Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. Established in 1998 in the UK, this annual festival aligns with World Refugee Day, celebrated globally on June 20th. Refugee Week is for everyone. It’s a community-powered festival and everyone can get involved!
This year, Refugee Week will run from Monday 17 to Sunday 23 June and the theme is 'Our Home'. From the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet earth: everyone is invited to celebrate what our Our Home means to them. Find out more about the 'Our Home' theme here: refugeeweek.org.uk/theme-2024-ourhome/
We're proud to say there is an abundance of support across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. Together, this Refugee Week, let’s practice our solidarity and make Our Home a more welcoming, safe and sustainable place for all. Whether you build your own event or activity around a simple act or simply take part during Refugee Week, you’ll be part of a movement of people everywhere taking small steps to create a big change.
Our information below captures some of the amazing events happening throughout the week in our communities, and the support that continues throughout the year. We hope you find this inspiring and can get involved in whatever way you can.
Oldham Events and Activities
| Organisation | Event Information | Date/Time | Location |
| Action Together | Funding News! A new strand of our One Oldham Fund for VCFSE groups and organisations that are locally rooted or actively working in Oldham is 'Creating Pathways to Volunteering for Asylum Seekers and Refugees'. Formally constituted members of Action Together can apply for up to £3,000 to support asylum seekers and refugees to engage in volunteering. More details about this grant, and how to apply will be released soon but you can register to attend our Meet the Funder session HERE | Thursday 18 July, 11am-12pm | Online via Zoom |
| British Red Cross | Refugee Week Event featuring henna, sewing and craft, gardening workshop, face painting, lunch and refreshments with live music from DJ Sarmad. | Thursday 19 June, 10am-2pm | Oldham Baptist Church, OL1 1BA |
| Oldham Council | Sanctuary Seekers Hub Celebration Event including food, activities, gaming and signposting of their services. | Thursday 20 June, 1pm-3pm | Failsworth Library |
Rochdale Events and Activities
| Organisation | Event Information | Date/Time | Location |
| British Red Cross | Refugee Week Celebration with photography and banner exhibitions. Throughout the event there will be food, music, face painting, henna and more. There will also be crafts with Touchstones Museum. For more details contact: lorrainekerr@redcross.org.uk | Monday 17 June, 10am-2pm | St Mary's Church, St Mary's Gate, Rochdale OL16 1AP |
| The Culture Co-op | Artist talk with Curators Viktoria Bavykina and Maksym Gorbatsky, Photographer Igor Chekachkov, and Director of Open Eye Gallery Sarah Fisher. To book a place please contact: info@theculturecoop.org by 17 June. | Tuesday 18 June, 4:40pm-6:30pm | Ukrainian Centre, Mere St, Rochdale OL11 1HJ |
| Rochdale Borough Council | Free event for refugees, local residents who are interested in finding out more about the refugee experience and volunteering opportunities, professionals and practitioners. Find out more: Refugee Week Celebration | Wednesday 19 June, 10am-1pm | Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1XU |
| Hope Football | RAFC welcomes Asylum Seekers and all refugees to Hope Football Club, and they are holding a football tournament on Wednesday 19 June. They also hold weekly sessions every Wednesday, 5pm-7pm. Find out more: www.rochdaleafccommunity.org/hope-football/ or contact: liz.cotterill@rochdaleafc.co.uk | Wednesday 19 June | Rochdale AFC Community Trust, Crown Oil Arena OL11 5DR |
| KYP | Kashmir Youth Project will be holding an Eid-al-Adha festival with activities including henna painting, arts, crafts and more. Please contact: Asma@kyp.org.uk as numbers are limited. | Thursday 20 June, 1pm-5pm | KYP, Unity House (Apna Ghar), Belfield Road, Rochdale OL16 2UP |
| ESOL Hopwood Hall College | ESOL at Hopwood Hall College is going to transform their department into different rooms of a home for a STUDENT ONLY event with health and well-being activities such as football, netball, crafts and relaxation. There will also be a 'swishing event' where learners can take items of clothing, toys or other household items for free. | Thursday 20 June, 10:30am-2pm | Hopwood Hall College OL12 6RY |
| Cartwheel Arts | Cartwheel Arts will be at The Whitworth Art Gallery with a Pop-up Art exhibition using Refugee Week 2024 theme of 'Our Home'. The exhibition explores the rich heritage crafts flourishing within Rochdale's vibrant communities with experience of forced migration. Get free tickets here: Gallery of Sanctuary-Refugee Week Celebrations at the Whitworth | Thursday 20 June, 4pm-8pm | The Whitworth, Oxford Road Manchester M15 6ER |
| Skylight Circus Arts | Skylight Circus Arts are holding week-long schedule of family sessions for refugees and people seeking asylum at Broadfield School, with the option to become involved in events throughout the Summer too. Contact info@skylightcircusarts.com for full details. | ||
| Touchstones Rochdale | Dumpling Day, a community celebration of dumpling delights from around the world. Sample an international variety of dumplings, join in with exciting dumpling-themed activities and enjoy a range of music in celebration of our diverse community. Find out more: www.yourtrustrochdale.co.uk/dumpling-day/ | Saturday 22 June, 11am-3pm | Ukrainian Centre, Mere St, Rochdale OL11 1HJ |
| Culture Co-op | Home: Ukrainian Photography, UK Words Tour showcases work from 15 Ukrainian photographers who reveal Ukrainians’ current experience, and fundamental human values that underpin our idea of ‘home’: family and friends in a safe space, the beautiful landscapes, culture, and identity.Find out more: www.theculturecoop.org/home-exhibition | Sunday 2 June - Wednesday 10 July | Various locations, see link for full details |
Rochdale Support Services
| Organisation Information | Where in Rochdale? | Services provided for refugees and people seeking asylum |
| Aspire 2 Inspire | 1c Regent Street, Rochdale OL12 0HQ | Aspire to Inspire offer a newly launched tutoring program for KS1 children, ESOL classes, a Repair Cafe, a food pantry and Qurbani meat distribution. More information: Aspire 2 Inspire
|
| Rochdale and District Mind | The Mind Wellbeing Centre, 3-11 Drake Street, Rochdale OL16 1RE | You can find the full timetable of activities at Rochdale and District Mind here: www.rochdalemind.org.uk/. They continually offer support to new and emerging communities, and specific support for refugees and people seeking asylum. |
Tameside Events and Activities
| Organisation | Event Information | Date/Time | Location |
| British Red Cross | Refugee Week Party with a crochet art table, Henna art, nail art, live music performance along with the first performance of their Drama club Refugee/Asylum theatrical play 'Rising from Ashes' and a meal for their service users. | Thursday 20 June | Church of Nazreen, Ashton. |
Tameside Support Services
| Organisation Information | Where in Tameside? | Services provided for refugees and people seeking asylum |
| Home-Start HOST supports families in the community with at least one child under the age of five. Every family is different, so their support is holistic and tailored to each family's individual circumstances and needs. | Home-Start HOST main office is based at Ryecroft Hall in Audenshaw. However, they support families across the whole of Tameside and Glossop, and other areas of Greater Manchester including Oldham, Stockport and Bolton. | All of their services are open to any families living in the areas that they cover. They have a Diversity Coordinator who works with families in their home visiting service with a child aged 0-2, whose role is to coordinate support for families who may have barriers to accessing services, such as cultural or language barriers. Their Dad Matters team also have a coordinator who supports families from a diverse range of backgrounds that may experience health inequalities. Many of their volunteers find that their volunteering experience supports them to go on to further training and/or employment as they gain knowledge, skills and experience. They welcome anyone that is interested in volunteering to please get in touch with them, and of course any families that would be interested in accessing support: info@homestarthost.org.uk |
| Citizens Advice Tameside have a freephone adviceline, Monday to Friday 9am-1pm 0808 27 87805. They are available for online chat. The chat with an adviser online is usually available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. They also have face-to-face advice access from 16 outreach advice sessions a week across the borough. | Offices are based in Ashton, in Tameside One. | They offer free, confidential, independent, impartial, advice and information on virtually any issue: Welfare Benefits, Consumer, Debt, Housing, Education, Health and Community Care, Immigration (OISC Level 1), Relationship/Family, Utilities. They offer specialist advice services in Debt, Housing, Employment, and Universal Credit claims through their Help to Claim project. |
| Ingeus creates and delivers services in employment, health, justice and youth. | Moving to new premises in Hyde next month. | Ingeus provide support into employment, such as support with CVs, cover letters, better off calculation, interview skills, mock interviews, job searching skills, support with applications and engagement with our specialist employment advisor who has employers who are disability friendly and neurodiverse. |
Events across Greater Manchester
| Organisation | Event Information | Date/Time | Location |
| Macc | GM VCSE Sanctuary Seekers In-Person Event - For Refugee Week 2024, Macc is holding an event on the 20th June. Open to anyone who wants to learn more about recent policy developments, celebrate the great work happening in our communities to support asylum seekers and refugees, and discuss how we can best work together to support people seeking sanctuary in GM. Plant-based lunch and refreshments provided. Sign up here: manchestercommunitycentral.org/civicrm/event/info?id=8646&reset=1 | Thursday 20 June, 1:15pm-3:30pm | 422 Community Hub, Stockport Road, Longsight, Manchester M12 4EX |
| WAST | Women Asylum Seekers Together (WAST) are holding Refugee Week Celebrations. Join them for an evening of singing, dancing, storytelling and poetry. Find out more: wastmanchester.com/news-and-blog/refugee-week-2024 | Thursday 20 June, 6pm-7:30pm | Manchester Central Library, M2 5PD |
Join the movement
And finally, Refugee Week may last only seven days, but the movement towards a kinder, more compassionate, equitable, and joyful world continues all year around. Once June draws to a close, why not carry the spirit and energy of Refugee Week with you and continue to stand in solidarity with people seeking sanctuary. Find out how your group, organisation, school or you personally can 'Join the movement': refugeeweek.org.uk/simple-acts/join-the-movement/