On Friday 23 March, fifty individuals from a wide variety of charities, businesses and other organisations met at Derby’s creative centre, QUAD, to discuss what Refugee Week’s twentieth anniversary will look like in Derby.

Refugee Week coordinators City of Sanctuary, Upbeat Communities and the British Red Cross were joined by the Mayor of Derby, in addition to representatives from the police, the city council and the NHS. Local organisations such as Derby Museums, Furthest From the Sea and Derby College were among the many others in attendance.

Joseph Chivayo (City of Sanctuary) kicked things off with a call to foster “a climate of welcome for asylum seekers and refugees”, before Tom Green (Counterpoint Arts, Refugee Week) gave an overview of Refugee Week, which is celebrating its twentieth anniversary in 2018. Andrew Jackson (Upbeat Communities) and Mark Dunn (British Red Cross) then shared the many ways to get involved in the week.

All in all, a great day to launch an exciting programme of events in June! See the diverse programme:  Refugee week in Derby 2018

Refugee Week 2018 runs from 18-24 June.