Keele Refugee Week 2015 Call for Events

It may be five months away but we are already gearing up for Keele Refugee Week 2015!

‘Refugee Week is a UK-wide programme of arts, cultural and education events and activities that celebrates the contribution of refugees to the UK and promotes better understanding of why people seek sanctuary’ (Refugee Week 2015).

Last year Keele University joined Refugee Week for the first time by hosting a weeklong photographic exhibition, an opening event with a musical performance and a poetry open mic night organised by students. This was co-organized by staff and students in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, including Siobhan Holohan and Ala Sirriyeh from Sociology.

Following on the success of last year, Keele Refugee Week 2015 we are now gearing up to host an even richer week of events. We are therefore calling on individuals, departments, Schools, Faculties, Societies (KSU), students’ groups or community groups who are working with (or would like to establish links with) a group in the university, to submit proposals for a variety of events to be held during Keele Refugee Week 2015 (8-14 June). Write to us with any ideas for events you wish to organize within Refugee Week! Events should be relevant to the ethos of Refugee Week (for more info see http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/).

Ideas for events include (but are by no means limited to):

• Poetry, drama, creative writing

• Debates, public lectures, Q&A sessions

• Art exhibitions

• Lectures and workshops

• Music performances, dance

• Film screenings

• Children activities

• Storytelling

• Open mic sessions

• Events already planned within your yearly activities which may ‘fit’ within

Refugee Week

• Any other ideas you may have

• See also the national website for Refugee Week 2015 which has many more examples of events you could hold (http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/)

“Keele Refugee Week 2015” organising committee* provides a framework to build in and timetable events across the university, it offers advice to anyone willing to put up an event, and it produces the overall marketing and publicity materials for the week. Keele Refugee Week does not cover any costs or provide funding.

Please submit your event suggestions to events.refugeeweek@keele.ac.uk by Monday 16th February 2015. Please include your name, affiliation, contact details and a brief summary of your proposed event (max 1 page). In proposing the event, think about the following: venue, resources, costs (if there are any).

We look forward to receiving your proposals.

The organising Committee:

Jon Granger (President KPA)

Bolu Oyewale (President KSU)

Mariangela Palladino (Lecturer, English)

Annie Piper (Vice President KSU)

Ala Sirriyeh (Lecturer, Sociology)