Refugee Week 2013

Monday, 17th June - Sunday, 23rd June is Refugee Week.

Refugee Week provides a platform where positive images of refugees can be promoted in order to create a culture of welcome throughout the UK.

Bedford Central Library, in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire and other organisations is hosting a week of events to mark Refugee Week. These include:

Monday 17th June
11.00 am - 6.00 pm
Launch of Refugee Week Bedford
Harpur Square outside the library.
Pick up an information leaflet from our market stall.
Find out how you can get involved.

7.00 pm
An evening with Agnes Grunwald-Spier
Bedford Central Library
Juice bar and light refreshments from 6.00pm
Free tickets available from Bedford Central Library

Sunday 23rd June
1.30 - 4.00 pm
Family Football Fun Day
Alexander Sports Centre, Sidney Road, Bedford.
5 a side football tournament (adults only), plus a
range of activities for all the family, including a
bouncy castle, football competitions, children’s
play area, treasure hunt, refreshments, and
an ice-cream van. Bring a picnic!
Please contact:
Kimberley 07851803621,
Kerry 07926221995 or
Brian 01234 211381.

You can find out more about Refugee Week on the Bedfordshire Libraries website at: http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.books_reading/refugee_week.htm

including general information about immigration, nationality and asylum, useful websites and a booklist.

Bedfordshire Refugee Week 18th - 24th June 2012

18th - 24th June 2012 is Refugee Week. Its purpose is to deliver positive educational messages that counter fear, ignorance and negative stereotypes of refugees, through arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK and promote understanding about the reasons why people seek sanctuary.



Events to support Refugee Week are taking place across Bedfordshire in the following ways:


Monday 18th June:
Launch of Refugee Week Refugee - Look out for banner on silver street in the Harpur Square shopping area.

Tuesday 19th June:  
All day: There will be a market stall near the Bedford central library.

7.00pm: An Evening with Damien Lewis Bedford Central Library Tuesday 19th June 2012 - 7.00pm

Juice bar and light refreshments from 6.00pm

Free tickets available at Bedford Central Library

Damien Lewis has spent twenty years reporting from war, disaster and conflict zones around the world, chiefly as a TV journalist but also writing for the quality press. He has written a dozen non-fiction and fictional books, topping bestseller lists worldwide, and is published in some thirty
languages. He was recently chosen as one of Britain’s ‘twenty favourite authors’ for the
Government’s World Book Day, and his books have won a number of prestigious awards. Two of his books are being made into feature films, with a number of others presently under development, and one of his books is being produced as a stage play.

Some examples of his collaborations include: Little Daughter with Zoya Phan,
Tears of the Desert: one woman's true story of surviving the horrors of Darfur
with Halima Bashir, Slave with Mende Nazer.

Thursday 21st June:
At the University’s Luton, Park Square, Campus Centre.

Head of the Department of Applied Social Studies Professor Ravi Kohli, will discuss his work with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children.

Junior Badila, an asylum seeker from the Congo will share his extraordinary story.

The British Red Cross will look at the difficult yet rewarding process of tracking down and reuniting family members who have been separated.

The film In This World, a story about two asylum seeking making their way to London from Pakistan, will be shown and there will be a chance to discuss the film with screenwriter Tony Grisoni, who also wrote the screenplay for the classic film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Jonathan Ellis from City of Sanctuary will look at how Luton and Bedford can be sanctuaries for those seeking asylum. City of Sanctuary is a movement to build a culture of hospitality for people seeking sanctuary in the UK.

Sunday 24th June: 12pm:
Family Football Fun Day Alexander Sports Centre, Sidney Road, Bedford.  5-a-side football tournament (adults only) plus a full programme of activities for children (and mums!) to ensure fun for all the family. Activities will include beat the keeper, hit the cross bar and other challenges. Please contact Bob Bridle on 01234 791145 to register, or email bob.bridle@bpha.org.uk.

The Rights of Asylum Seeking Children In The UK

The rights of asylum seeking children in the UK have come under the spotlight recently with a report in The Guardian that 40 children held in adult detention centres had received a share of £1 million compensation from the Home Office. The children, thought to be as young as 14 began legal proceedings in 2005 for being wrongfully detained.

If you're looking for material on the rights and lives of unaccompanied asylum seeking children in the UK then a good place to start (hint!) is with the publications of our own Prof Ravi Kohli. Ravi has published numerous research articles on the lives of unaccompanied asylum seeking children including the following (you will need to use your network username and password to read the full text).

• Kohli, R.K.S. (2011) 'Working to ensure safety. Belonging and success for unaccompanied aylum-seeking children', Child Abuse Review 20(5), pp. 311-323.


• Kohli, R.K.S. (2006) 'The sound of silence. Listening to what unaccompanied asylum seeking children say and do not say', British Journal of Social Work 36(5), pp. 707-721.


• Kohli, R.K.S. (2006) 'The comfort of strangers. Social work practice with unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people in the UK', Child & Family Social Work, 11(1), pp. 1-10.


• Kohli, R.K.S. and Mather, R. (2003) 'Promoting psychosocial wellbeing in unaccompanied asylum seeking young people in the United Kingdom', Child & Family Social Work, 8(3), pp. 201-213.

You can find a whole host of articles on this topic by other authors by searching Ebscohost Research Databases.

Some Recent New Government Reports & Statistics

The Government has published the following reports, which may be of interest:

• Positive for Youth: a new approach to cross-government policy for young people aged 13 to 19. HM Government Report covering a wide range of issues, including education, youth services, health, crime and housing.
• Children entering detention held solely under Immigration Act powers November 2011.
  Home Office figures.
• Deaths in prison custody 2011. Ministry of Justice. Provisional statistics including a table on Self-Inflicted Deaths in Prison Custody (England and Wales) by Age.
  
  
  

New Refugee Website

A new website: The Refugee Education Initiative (REI) has been launched by Laura-Ashley Wright and Robyn Plasterer. It aims to be an international forum to link together researchers, professionals and the general public on issues related to refugee studies, forced migration and international education development. The site contains information on:

• Current events & policy
• Relevant websites, blogs and mailing lists
• Non-academic resources: films, books, art and music
• Academic resources: journals, publications etc.
• Work and volunteer oportunities
• Academic programs and scholarship opportunities

Students can also publish their work, blog about international experiences and link to other student networks in the UK, Canada and abroad. Any questions please e-mail them at:mailto: info@refugeeeducation.com