Refugee Festival Scotland 2024 launch
Refugee Festival Scotland has announced an exciting line-up of events sharing the stories of people and communities who have settled in Scotland.
In a year of terrible conflicts that’s seen millions of people around the world forced from their homes, the festival brings together people from different backgrounds in friendship and
solidarity. The theme of this year’s festival is RISE, to honour the resilience of people who are rebuilding their lives in safety in Scotland.
More than 130 events will take place across Scotland from 14-23 June. The diverse programme - our largest ever - includes contributions from artists and performers who came
to Scotland seeking refugee protection, along with the communities that have welcomed them.
Refugee Festival Scotland has something for everyone, from music and dance, DJs and drag queens, food and drink, football tournaments and family-friendly picnics. The line-up brings people from different backgrounds and cultures together to meet, mix and get to know
each other better. Scottish Refugee Council Chief Executive, Sabir Zazai said: ““The last year has been incredibly tough for people in the refugee community. It’s important to make time for moments of joy, connect with one another and revel in not only what we have in common but
also what makes us all unique.
“The festival is an opportunity to come together and share stories, celebrate each other’s culture and learn more about our new neighbours.
“Together, we can rise above the hostile environment and find strength in our communities.”
Refugee Festival Scotland Manager, Mónica Laiseca said: “Packed with unique events and exceptional talent, the festival honours the resilience and courage of New Scots and celebrates a vision for a Scotland where everyone can blossom and has equal opportunity to thrive.
“At a particularly dire time for refugees and asylum seekers living in our communities, our festival puts forward an empowering message of welcome and makes visible the support that is overwhelmingly present and active across Scottish society.”
Elina, a Refugee Festival Scotland ambassador who travelled from Ukraine to Scotland, said: “We are spreading a message that anyone can rise out of any circumstances they have faced in their own life since unfortunately most refugees experience the worst things that can
happen to any human. We can share our experience to inspire other people too.”
Highlights include a collaboration between the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Refugee Festival Scotland to stage a special family-friendly concert celebrating the power of a good song. Three Glasgow-based community choirs will perform their most-loved songs
accompanied by an 18-piece ensemble from the RSNO. Raising Voices - Refugee Festival Scotland
Refugee Festival Scotland has announced an exciting line-up of events sharing the stories of people and communities who have settled in Scotland.
In a year of terrible conflicts that’s seen millions of people around the world forced from their homes, the festival brings together people from different backgrounds in friendship and
solidarity. The theme of this year’s festival is RISE, to honour the resilience of people who are rebuilding their lives in safety in Scotland.
More than 130 events will take place across Scotland from 14-23 June. The diverse programme - our largest ever - includes contributions from artists and performers who came
to Scotland seeking refugee protection, along with the communities that have welcomed them.
Refugee Festival Scotland has something for everyone, from music and dance, DJs and drag queens, food and drink, football tournaments and family-friendly picnics. The line-up brings people from different backgrounds and cultures together to meet, mix and get to know
each other better. Scottish Refugee Council Chief Executive, Sabir Zazai said: ““The last year has been incredibly tough for people in the refugee community. It’s important to make time for moments of joy, connect with one another and revel in not only what we have in common but
also what makes us all unique.
“The festival is an opportunity to come together and share stories, celebrate each other’s culture and learn more about our new neighbours.
“Together, we can rise above the hostile environment and find strength in our communities.”
Refugee Festival Scotland Manager, Mónica Laiseca said: “Packed with unique events and exceptional talent, the festival honours the resilience and courage of New Scots and celebrates a vision for a Scotland where everyone can blossom and has equal opportunity to thrive.
“At a particularly dire time for refugees and asylum seekers living in our communities, our festival puts forward an empowering message of welcome and makes visible the support that is overwhelmingly present and active across Scottish society.”
Elina, a Refugee Festival Scotland ambassador who travelled from Ukraine to Scotland, said: “We are spreading a message that anyone can rise out of any circumstances they have faced in their own life since unfortunately most refugees experience the worst things that can
happen to any human. We can share our experience to inspire other people too.”
Highlights include a collaboration between the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Refugee Festival Scotland to stage a special family-friendly concert celebrating the power of a good song. Three Glasgow-based community choirs will perform their most-loved songs
accompanied by an 18-piece ensemble from the RSNO. Raising Voices - Refugee Festival Scotland
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NewsTranscript
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02:52 >> Hi, I'm Valeria, Valeria Nuzhurbeda, and I'm from Ukraine, from Kiev.
02:56 And my colleagues and I, we're playing in Trio.
03:02 And we're representing Ukrainian culture,
03:06 playing Ukrainian music, traditional music.
03:09 And that's how we're involved in the festival.
03:13 For us, it's really important in this times, which are really tragic and
03:20 hard for Ukraine, it's really important to show ourselves,
03:25 to talk about ourselves, to show our culture, to let people hear how
03:30 does the music sound, and show the costumes, show the traditions.
03:37 To get rid of the stereotypes which were created about Ukrainians,
03:42 about our culture, to show how does it look truly.
03:47 And I think that's why it is important for us now to take part in the festival.
03:52 It's also really diverse festival, so we can interact with different cultures,
03:58 different people, create new communication, and I think that's great.
04:04 >> So Refugee Festival Scotland started in 2000.
04:07 It's an annual celebration of the culture and
04:12 contributions to life in Scotland of refugees and asylum seekers.
04:15 It happens every June, around the 20th of June, which is World Refugee Day.
04:20 And it's grown from being a one day festival that we did for
04:24 the first time in 2000 in Glasgow to a 10 day festival that is happening
04:28 all over Scotland.
04:30 So it's really important that the festival keeps happening both to celebrate
04:33 the cultural richness and community.
04:37 Richness that is generated in Scotland through welcoming refugees and
04:42 asylum seekers, but also to keep showing the support and
04:45 giving visibility to the support that exists in Scottish society for refugees,
04:51 asylum seekers and migrants, particularly given the difficult times that
04:55 people are living in our local communities right now.
04:58 The festival is run through an open program model.
05:01 So we invite individuals, community groups, and
05:04 organizations to organize events and register them as part of the program.
05:08 So this makes for a really, really varied program.
05:12 So this year we have over 130 events.
05:15 It's the largest program to date.
05:18 And it will feel really unique compared to other festivals because this means
05:23 behind every event there's either a group, an individual, an organization behind it.
05:29 And they set the agenda, they decide what the event is going to be.
05:32 So you can look for all sorts of events.
05:35 There's family friendly events, there's music, there's film,
05:38 there's sports, there's cabaret.
05:41 And yeah, there's also activism and workshops, there's parades,
05:44 there's lots and lots of community meals and celebrations.
05:48 And so hopefully there's something for everyone to engage with and enjoy.
05:53 This year we invited proposals from organizations and
05:56 groups who took part in the festival last year.
05:58 And through these proposals, the theme that came up is rise.
06:04 And we talk about rise as having kind of three levels.
06:07 So the first one is about individuals rising to build new lives.
06:11 The second one is about communities rising in welcome.
06:13 And the third one is about collectively rising above the hostile environment.
06:18 So it seems like it's been quite an inspiring theme for lots of people.
06:24 And we're seeing lots of events are very much community focused and
06:28 have this kind of warmth and welcoming energy and
06:32 atmosphere that the festival creates every time.
06:35 So the festival is running from the 14th to the 23rd of June.
06:39 And there's events happening from the borders all the way to Inverness.
06:44 And a big day will be the 20th of June, which is World Refugee Day.
06:48 But there's something happening every day.
06:50 So refugeefestival.co.uk.
06:53 And most of the events are free, and if they're not free,
06:56 they are ticketed at a sliding scale.
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