Monday, July 02, 2012
STARs Come Out for Refugee Week 2012
1000s of STARs, refugees and people across the UK got together this June for Refugee Week, celebrating the contribution of refugees to the UK and delivering an important message: Refugees Welcome Here!
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After gearing up for Refugee Week with an inspiring STAR Committee Training on June 16th, here are just some of the exciting things STAR got up to.
STARs united in London: Casablanca at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Refugee Week rook over the Victoria and Albert museum on Friday and recreated scenes from the iconic film Casablanca. STAR members from Cambridge, Leeds, London Met and LSE worked hard to build the displays and host the event.
STAR volunteer Muna said,“It was fantastic to be there! The music was just brilliant and I had such a great day showing people around.”
Sussex STAR
Our newest group, Sussex STAR, celebrated its first Refugee Week with a STARtastic screening of the film How Long is Indefinite? The film, which is about detention in the UK, was followed by a talk with the film’s producer, Alexis Wood, a representative from Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group and the founder of Afghan Voice Radio.
This is just the start for Sussex STAR. We can’t wait to see what else they get up to!
Goldsmiths STAR
Students at Goldsmiths and guests of all ages took part in a creative afternoon full of fun and games to find out more about refugees. Over the course of day, STAR volunteers spoke to over 100 people, educating, inspiring and changing minds about refugees. Go Goldsmiths STARs!
Swansea STAR
Swansea STARs got active volunteering at a new interactive exhibition called The Container at the National Waterfront museum. The exhibition – set up in shipping container – dispels myths and stereotypes about refugees and asylum seekers and recreates the refugee experience for visitors as they walk through rooms. Latefa from Swansea STAR said,
“The event was fantastic, and important! We surveyed 49 members of the public about their attitudes to refugees and some of the answers were far off.
One person claimed that in the small area of Townhill in Swansea alone there were 10,000 refugees…from Sweden! This is not even a refugee producing country.
It was also very interesting when we asked people what they would take with them if they were forced to flee. Most students said their laptop or i-pod, but some other members of the public said their kids. I thought, maybe you can’t take your kids because of passports or visas…”
Dancers and musicians performed alongside the exhibition in addition to workshops on drama, digital media and art. Congratulations to our creative Swansea STARs!
Manchester STAR
Manchester STARs teamed up with City of Sanctuary once more to run the interactive exhibition Escape to Safety. The exhibition aims to give people a sense of what it might be like to flee persecution and claim asylum in another country. One Manchester STAR member reported that someone approached her having completed the tour to say, “Thanks for this, I just had no idea…”
STAR Manchester also teamed up with City of Sanctuary to host a celebratory Refugee Week dinner to mark an end to their week-long festivities.
What a fab end to a STARtastic year. All that’s left to say is, Happy Refugee Week!
Posted by STAR team on 02/07/2012 at 05:01 PM
