Nottingham

Refugee Week 2015

Different Pasts, Shared Futures

th Launching on 13 June 2015

Designed by Mojatu Foundation 167 Afreton Road, NG7 3JR | 0115 845 7009 www. mojatu. com | info@mojatu. comw NOTTINGHAM 13 to 20 June 2015

Refugee Week in Nottingham is an act of welcome, a gesture of solidarity, and a shared celebration. It exists both to raise awareness of the reasons why people are forced to seek refuge – persecution, war, famine, abuse, poverty and civil conflict - and also to celebrate th rough exhibitions, library and community workshops, family and children’s projects, music events, public meetings and a film festival, the contributions made by refugees and asylum seekers to the economic, cultural and social life of the city. This country has a long tradition of hosting and offering sanctuary to people displaced from their homes and forced to take flight, and Nottingham, with its diverse and dynamic population, is proud to be associated with this tradition. The Week is designed as an act of solidarity that cuts across the boundaries of place, culture and language by challenging the myths and stereotypes that misrepresent refugees and asylum seekers. The number of refugees and displaced people in the world is increasing again, and the tragic nature of this displacement was brought home by the recent drownings in the Mediterranean.

NOTTINGHAM BEYOND BORDERS presents Refugee Week 2015, Nottingham, 13-20 June

Saturday, 13 June: Launch event from 1-4pm drop in. The Space, , Weekday Cross, Nottingham NG1 2GB. Live music, stalls, food, children’s play area. Join us in celebrating the launch of Refugee Week 2015. With live music performances from Iranian British fusion group ‘Arian’, invited speakers, international food tasting, free creative activities for all ages, and information stalls including: OSCAR Nottingham; Morton Hall Detainees Visitor Support Group; Movement for Justice; British Red Cross; Himmah; NGY My Place; Action for Blind People; Nottingham Arimathea Trust; Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum; ; Sustrans; Nottingham Library Services

Monday, 15 June: Film Festival: Neuland (Unknown Territory), Broadway Cinema, Broad Street. 6pm. (Broadway cinema prices apply). Fleeing from persecution, poverty, war and civil conflict, a group of young people from around the world arrive in Switzerland. Determined to study, find work, and settle in the country, they are shown trying to negotiate the complexities of a new language and a different cuIture. In the integration class in Basel they are expected to learn German language and Swiss customs within two years. Public Meeting: Movement for Justice, Nottingham Writers’ Studio, 25 Hockley, Nottingham NG1 1 FP. 7. 30pm. Tuesday, 16 June Film Festival: Le Havre (12+), Central Library, Angel Row, Nottingham NG1 6HP. 6. 30pm. Free admission. Unlike most films on the topic of refugees, this one has a fairy tale quality but is a comedy with a serious theme. A young African boy who has stowed away in a cargo container is rescued and befriended by an ageing bohemian and failed writer who now has a shoeshine stand in the port of Le Havre, France. Harassed by police and immigration authorities, the boy is protected by the defiance and solidarity of the local working-class community. Food: World Food Night, Tasty Tuesday, Thomas Helwys Baptist Church, Church Street, NG7 1SJ. 6. 30pm. Screening: ‘Hidden Stories: 20 years of supporting immigration detainees’ (Morton Hall Detainees Visitor Group) and ‘Working Illegally’, a film which offers a critical insight into the undocumented migrant labour which maintains the UK detention estate. NNRF, Sycamore Centre, 33a Hungerhill Road, Nottingham NG3 4NB. 6pm. Plus speaker and food.

Wednesday, 17 June Film Festival: Vol Special (Special Flight) (15), Nottingham Playhouse, Wellington Circus, Nottingham NG1 5AF. 7pm. Admission free. Book seats through Box Office: 0115 947 4361

The focus of the film is on men awaiting deportation from Swiss territory, jailed at an administrative detention centre. Their request for asylum having failed, they are ordered to leave, despite the fact that some have lived, worked, paid taxes and raised families over several years in the country. The tensions, fears and conflicts of incarceration are powerfully documented.

Public Speaker: Alex Ntung Mvuku, author of Not My Worst Day, will speak on his experiences in the Great Lakes area of Africa. There will be music and food provided. NNRF, Sycamore Centre, 7pm

Thursday, 18 June Film Festival: VOCAL: Evaporating Borders (12+) and panel discussion with Roger Bromley (Nottingham University), Helen O’Nions (Nottingham Trent University), and two locally-based refugees. New Art Exchange, Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 6BE. 6. 30 – 8. 30pm. Admission free. Book places through Box Office: 0115 924 8630 Set in Cyprus and based upon the lives of asylum seekers and refugees facing destitution, hostility and racism, the film reflects upon issues relating to migrants in Europe today, in particular questions of identity and the meaning of nation and nationality in a globalised world.

Friday, 19 June: Children’s Event:Paddington Bear themed crafts and story time, Hyson Green Library,Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham NG7 6BE. 4-5.30pm Amnesty International & Rainbow Project. Speakers and Q&A: Why and how do people seek asylum? Nottingham Community and Voluntary Service, 7 Mansfield Road, NG1 3FB, 6-7:30pm. Speakers will talk about the realities of seeking asylum from Eritrea and Syria and refugee support. Saturday, 20 June Film: Paddington Bear (PG), Art Exchange, 11-12. 30pm. Booking through box office: 0115 924 8630 When an earthquake destroys Paddington’s home in Peru, his Aunt Lucy decides to smuggle her young nephew on board a boat bound for , in search of a better life. Arriving alone at Paddington station, he soon finds that city life is not all that he had imagined. Don’t forget to bring your own bear and dress up!

Saturday, 20 June Music: World Music Night on WORLD REFUGEE DAY - Fundraising Benefit for Refugees and Asylum seekers – donations will be shared between NNRF ‘s Anti-Destitution Fund, Movment for Justice and HOST Nottingham. Nottingham Contemporary Café. Bar. 8-11pm. (children allowed in bar until 10pm) ADMISSION FREE but donations welcome. The event will feature music from around the world to celebrate World Refugee day. There will be three bands. RAM 1 with the Ites. Ram is a shining light in the UK reggae scene. One of Nottingham’s hottest young talents, he has toured all over the world and received much critical acclaim, included a MOBO nomination. His backing group is the legendary Nottingham roots outfit The Ites. (ram 1) BLESSING MAGORE. The Zimbabwean born multi-instrumentalist is one of Nottingham’s rising singer-songwriters who has created his own unique fusion of Afro-funk Reggae with hints of Samba and Zouk. Originally a session musician in Zimbabwe, he will be performing with his full band. MR FORD AND MR GIBBS. Music with a humorous twist and sweet melodies from this duo of Geordies who’ve called Nottingham their home for the past 15 years.

EXHIBITIONS: Ahinee Mensah:Expressions of my lived experience - Remembering Africa. First floor Exhibition Space, Nottingham Central Library, Angel Row – Wednesday 3rd June– Wednesday 24th June 15 (free entry - normal Library opening hours). Preview – Saturday 6th June – 2-3. 30pm. Nottingham City Library Service is proud to host a major exhibition by Ghanaian born Nottingham Artist Ahinee Mensah. Ahinee is a multi-disciplinary visual artist and poet from Ghana. She studied art at the prestigious Central Saint Martin’s College of Art in London. As a child in Ghana, Ahinee taught herself art by digging clay, drawing with charcoals on pavements, using her fingers & sticks in the sand. An aspiring philanthropist, in 2006 she helped set up The Tse Ataa Mensah Foundation which currently supports children’s’ educational welfare in GhanaART

YOUNG PEOPLE’S EXHIBITION: NNRF, Hungerhill Road. All week. The launch will be on Wednesday, 17 June at 6. 30pm. The exhibition presents chosen sets of photos and artworks prepared by young people participating in ‘Let’s speak for change: experiences of young asylum seekers in Nottingham’ project which was organized as part of the Young People Project at Nottingham and Notts Refugee Forum (in cooperation with Sandra Trebunia from the University of Lincoln). Not part of Refugee Week but of related interest is: Acoustic / Blues / Charity Event; 10 June, 8pm. The MAZE, 257, Mansfield Road, Nottingham. Music from The Needy, Pip Pip and Satnam’s Tash. Tickets £3.

Unless otherwise indicated, all events have free admission. Assistance will be offered with public transport costs for individuals and families in need (up to 5 people – 2 adults, plus three children or 1 adult and four children). Please ask at each venue for details. Nottingham Beyond Borders receives support from: British Red Cross, Broadway Media Centre, New Art Exchange, New Communities Alliance, Nottingham City Library Service, Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum, Nottingham Playhouse, and Tuntum Housing Association Further information at www. nottsrefugeeforum. org. uk