Refugee week is an annual festival, held UK-wide to recognise and celebrate refugees and people seeking sanctuary in the UK. Charities and organisations from across the UK hold events and campaigns to recognise and celebrate those who have sought sanctuary in the UK.
The theme for this year’s Refugee Week is COMMUNITY AS A SUPERPOWER. As we celebrate our communities and the gift of migration, we give thanks to all the generous individuals who volunteer their time and skills to welcome and support refugees into their community. To read more on this theme, see the video below and visit the Refugee Week website: https://refugeeweek.org.uk/theme-of-refugee-week-2025-community-as-a-superpower/
Across our network, we have a number of amazing community projects helping refugees to feel welcome and get situated in their new community, including Community Sponsorship. Community Sponsorship allows us to welcome and resettle refugees, putting local communities at the heart of a family’s journey to a new life in the UK. Since 2016, the Catholic community across England & Wales has supported many families, and the scheme has also had a transformative impact on the volunteers and sponsors involved. You can read about their experiences at https://www.csan.org.uk/story/stories-of-community-sponsorship/
This Refugee Week, we encourage you to celebrate your community, and we have published a schedule of activities and resources for you to engage with – you can download the schedule at the link below.
In observing Refugee Week, Fr Mark Odion will be delivering a special lecture at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Brixton, on Friday 20th June at 7:00pm. Fr Mark is an advocate against human trafficking and modern slavery and is working together with CSAN to launch the Human Trafficking and Ambassador Programme, which you can learn more about at https://www.csan.org.uk/human-trafficking-modern-slavery-ambassador-programme/. He will be speaking on the power of communities in raising awareness and standing against exploitation, and all are welcome to join.
In celebration of Refugee Week, the Columban Missionaries have released a hymn titled ‘Welcome and Love’, celebrating the power of community and assisting us to bring faith into action . You can listen to the hymn and read about the inspiration behind it on the Columban Missionaries website at https://columbans.co.uk/education/16478/a-song-to-inspire-welcome-and-love/.
We encourage you to share your stories and experiences of supporting and celebrating refugees within your community. You may use the hashtag #LoveTheStranger alongside Refugee Week hashtags #RefugeeWeek #Community #OurSuperpower. We also encourage you to share the orange heart emoji which represents compassion for people fleeing war and persecution.
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