Refugee Week 2026
Courage!
York Refugee Week is one of the most vibrant in the country, please support events with all the shares, support and love!
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Calendar of Events
Saturday 13th june
children’s cooking class
9:30-11:30am The Citadel, Gillygate, YO31 7EA
Come along to a fun cooking class for 8-14 year olds! We will be making a sweet treat that can be taken home. Mothers and fathers are welcome to come along and enjoy the session as well.
Space is limited, so please reserve a place by email: rebecca@yorkcos.org.uk.
football tournament
2pm kickoff: York Sport Centre, James Way, University of York, YO10 5NA (please note venue change)
Join us to support an exciting charity football tournament as teams of young people battle it out for the Sam Pegram Cup!
All welcome. No booking required.
Monday 15th June
refugee week: Courage, Community & Conversation
10am-4:30pm penn room, friargate quaker meeting house, yo1 9rl
Organised by York’s Migration Network, the event brings together a range of refugee-support organisations, community groups, researchers, students and members of the public. The aim is to foster dialogue, strengthen networks, and create new opportunities for collaboration between those working with and alongside refugees and people seeking asylum. The event will begin with an informal drop-in “Connect and Share” fair, 10am-2pm where participating organisations will host information stalls, followed by a panel discussion 3-4:30pm, where participants will explore themes emerging from Refugee Week, particularly courage in welcoming, supporting, and advocating for people seeking sanctuary. The event bridges community engagement with wider academic and policy conversations.
Free public event - no need to book.
Tuesday 16th June
Community allotment bbq
1:30-4pm: york st john university allotment, haxby road, yo31 8ta
Booking required: email f.howlett@yorksj.ac.uk or h.spring@yorksj.ac.uk
pub quiz
7-9pm: Winning Post York, Bishopthorpe Road, YO23 1NZ
Join us for a night of fun and games. Maximum team size of 6 people. £5 per person will be collected on the door to support the work of RAY (Refugee Action York).
No booking required.
wednesday 17th June
falafel pop-up
11:30am-2pm: Gregg place, University of York, west campus
Yahala Mataam will be selling their signature falafels, hummus, wraps and baklava.
Gallery Talk: A Tale of Two Ceramic Factories with Dr Helen Walsh, Curator of Ceramics
12-12:30pm: York Art Gallery, exhibition square, YO1 7EW
Join us for a talk exploring the lives of two remarkable ceramists who fled Nazi persecution during the Second World War and rebuilt their lives in Britain. Austrian potter Lucie Rie arrived in London as a refugee and, to make ends meet, established her Button Factory producing ceramic buttons. She would go on to become one of Britain’s most celebrated and influential studio potters. In Germany, Grete Marks had run a successful ceramics factory, producing and exporting modern tableware. She fled to Britain, after she was forced to sell her business to a member of the Nazi Party, where she struggled to adapt to the industrial factory system in Staffordshire.
Join ceramics curator Dr Helen Walsh as she explores the lives, work and resilience of these two extraordinary women, whose stories of creativity and survival left a lasting mark on British ceramics.
“The most sweeping asylum reforms in modern times”? Analysing and Organising against Labour’s anti-immigration agenda
2-5pm: Online
In November 2025, Home Office secretary Shabana Mahmood set out what she claimed to be “the most sweeping asylum reforms in modern times,” following Labour’s pledge to bring down net migration, reduce small boat arrivals, clear the asylum backlog, replace the use of asylum hotels with army barracks and other ‘basic’ accommodation, and accelerate deportations. In this online Refugee Week panel event, with practitioners, activists and academics, we take stock of what Mahmood described as an “entirely new asylum model for this country,” including making refugee status temporary.
The first panel (2-3pm) will discuss Labour’s policy changes and political agenda. It asks whether the reforms are as ‘new’ as claimed or reflect long-standing patterns in UK border policies, situates the reforms into an international context where the UK borrows from much criticised “Danish model”, and assesses the political and legal implications. Speakers: Martin Lemberg-Pedersen, University of Southern Denmark and Zoe Bantleman, barrister, former Legal Director of the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association (ILPA).
The second panel (3:15-4:45pm) will centre community, activist, and front-line responses to Labour’s asylum reforms. It will reflect on how the policy reforms have been received by asylum and refugee communities, including instilling fear and insecurity, how they will affect support services and solidarity practices in a context of criminalisation, underfunding and activist burn-out, and how communities can organise against the reforms. Speakers: Fizza Qureshi - Migrants Rights Network; Melina Mo Martinez - Sheffield City of Sanctuary; Louise Calvey - Asylum Matters; Eiri Ohtani - Right to Remain.
No need to book: Meeting Link
Thursday 18th June
York minster Picnic
An event provided by York Minster for RAY attendees only.
Simple Acts of Courage
10:30am-2pm: York Museum Gardens, Museum Street, YO1 7FR
Join us in the Museum Gardens as we explore the theme of courage and what it means to you. Inspired by Refugee Week’s Simple Acts, you’ll have the opportunity to reflect, share, and commit to a courageous act of your own.
film evening
6-7:45pm: tempest anderson hall, york museum gardens, YO1 7FR
University of York Migration Network will host a screening of three short films: Escaping Libya’s Detention Industry, No Release, and Armed with Words: Interpreting the War in Afghanistan. After the screenings, there will be an opportunity for questions and contributions from the audience.
Attendance is free, but booking is required: Eventbrite
fundraising gig
6:30-11pm: The Fulford arms, Fulford Road, YO10 4EX
This gig features bands Bite the Bullet, Strip, Mulch Messiah, Fatality and Recompense. All profits go to RAY (Refugee Action York).
(This event is for 16 years and over. any ticket holder unable to present valid identification indicating that they are at least 16 years of age will not be admitted to the event and will not be eligible for a refund.)
Pay as you feel. Book at Fatsoma. Any tickets remaining on the night will be available to buy on the door on a pay-as-you-feel basis.
Yahala cookery school
7-8pm: online
Learn how to make a delicious Syrian stew.
Booking required: Eventbrite
Saturday 20th june
refugees and rowntree
2-4pm: The Mount School, Dalton Terrace, YO24 4DD
The Mount School York is proud to host this Refugee Week event from The Rowntree Society, exploring how the Rowntree family, company and Trusts supported refugees throughout the twentieth century. Three case studies bring history to life: Belgian refugees in World War I, former Mount pupils Jean and Tessa Rowntree’s work in Prague ahead of the Nazi invasion, and the resettlement of Ugandan Asian refugees in York in the 1970s.
This event will include an exhibition and talks from multiple speakers.
Free entry, but booking required: Eventbrite
(Entry from 1:30pm)
sunday 21st june
interfaith service and lunch
11am-1:30pm: unitarian chapel, st saviourgate, yo1 8nq
York Interfaith service will feature the theme “Courage” with refugee stories and faith reflections, followed by a bring-and-share vegetarian lunch
All welcome. Booking not required.
Family brunch at the farm
10:30am-2:30pm: Coach pick-up near barbican
An event by City of York Council for children and parents with a meal, activities, information sessions, animal interactions, and travel included. The event offers a fantastic opportunity for families to enjoy a fun, educational and inclusive day amidst nature, animals and wonderful company. Limited spaces available.
Booking required: email equality.integration@york.gov.uk
If you require assistance with booking a space, please email equality.integration@york.gov.uk to express your interest and receive further information.
tuesday 24th june
cookery school
6pm: The citadel, gillygate, YO31 7EA
In person cookery school event. Learn to make 5 different Mezze dishes from our chefs.
Booking required: Yahala Restaurant
York Refugee Week is sponsored by the University of York
