PREVIOUS CELEBRATIONS OF REFUGEE WEEK
Refugee Week 2008
In 2008, Refugee Week was held from June 15 to 21, focusing on the theme "A
Place to Call Home". Major launches were held in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide
and Brisbane and more than 140 local events took place, including community celebrations,
arts events, seminars, information expos, sporting events, film screenings and
competitions. Guest speaker at the Sydney launch was Les Murray, SBS-TV football
broadcaster and former refugee from Hungary. Les, who came
to Australia as an 11-year-old boy, spoke of his personal experiences and of the
contribution of refugees to national life. To read his speech, click here.
The theme, "A Place to Call Home",
aimed to encourage people to think about the global themes of protection and human
rights by focusing on the fundamental right to a secure place to call home. It
provoked thought about our common obligations to people who have no secure home,
and also acknowledged the 700,000 refugees and humanitarian migrants over the
past 60 years who have made Australia their home.
Major sponsors for Refugee Week 2008 were Victorian
Multicultural Commission and AMES
Victoria. The Refugee Council is also indebted to the NSW sponsors of Refugee
Week offering financial and in-kind support, including NSW
Community Relations Commission, ACL,
AMES NSW, Leichhardt
Council and Mallesons
Stephen Jacques. We would also like to thank and acknowledge the City of Sydney
which has made Customs
House available for the NSW Launch of Refugee Week this year.
To see the 2008 Calendar of Events, click here.
Refugee Week 2007
The theme of Refugee Week 2007 was “The Voices of Young Refugees".
More than 130 events were held around Australia. The theme focused attention on
the contribution, ideas and concerns of refugee children, teenagers and young
adults. To see the 2007 Calendar of Events, click here.
Refugee Week 2006
In 2006, Refugee Week in NSW was launched by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Councillor
Clover Moore MP. To read her address, click here.
In Victoria, keynote speaker at the launch of 2006 Refugee Week was Julian Burnside
QC. To read his address, click here.
The 2006 theme for Refugee Week was "Journeys”.
Choose from the links below for more specific information about Refugee
Week:
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