“To me, a home is where you feel loved, safe, and cherished.”- Malala Yousafzai

The theme for Refugee Week 2024 is “Our Home”. From the places we gather to share meals to our collective home, planet earth: everyone is invited to celebrate what our Our Home means to them.

Home can be a place of refuge, a feeling or a state of mind. It can be found in smells, tastes and sounds. From the clothes we wear to the words we grew up with. It’s in food, music and arts. It’s in our cultures and in our landscapes.

Home can be more than one place and finding it can be a journey, as it is for so many of us who have to leave our countries and rebuild our lives. Sometimes we can find home in a single person. Other times it’s in a whole community. And often, it’s in a single gesture of care and welcome.

What would happen if this Refugee Week we extended our warmth and hospitality beyond our own homes and made entire neighbourhoods more welcoming? Simple acts like having a chat, walking together, or sending a message of welcome can help everyone feel like they belong. Together, we can work in solidarity to ensure all our neighbours, new and familiar, have safe and welcoming homes.

Our home is also global. We are interconnected; we share the earth’s resources, climate and its challenges. As we speak, millions of people are being displaced from their homes because of the climate crisis. But, exchanging knowledge, both new and traditional, can help us in practical ways to build hope for the future.

Together, this Refugee Week let’s practice our solidarity and make Our Home a more welcoming, safe and sustainable place for all.

Refugee Week 2024 is 17–23 June, join us!  Hashtag…

#RefugeeWeek

#SimpleActs

#OurHome

For updates, sign up to the refugeeweek.org.uk newsletter, and find them on Facebook, Instagram and X / Twitter.

Access this year’s poster & simple acts illustrations by Manjit Thapp here.