Founded in 1998, Refugee Week Wales is a week-long cultural, artistic and educational celebration of the contributions made by talented asylum seekers and refugees who arrive in Wales. Refugee Week takes place in June each year.

The aims of Refugee Week Wales are:

• To challenge the fears and negative stereotypes about asylum in Wales.
• To encourage increased understanding surrounding asylum seekers and refugees.
• To help create a more peaceful and welcoming atmosphere for new arrivals in Wales.

The objectives of Refugee Week Wales are:

• To create and deliver positive and educational programmes that highlight the contributions of refugees and asylum seekers in Wales.
• To create a platform for discussion of the issues faced by refugees.
• To support Refugee Community Organisations to host cultural and artistic activities that encourage community cohesion.To work with the media to challenge the stereotypes surrounding asylum seekers and refugees.

The majority of the worlds refugees remain in developing countries like Pakistan (which hosts 1.6 million refugees), Lebanon (1.1 million) and Iran (982,000). In the UK we receive around 20,000 applications for asylum each year including approximately 2,000 from unaccompanied children who arrive on their own without parents or guardians.

Once they reach safety, despite the horrors of war and abuse that they have suffered, and the terrifying journeys they have endured, many refugees go on to successfully rebuild their lives and integrate into their host communities.

Refugee week is a celebration of this very fact and aims to shine a light on all the positive ways in which refugees have contributed to British society – a place which has provided them with a much-needed refuge and peace in their lives.

HBTSR has a contribution to this fantastic celebration. We have a concert at the Globe in Hay on Friday 17th June at 7:30pm – Music for Syria (you can book tickets here).

An evening of great music, many styles from many places.

Atto Mul:  Singer-songwriter, gorgeous voice, soulful lyrics.

Sonia Hammond and Adrian Crick:  eclectic mix of classical, jazz and folk.

Thomasin and Friends:  Traditional Irish tunes, jigs, reels and sad ballads.

Brently:  Fantastic voice, great guitar playing and an ingenious loop pedal!

Bushfold Blue:  Mix of folk and jazz, double-bass, mandolin, guitars and haunting vocals.

Tickets £5 on the door (all money used to support refugees fleeing conflict and seeking sanctuary).

All profits are going to the Shelterbox Syria Appeal, which is providing ShelterKits to Syria. These contain a selection of materials, including toolkits, ropes, fixings and heavy-duty tarpaulins, that can be used to make emergency shelters, repair damaged buildings and create the foundations for new homes.

Shelterbox customise these kits to suit the location and the needs of each community. Sometimes they include corrugated iron to help make resilient roofing, or even room dividers and mattresses to make warehouses habitable – whatever it takes to help people recover from disaster.

ShelterKits don’t just include tools and materials. Depending on the situation, they often have a mixture of other essentials, such as solar lights, mattresses and water containers to help people return to normality as soon as possible.

Please get in touch if you would like more information or click here to sign up to our newsletter.

There are events taking place across Wales to celebrate Refugee Week. Please click here for further information.