Refugee Week 2011 starts today!

Posted Monday 20 June 2011

Today marks the launch of Refugee Week, which runs until 26 June. The celebration is a unique opportunity for people to discover and celebrate the contributions refugees bring to the UK.

Mind is supporting Refugee Week as part of our work on migrant mental health. There are loads of ways you can find out the huge variety of events and celebrations that are happening to mark the week.

Read our blogs

All this week, we'll be posting blogs by mental health service providers and refugee support organisation, talking about their experiences of working with refugees in a therapeutic context.

• Introducing Refugee Week 2011, Sile Reynolds
• Refugee mental health: a counsellor’s perspective,  Aysel Kirmizikan

Find an event near you

Lots of events take place across the UK throughout the week, all of which explore refugee experiences. The events aim to be as inclusive and diverse as possible, with a focus on arts, music, food or just meeting people in the local area.

You can find out more about events taking place this year on the events calendar. Just one example of how Mind is involved in Refugee Week is a free workshop on 23 June at Norwich Mind Inclusion Project. The workshop will explore ways of dealing with traumatic experiences, such as deep relaxation techniques and self hypnosis, and will also look at the different ways trauma can affect people from different cultures.

Share your story

This year is also the 60th anniversary of the Refugee Convention, and in order to mark the occasion the Refugee Week theme for 2011 is 60 Years of Contribution. Refugee Week is collecting stories and case studies about the contributions that refugees have made to Britain over the last 60 years and will showcase them through stories and photo exhibitions.

You can get involved in Refugee Week by:

• Check out Mind’s series of blogs on refugee mental health.
• Going along to an event in your area.
• Contribute a story or photograph to Refugee Week’s 60 Years of Contribution theme highlighting the contributions that refugees have made to Britain over the last 60 years.
• Join Refugee Week on Twitter or Facebook
• Join the Simple Acts campaign which aims to inspire people use small, everyday actions to change perceptions of refugees.

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