About Refugee Week

Refugee Week is an international initiative coordinated by Counterpoint Arts, https://counterpointsarts.org.uk/. It exists both to raise awareness of the reasons why people are forced to seek refuge – persecution, war, poverty and conflict – and also to celebrate the contributions made by refugees and asylum-seekers to the economic, cultural and social life of the city. It began nationally in 1998 as a direct reaction to hostility in the media and society in general towards refugees and asylum seekers. It is now one of the leading initiatives working to counter this negative climate, defending the importance of sanctuary and the benefits it can bring to both refugees and ‘host’ communities.

This year is the 25th Anniversary of Refugee Week, and Counterpoint has set the theme of ‘compassion’ to unite Refugee Week festivals running globally. They write that ‘For Refugee Week’s 25th anniversary we invite you to celebrate what compassion looks like in action. Together we can create a shared understanding of compassion to ensure we are extending it widely to all.

“Our task must be to free ourselves – by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”- Albert Einstein


The last few years have been challenging for all of us. We are still adjusting to new realities post-lockdown as well as responding to new crises. In the UK, dangerous anti-migration government rhetoric continues, along with inhumane conditions for asylum seekers.

But, none of these things happen in isolation. We know how interconnected our world is: how something seemingly “far away” impacts everyone. All of this makes us even more aware of the need to widen our circles of compassion. Within our own experiences are all the tools we need to be compassionate, not just to ourselves and those in our immediate circle but to all our human neighbours and our one shared home, planet earth.

About Nottingham Refugee Week

In Nottingham, we run our own annual festival. We are unusual in that we are an entirely volunteer-run non-profit organisation, and rely wholly on the generosity and commitment of people and organisations across Nottingham in order to exist. We run through a voluntary organising committee consisting of an annually elected Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. We hold monthly online committee meetings that all partners and contributors are welcome to attend. Membership is open to all local individuals/organisations who share our values and commit to our aims to:

• Promote Nottingham Refugee Week though arts, education, sport and culture events which raise awareness about the issues people face when seeking refuge or asylum

• Provide information and support to groups/organisations who want to plan local activities/events during Refugee Week

• Build opportunities for collaboration and create connections to national and international networks
• Encourage community cohesion and integration

• Advocate for active consultation, participation and engagement with communities who have lived experience of seeking refuge or asylum, with the aim of being led by affected peoples.

We do not currently receive any government funding. Community collaborators often gift us with resources in kind (no charge) such as venue hire and marketing support and we regularly apply for funding from regional and national sources. If you would like to donate please get in touch or contribute through your PayPal account to @NottsRW or send donations through our Go Fund me page.

Any person or organisation can offer an event for Nottingham Refugee Week, and there are many ways to contribute to the festival. Please do get in touch [please link to contacts] to find out how you can contribute to next year’s festival!

If you are a person currently seeking asylum, please note that all events are free to you, and you are able to reclaim your bus travel costs to events from us. Please drop us an email via the Contact page to let us know which events you’re coming to.

Celebrations in Nottingham usually include a variety of events and activities organised by various individuals and organisations across the city – our amazing “community collaborators”. We raise awareness of issues through Refugee Week, build local networks and support partners to plan and deliver events with and for local communities for the benefit of all. We aim to prioritise the voices and views of people with lived experience of seeking refuge and asylum. We warmly invite you to attend events, taste foods, listen to music, ask questions, share stories, dance joyfully and meet new people!

We do not currently receive any government funding. Community collaborators often gift us with resources in kind (no charge) such as venue hire and marketing support and we regularly apply for funding from regional and national sources.  If you would like to donate please get in touch or contribute through your PayPal account to @NottsRW or send donations through our Go Fund me page.

THANK YOU to all our partners, funders, volunteers, committee members and visitors who have supported us throughout the years and continue to do so…