Wellington marks World Refugee Day with football, food and culture

Wellington refugee communities are celebrating World Refugee Day with friendly football matches, international food and cultural performances this Sunday 23 June in Newtown. All welcome.

Activities will start at 11am with Her Worship the Mayor of Wellington, Celia Wade-Brown offering a short kick-off speech for the Football Tournament matching a Wellington Invitational Team with the Refugee All-stars. A Children's Corner with face-painting and handcraft activities will also be open to entertain younger visitors from 11:00am.

Delicious traditional food from Bhutan, Myanmar, Iraq and Ethiopia will be available for sale from 12 midday - cash needed as there are no EftPos facilities available. From 1:30 will be a short awards ceremony for the football victors, followed by cultural performances and a short video of young people from refugee backgrounds talking about the people who inspire them.

As Hon. Michael Woodhouse, Minister for Immigration said in his speech at a Parliament reception for World Refugee Day last week "Refugees face enormous challenges when they come here – the whole way of life is completely different to what they are used to and they have a number of hurdles to overcome, not least the language. I always find it so rewarding when you hear about the success stories from the refugee communities – often against overwhelming odds." The World Refugee Day community day is an opportunity to raise awareness of what refugees face in the journey to safety, and also to celebrate the successful resettlement and contribution of these communities in New Zealand.

World Refugee Day is marked every year on 20 June. For the last four years, Refugee Services Aotearoa and other refugee support agencies have worked with community leaders to put together a one-day community event with football, food and cultural performances in Wellington to mark World Refugee Day. This year the community day is organised with the support of New Zealand Red Cross, Wellington, Karori and Lower Hut Branches with support from Changemakers Refugee Forum and the Wellington City Council.

The venue Newtown Park (next door to Wellington Zoo) is open to the public from 10:30am to 3:00pm. It is a family-friendly day and all are welcome. Wellington United Football and Wellington City Council have made available use of the clubrooms on site so there will be a warm, dry place from which to watch football and to sit and eat.

A Media Release from UNHCR is pasted below. The full speech from the Hon. Michael Woodhouse, Minister for Immigration presented at Parliament last Thursday 13 June is attached.

For more information about World Refugee Day or the 23rd June Wellington community event, please contact Corinne Ambler, Communications Manager, New Zealand Red Cross
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