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World Refugee Day 2004 National Activity Plan: United Kingdom

World Refugee Day 2004 National Activity Plan: United Kingdom

20 June 2004

Karim, a recently arrived 17 year-old Iraqi refugee, works long hours in a laundry to support his parents and large extended family.

On 13 June, Refugee Week (14-20 June) will be launched in London with a free festival of music, dance and visual arts by refugee artists. UNHCR will run an information stall under a tent and the UNHCR Representative will speak at the opening ceremony.

During Refugee Week, UNHCR, in collaboration with NGOs, will celebrate the positive contribution refugees make in the United Kingdom. For further information, please visit: www.refugeeweek.org.uk

In London, the Prince's Trust Refugee Film Festival will host various events, including film directors' presentations of films, films made by young refugees, and the showing of Michael Winterbottom's new film on identity theft. The film will be followed by a panel discussion.

From 10-29 June, the "One Day We Had to Run" exhibition of drawings by Burmese refugee children living in camps in Thailand will be displayed at Haringey Professional Development Centre.

From 14-20 June, the "Caught in Conflict" photo exhibition will take place at the Horniman Museum in London. Photographs of refugee women from refugee emergencies around the world, by the award-winning photographer Jenny Matthews, will be on display.

At the same time, the "Crimson Harvest" exhibition will take place at St. James Church in Piccadilly. The exhibit will display paintings by the Bosnian refugee artist, Pero Mandic. His work tells the story of ethnic conflict in Bosnia and draws attention to its consequences for the families that are forced to flee their homes. UNHCR will organise an accompanying panel discussion on "What do refugees and immigrants mean for the Britain of the future?"

In Bradford, as part of Bradford Action for Refugees, a series of events will be organised, including films at the photography museum, poetry evenings at the Alhambra and a UNHCR display of artwork by refugee children living in camps at the Central Library. The event will be launched by the Mayor of Bradford on 15 June.

On 15 June, the British Red Cross will organise a one-day conference on refugee issues open to the public. UNHCR will present UNHCR films during afternoon workshops.

From 25-27 June, at the annual open-air Glastonbury Festival, UNHCR will run a stall, hand out branded beach balls, run educational kid clubs and invite people to take part in the "Camp Challenge" - a quiz comparing camping at Glastonbury to refugee camps. This year, UNHCR's awareness campaign will particularly focus on the Chad emergency.