Refugee Week Brings Stories of Courage and Creativity to Cambridge City Council 2026

Key Points

• Refugee Week 2026 runs from 15-21 June with theme ‘Courage’ highlighting strength of people seeking sanctuary
• Cambridge City Council has committed to being a City of Sanctuary since 2015
• Main event: ‘Voices of Hope and Compassion’ concert on Sunday 28 June at 4pm, free and unticketed
• Michael Rosen will perform from his collection ‘On the Move’ plus newly commissioned poems ‘Home’ and ‘Freedom Has No Warning Lights’
• Event organised by HistoryWorks bringing together schools and community groups for music, poetry, readings, drama and dance
• Thousands of young people participated in workshops exploring forced migration, displacement trauma, compassion and shared humanity
• Refugee Week Community Fair on Saturday 20 June (11am-3pm) at Cambridge Central Library
• Organisations supporting people from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Hong Kong present including Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum
• Creative workshops by Cambridge Arts Theatre help young people learning English build confidence through drama
• UWISE provides mentoring and career support for Ukrainian women, Baca supports unaccompanied young people with trauma recovery

Cambridge City Council (Cambridge Tribune) June 19, 2026 -It is marking Refugee Week 2026 with a vibrant programme of city-wide events celebrating the courage, creativity and contributions of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. The UK-wide festival, running from 15-21 June, centres this year on the theme ‘Courage’, which highlights the strength and resilience of those forced to flee their homes.

Cambridge City Council is supporting this comprehensive programme of activity that celebrates creativity, community, and the contributions of refugees throughout the city. The council has committed to being a City of Sanctuary since 2015 and works continuously to create a welcoming environment for people who have been forced to flee their homes.

What Is the Centrepiece Concert of Refugee Week 2026?

A centrepiece of this year’s programme is the ‘Voices of Hope and Compassion’ concert scheduled for Sunday 28 June at 4pm. This free, unticketed event brings together schools and community groups for a powerful programme of music, poetry, readings, drama and dance, inspired by stories of displacement, resilience and hope.

The event is organised by HistoryWorks, in collaboration with Michael Rosen, who will perform work from his acclaimed collection ‘On the Move’, alongside newly commissioned poems ‘Home’ and ‘Freedom Has No Warning Lights’. Rosen’s participation adds significant cultural weight to the event, drawing on his established reputation for work exploring migration and displacement.

Over the past year, thousands of young people across Cambridge have taken part in workshops and assemblies led by Michael Rosen and Helen Weinstein. These sessions have explored forced migration due to war, climate change and persecution, the trauma of displacement and rebuilding lives, and compassion, kindness and shared humanity. Students will share their own original poems, songs and performances, showcasing creative responses developed through the programme.

Where Can Residents Attend the Refugee Week Community Fair?

Residents can also attend the Refugee Week Community Fair on Saturday 20 June from 11am to 3pm at Cambridge Central Library, which will highlight local support services and community initiatives. This daytime event provides practical information about the support available in Cambridge for people seeking sanctuary.

Organisations supporting people from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and beyond will be present at the fair, including Cambridge Ethnic Community Forum and University of Cambridge. The presence of these diverse organisations demonstrates Cambridge’s commitment to supporting refugees from multiple conflict zones and political situations.

Both events are free to attend and aim to bring communities together to celebrate diversity, share experiences and promote understanding across the city.

How Does Cambridge City Council Support Refugee Families?

Cambridge City Council supports refugee families to establish their lives in the city, including help to access education and employment. The council’s approach focuses on practical integration support rather than just symbolic recognition.

“The city would not be the welcoming place it is without the strong support of our residents, local communities and voluntary organisations,”

the council emphasises in its official statement. This recognition highlights the collaborative nature of Cambridge’s sanctuary approach.

Cambridge City Council continues to support groups and charities working with people seeking sanctuary through grant funding and partnerships. The council’s financial backing ensures these organisations can deliver sustained support rather than temporary assistance.

Which Funded Projects Are Helping Refugees in Cambridge?

Funded projects include creative workshops delivered by Cambridge Arts Theatre and Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination, helping young people learning English to build confidence through drama. These artistic interventions address both practical language needs and psychological wellbeing.

Ukrainian Women’s Integration Support and Empowerment (UWISE) provides mentoring and career support for Ukrainian women seeking to establish professional lives in Cambridge. This targeted support addresses the specific challenges faced by women refugees in accessing employment.

Baca, a charity supporting unaccompanied young people with trauma recovery and education, receives council funding to continue its vital work. This organisation particularly serves vulnerable young refugees who arrived without family members.

What Does the ‘Courage’ Theme Mean for Refugee Week 2026?

This year’s Refugee Week theme, ‘Courage’, highlights the strength and resilience of people seeking sanctuary. The theme recognises that seeking sanctuary itself requires immense courage, as people must navigate unfamiliar systems, languages, and cultures while processing traumatic experiences.

Refugee Week is a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. The festival has become an important annual occasion for communities across Britain to acknowledge and celebrate the positive impact refugees make.

The 2024 theme was ‘Our Home’, which explored how home can be a place, a person, or a community, and can even be found in smells, tastes or sounds. The evolution from ‘Our Home’ to ‘Courage’ demonstrates how Refugee Week themes adapt to address contemporary concerns while maintaining focus on refugee experiences.

Background: Cambridge’s City of Sanctuary Commitment

Cambridge City Council has committed to being a City of Sanctuary since 2015, making it one of the earlier councils to adopt this formal commitment. The City of Sanctuary movement is a UK-wide network of communities that work to create welcoming environments for people seeking sanctuary.

The council’s commitment involves creating practical support systems rather than just symbolic gestures. This includes dedicated funding for refugee support organisations, partnerships with local universities and arts organisations, and integration of refugee support into broader city planning.

Cambridge’s approach recognises that successful sanctuary requires collaboration between local government, voluntary organisations, educational institutions, and residents. The council’s official statement emphasises that

“the city would not be the welcoming place it is without the strong support of our residents, local communities and voluntary organisations”.

The council’s work extends beyond event-based support to include sustained assistance with education access, employment support, trauma recovery, and language learning. This comprehensive approach addresses the multiple challenges refugees face when establishing new lives.

Prediction: How Will Refugee Week 2026 Affect Cambridge’s Refugee Community?

This development can significantly affect refugees and people seeking sanctuary in Cambridge by strengthening community integration and reducing isolation. The free, unticketed nature of both major events ensures accessibility for all residents regardless of financial circumstances, which particularly benefits refugee families who may face economic challenges.

The participation of thousands of young people in Rosen and Weinstein’s workshops creates cross-community understanding that benefits refugee students in Cambridge schools. When local students explore forced migration, displacement trauma, and shared humanity through creative work, they develop empathy that reduces discrimination and bullying in educational settings.

The Community Fair’s presence of organisations supporting people from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Hong Kong and beyond provides practical pathways for newly arrived refugees to access support services. This direct access to mentoring, career support, trauma recovery services, and language learning resources can accelerate integration and improve outcomes for refugee families.

The funded projects receiving council support will continue beyond Refugee Week, providing sustained assistance rather than temporary celebration. Creative workshops helping young people learning English build confidence through drama address both practical language needs and psychological wellbeing, creating long-term benefits for refugee youth.

Michael Rosen’s newly commissioned poems ‘Home’ and ‘Freedom Has No Warning Lights’ will contribute to cultural representation of refugee experiences in Cambridge, helping normalise refugee narratives in local arts and literature. This cultural visibility can reduce stigma and increase community acceptance.

The emphasis on ‘Courage’ as this year’s theme validates the experiences of refugees themselves, recognising their strength rather than portraying them solely as victims. This reframing can improve how refugees perceive themselves and how the broader community perceives them, potentially leading to more supportive policies and attitudes.

For students in Cambridge, particularly those from refugee backgrounds, seeing their original poems and performances showcased at the ‘Voices of Hope and Compassion’ concert provides validation and confidence that can improve educational engagement and mental wellbeing.

The collaborative nature of these events, bringing together schools, community groups, universities, and voluntary organisations, creates networking opportunities that can lead to employment, educational, and social connections for refugees. These connections are crucial for successful long-term integration.

Overall, Refugee Week 2026’s programme positions Cambridge to continue its trajectory as a welcoming city while providing tangible support that affects refugees’ daily lives, future opportunities, and sense of belonging in their new community.