Celebrating Refugee Week!
Nottingham City is home to a vibrant and diverse population that includes 65 refugee nationalities that have fled repressive regimes. Each individual and group offers a wealth of talent, skills and fresh ideas that contribute significantly to the economic and cultural life of the city. 
1ST – 30TH JUNE
ONE MAN’S JOURNEY THROUGH THE ASYLUM PROCESS EXHIBITION
Normal Library opening times FREE
1st Floor, Central Library, Angel Row (Off Market Square), Nottingham
Set against the scene of some of the places and events that he left behind, this is a unique exhibition of photographs and video footage taken predominantly by one man of his life-seeking asylum over ten years in the UK. Leaving Kurdistan Iraq in 1998, ten years after the chemical bombardment of Halabja, seven years after the uprisings in Sulaimani, at a time when Islamic fundamentalists held a strong base in his home City, one man made a remarkable journey hoping for sanctuary. The Immigration Tribunal never doubted his story, but believed, erroneously, that he could relocate somewhere else in his country. This exhibition charts his life through the highs and lows of the process of sustaining himself when all rights were denied him. Suffering homelessness, destitution, despair, his integrity remained intact.
Uniquely, this man was befriended by a group of people and he shared a home with them for eighteen months.Video taped Interviews will describe their experience, lessons learned, and reminiscences as they began their own journey of discovery of the asylum process.
Created by the Sankofa Foundation.
Contact: Kam Harte - 0115 915287 or kam.harte@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
FRIDAY 13TH JUNE
FOOD AND MUSIC EVENT
6.30pm – 11pm
SUMAC Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Forest Fields, Nottingham
Small World Kitchen and No Borders present an evening of discussion, traditional African vegan food and live music.
No Borders Nottingham is part of a national and international network that believes that all national borders, legal and physical, need to be abolished, and that ordinary people across the planet should have the right to move, live and work wherever they want. On a practical level we are involved in self-help and solidarity activity in vulnerable migrant communities and between migrants and the host community, as well as offering support to asylum seekers whose ‘leave to remain’ is threatened.
Contact: Bill Walton - smallworldkitchen@yahoo.co.uk / www.nobordersnottingham.org.uk
SATURDAY 14TH JUNE
REFUGEE WEEK STALL
From 11am
Below St Peters Church, St Peter’s Gate (near M&S), Nottingham
Refugee Action will be launching Refugee Week in Nottingham with balloons, posters and other promotional and myth busting material. Come and visit us!
Contact Melissa Hatcher for further details.
BEYOND BORDERS – REFUGEE WEEK LAUNCH EVENT
11 – 3pm FREE EVENT
1st Floor, Central Library, Angel Row (Off Market Square), Nottingham
A day of art activities and workshops for all the family. Face painting, fun photos, percussion and puppets; community stalls, live music and food from around the world. Everyone welcome.
Contact: Kam Harte - 0115 915287 or kam.harte@nottinghamcity.gov.uk
NOTTINGHAM LIBRARY EVENTS
MONDAY 16TH JUNE
FAMILY CREATIVE EVENT - MEADOWS
4.30 - 6.00 pm FREE
Meadows Library, Wilford Grove, The Meadows, Nottingham, NG2 2DR
Come along and be creative! Join Jasim to make your own masks. Family fun open to all! Kindly supported by Nottingham Refugee Week with artists from Nottingham's refugee communities.
For further details please contact (0115) 9159279
WEDNESDAY 18TH JUNE
FAMILY CREATIVE EVENT - ASPLEY
4.30 - 6.00 pm FREE
Aspley Library, Nuthall Road, Nottingham, NG8 5DD
Come along and be creative! Join Jasim to make your own masks. Family fun open to all! Kindly supported by Nottingham Refugee Week with artists from Nottingham's refugee communities.
For further details please contact (0115) 9155700
WEDNESDAY 18TH JUNE
FAMILY CREATIVE EVENT - HYSON GREEN
4.30 - 6.00 pm FREE
Hyson Green Library, Gregory Boulevard, Hyson Green Nottingham, NG7 6BE
Come along and be creative! Join Thaer Ali to make your own banner. Family fun open to all! Kindly supported by Nottingham Refugee Week with artists from Nottingham's refugee communities.
For further details please contact (0115) 9152483
THURSDAY 19THJUNE
FAMILY CREATIVE EVENT - SNEINTON
3.30 - 4.45 pm FREE
Sneinton Library, Sneinton Boulevard, Nottingham, NG2 4FD
Come along and be creative! Join Ney Corte Real and have a go at making music. Family fun open to all! Kindly supported by Nottingham Refugee Week with artists from Nottingham's refugee communities.
For further details please contact (0115) 915 1192
FRIDAY 20TH JUNE
FAMILY CREATIVE EVENT - RADFORD/LENTON
4.30 - 6.00 pm FREE
Radford/Lenton Library, Lenton Boulevard, Nottingham, NG7 2BY
Come along and be creative! Join Alvin Masiwi for a tie dyeing workshop using the traditional African Batik Technique. Family fun open to all! Kindly supported by Nottingham Refugee Week with artists from Nottingham's refugee communities.
For further details please contact (0115) 9151790
TUESDAY 17TH JUNE
PERFORMANCE OF THEY GET FREE MOBILES…DON’T THEY? (MANSFIELD)
6pm FREE TICKETED EVENT (first come first served)
Westfield Folkhouse Young People's Centre, Westfield Lane, Mansfield, NG18 1TL
In this new production, Banner Theatre sets out to bust some of the media-generated myths about refugees and asylum seekers.This live multimedia show combining music, song, video, film and theatre, speaks for Britain’s newest arrivals as they dodge borders, bullets and bureaucracy in their quest for safety and security from war-torn lands in Africa and the Middle East. “They get free mobiles . . . don’t they?” interweaves a rich tapestry of musical styles – from rock, rap and reggae to blues, folk and jazz – to highlight the real-life experiences of people caught up in the whirlwind of the twenty-first century.
Organised by the Race Equality Council
Contact: Samira Basheer REC - 0115 9586515 or sbasheer@nottsrec.co.uk or Jill Carter - 0115 977 4800 / Mobile: 07932 691445 or email jill.carter@nottscc.gov.uk
PERFORMANCE OF NOMADICA
7pm FREE EVENT but limited spaces, so booking is essential.
College Street Arts Centre, Nottingham
Come along to see a unique ‘work in progress’ sharing of an exciting contemporary youth performance, as part of Creative Room’s NOMADICA project.Funded by Arts Council England’s Young Peoples Participatory Theatre programme (YPPT), NOMADICA is a youth led multi-disciplinary promenade style piece that involves theatre, new circus, sound and multi media.Young people, many of whom are recent migrants, young refugees or asylum seekers will be working with 4 professional artists to explore themes around home, displacement, identity, travel, and the sense of belonging in what promises to be a very challenging and exciting piece of work. The event will include the opportunity for the audience to participate and offer feedback.
Contact: Creative Room - creative.room@nottinghamcity.gov.uk 0115 9159542 for more information and to book a place, group bookings are welcome.
WEDNESDAY 18TH JUNE
FILM SCREENING - FLAME
7pm FREE EVENT but donations welcome.
SUMAC Centre, 245 Gladstone Street, Forest Fields, Nottingham
She was the flame they could never put out.
Director: Ingrid Sinclair www.zimmedia.com/flame/
Shot in Zimbabwe IN 1996 with an entirely Zimbabwean cast, Flame is about a woman soldier in the War of Liberation in Zimbabwe. The story focuses on the battle over land that is still causing upheavals in Zimbabwe today. Based on accounts of women who joined the Liberation War, this powerful fictional film arouses emotions and controversy wherever it is shown.
Organised by the Zimbabwean Community Network
Contact: Regis Manyanya - rmanyana@yahoo.co.uk
THURSDAY 19TH JUNE
REFUGEES IN A GLOBAL ERA - PUBLIC MEETING
7pm FREE EVENT
The Square Centre, Alfred Street North, Nottingham
Speaker: Phil Marfleet is an activist and co-ordinator of the MA in Refugee Studies at the University of East London
Author of the book ‘Refugees in a Global Era’ Phil Marfleet explores issues of forced migration in an age of globalisation. Charting the changing patterns of migration and the refugee experience of displacement, flight and the search for asylum, his work discusses the conflicts and contradictions in the global system and the failings of refugee policy in Europe, North America and Australia.
Organised by Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum
Contact: Stuart - 07891 701133 or stuartbrown236@btinternet.com
FRIDAY JUNE 20TH
WOMEN AND MIGRATION: ARTS, POLITICS AND POLICY WORKSHOP (LOUGHBOROUGH)
10 am – 4 pm FREE EVENT BUT LIMITED PLACES
See the Loughborough Event Page for further details
SATURDAY 21ST JUNE
INTERNATIONAL FOOD TASTING FUNDRAISING EVENT
7pm-10pm Tickets: £20
The Vine Community Centre, Bobbersmill Road, Hyson Green, Nottingham
Come and enjoy food and drink from around the world. All proceeds will go towards work with refugees and asylum seekers.
Organised by the Rainbow Project
Contact: Dianne - 07977308905 or dskerritt@southwell.anglican.org
SUNDAY 22ND JUNE
'THEY DON'T WANT TO LEARN ENGLISH'
4pm in Sneinton (venue address provided when you book)
Come and celebrate with and learn more about the issues faced by refugees and people seeking asylum who are English learners in the UK.
"They are not interested in integrating."
"They'd rather sit at home and watch TV"
"My neighbours don't speak a word - how am I supposed to talk to them?"
What's it really like learning English as a refugee or asylum seeker in the UK? English learners share their experiences helping to dispel the myths and enabling you to be a better ally to English learners.
For further information please contact NCBI Nottinghamshire on 07905298137 or ncbinotts@ncbi.org.uk
