on 20 June, the world honours the strength and courage of millions of people who have been forced to flee their homes. World Refugee Day 2023 under the theme ‘Hope away from Home’ focuses on the power of inclusion and solutions for refugees calling for a world where refugees are always included. Learn more here.
About Refugee Week Greece
Refugee Week Greece is part of a global and dynamic movement, a cultural festival celebrating the contribution, creativity and authenticity of people forced to flee. Refugee Week is a platform in which all are welcome to take part in, whether it is attending or organising an event, activity or workshop. Already, prominent refugee organisations in Greece are participating by sharing their message of solidarity, inclusion and social equality. It is a community-led, all welcome, fully accessible festival.
Through the 2023 theme, which invites us to explore what compassion looks like in action, Refugee Week Greece hosts activities open to the public, including communities at its core.
The festival is coming to Greece with the initiative of Athens Comics Library and We are Community in collaboration with Counterpoints Arts, supported by Comic Relief Across Borders programme. It is held for the second time in Greece from 19 to 25 June on the occasion of World Refugee Day.
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
