World Refugee Day 2022 - information and online events
World Refugee Day is an international day designated by the United Nations to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. World Refugee Day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.
UNHCR World Refugee Day 2022 Theme
This year, the focus will be on the right to seek safety. Every person on this planet has a right to seek safety – whoever they are, wherever they come from and whenever they are forced to flee.
Whoever they are, people forced to flee should be treated with dignity. Anyone can seek protection, regardless of who they are or what they believe. It is non-negotiable: seeking safety is a human right.
Wherever they come from, people forced to flee should be welcomed. Refugees come from all over the globe. To get out of harm’s way, they might take a plane, a boat, or travel on foot. What remains universal is the right to seek safety.
Whenever people are forced to flee, they have a right to be protected. Whatever the threat – war, violence, persecution – everyone deserves protection. Everyone has a right to be safe.
To learn more, visit UNHCR – World Refugee Day
In Regina, RODS, the Regina Open Door Society is the organization that provides services to Government -Sponsored Refugees (GAR's). Many small groups, churches, organizations and families also privately sponsor refugees.
How can you help?
Volunteer with RODS Welcoming Community for Newcomers Program
Volunteers are matched with a newcomer and participate in social activities together, such as conversation circles, informal ESL tutoring, cooking classes, doing homework together, attending sports events, going on community tours, meeting for coffee, and attending a community or cultural events. You and the newcomer will mutually decide on the nature of the activity, and when, where and how frequently to meet.
Targeted Matching Program: as a mentor, you will be matched with a newcomer family for a period of one year to help newcomers participate in the community. With your support newcomers will be able to improve their language skills, build social and professional networks, learn about life in Canada and Regina, and prepare for work in Canada.
To learn more and get involved contact Deborah at [email protected]
Sponsor a Refugee
The Refugee Sponsorship Training Program (RSTP) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is hosting a webinar that addresses The Global Refugee Crisis and the Impact of COVID-19 on Refugees and Resettlement.
They will discuss how Canadians can sponsor refugees through a program that identifies those in the most dire need of resettlement. This is called the BVOR program. They will also review the services that RSTP offers to sponsors. In Regina, an RSTP trainer comes regularly to present training programs, meet with sponsors and those interested in sponsoring.
https://www.unhcr.org/world-refugee-day.html
Get informed
Globally, 107,800 refugees were resettled in 2019. Just over half of all UNHCR resettlement submissions concerned children. Other groups included survivors of torture and/or violence, people with legal and physical protection needs, LGBTQI refugees and particularly vulnerable women and girls.
The full Global Trends report, which includes data on individual countries, demographics, numbers of people returning to their countries, and available estimates of stateless populations is available here.
Understanding the Terminology
Refugees
A refugee is someone who fled his or her home and country owing to “a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”, according to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Many refugees are in exile to escape the effects of natural or human-made disasters.
Asylum Seekers
Asylum seekers say they are refugees and have fled their homes as refugees do, but their claim to refugee status is not yet definitively evaluated in the country to which they fled.
Internally Displaced Persons
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are people who have not crossed an international border but have moved to a different region than the one they call home within their own country.
Stateless Persons
Stateless persons do not have a recognized nationality and do not belong to any country.
Stateless situations are usually caused by discrimination against certain groups. Their lack of identification — a citizenship certificate — can exclude them from access to important government services, including health care, education or employment.
Returnees
Returnees are former refugees who return to their own countries or regions of origin after time in exile. Returnees need continuous support and reintegration assistance to ensure that they can rebuild their lives at home.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE: https://www.unhcr.org/world-refugee-day.html
To contact RSTP: https://www.rstp.ca/en/
World Refugee Day Nationwide Virtual Event
Panel: Interpreters in Times of War
Tuesday June 21, 2022
10 - 11:30 am Sask time (12-1:30 p.m. EST)
Throughout history, interpreting in conflict zones has had an important role in securing better outcomes by using the help of communities on the ground to facilitate access to vital information. During military deployment, war interpreters may be the only direct link with people affected by the conflict. However, being in a position to “facilitate negotiations between two sides or assist refugees in accessing critical services such as access to food, shelter and safety” in a high-risk, rapidly changing environment makes war translators and interpreters more vulnerable. The ambiguity of the political landscape and the continuously shifting narrative during the times of conflict and, especially, post-conflict creates additional responsibility for states engaging with interpreters to rethink the scope and objectives of military deployment. The panel will feature the war interpreter stories from various angles and geographic locations, provide a voice to those who are unintentionally left behind, and feature language professionals who have worked in war and crisis situations (both past and present) to discuss the challenges they have faced and the importance of staying connected to one another in times of crisis.
This event is organized by the Language Access Coalition of Canada and is kindly sponsored by MCIS Language Solutions.
To find out more about the event and to register, please click here.
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Virtual Event
Life As A Refugee: Building A Community For the Future
June 20, 2022
8:am - 1:00 pm Sask time (10:00 am ET)
In recognition of World Refugee Day, the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre (CCLC) and its community partners are hosting the 14th annual Life As A Refugee (LAAR): Building A Community For the Future virtual event on June 20, 2022, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Our event is a recognition of the plight of those affected by the pandemic, as well as a look forward to the future of resettlement and integration. This year, we will have Kamal Al-Solaylee, author of Return: Why We Go Back to Where We Come From, as our keynote speaker.
We will also have a Refugee Panel, which will be sharing their stories of migration, and resettlement. As well as workshops on mental health, housing, wellbeing and resiliency stories. We will be joined by Fauzia Agbonhin, inspirational poet and writer who will be performing spoken word poetry.
Register here
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Virtual Event - RSTP (Refugee Sponsorship Training Program)
June 23, 2022
5:00 pm Sask time (7:00 EDT)
In celebration of World Refugee Day on June 20th, join the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program for a virtual special guest panel discussion, honouring the resilience and transformative contributions of refugees to Canadian communities.
We will be exploring various refugee newcomer perspectives about what it was like to rebuild their lives in Canada and what meaningful acts of solidarity from local community members may look like.
Live entertainment by Canadian artists and a special message from the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Register here:
This event is part of RSTP’s Blended Visa Office-Referred (BVOR) Special Info Series.
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Regina Open Door will be doing a virtual campaign, sharing stories of refugees.
Find them on Facebook and Instagram
