5 ways to show up and stand up for Refugee Week 2025

Mark your diaries: Refugee Week 2025 is just around the corner! Celebrating the contributions, resilience, and creativity of refugees is an important part of our work every day of the year, and we’re especially pleased to join in this GLOBAL festival from 16 to 22 June 2025.

This year’s theme of Community as a Superpower is a bold reminder of the strength we can share when we come together. Are you looking for an inspiring way to recognise Refugee Week in your community? Do you have a great idea for an event of your own?

Keep reading for our top tips for everyone to become part of this year’s celebrations.

1. Meet with us to plan a Refugee Week event

No matter your background or experiences, there is the resource to help you plan the event of the year for Refugee Week 2025. Check out these specially tailored Refugee Week guides for tricks and tips to guide you through planning an event and making sure it is a success!

If meeting up with others is the key to spark your Refugee Week plans into action, we have an event for that! Join us on 7 May to connect, collaborate, raise awareness, and make meaningful connections.

Orange heart Sign up for the 7 May meeting here 

2. Host a community cinema screening Red cinema seats.

Film is a powerful way to share stories and spark conversations.

This year, there is an extra special programme of films that been curated by our friends at Counterpoints Arts and Other Cinemas.

These films invite us to celebrate the diverse way we build and sustain our communities. Join emergency responders in El Salvador supporting their communities in crisis or experience the familiar smell and taste of home to bring comfort; the possibilities are endless with these fantastic features.

All the carefully curated films can be watched for FREE. Yes really! View at your leisure in the comfort of your home or surrounded by your neighbours at a community screening. There’s no need to get rights or licensing, all have been arranged for the duration of Refugee Week, 16 to 22 June.

Film projector Only thing you need to do is register your interest here and remember to bring the popcorn!

3. Run a community coffee morning Participants listening to each other at a migration heritage workshop.

Create space for connection. A conversation morning can be as simple as tea, coffee, and some thoughtful questions. You may decide to invite local people, join a community group that runs regularly, or gather a collection of allies to come together and talk.

A great idea to get the conversation flowing would be to think about this year’s theme and ask “What does community mean to you?”.

Acts like this are about listening as much as speaking. We find that these small acts of connection can be incredibly meaningful and powerful.

4. Celebrate our stories and history

Getting to know each other through stories can be another fantastic idea to celebrate refugees and our communities. This Refugee Week, we Two people hugging at Ukrainian Independence celebrations. are collaborating with Aberystwyth University to share examples and stories of Wales’ migration history for FREE!

Open book Sign up for Migration, Community & Belonging in Wales 

If you’re interested in hosting your own event on this theme of storytelling and history – the opportunities are endless. You could host a storytelling event, open mic night, book club, or comedy evening – it would make us so happy to hear about whatever you end up planning!

5. Join an event in your local community

Want to discover some amazing events already planned for this year’s festival?

Visit the Refugee Week events page to find out about what’s happening or to get inspired to plan your own opportunities for your community. There are already some exciting ideas on the horizon and publishing your event on the website is the best way to tell people about your special event!