World Refugee Day Walk & Festival
Walk-and-talk with the refugee community along Dee Why Lagoon. Enjoy food from some yummy food trucks. There will be cultural music, dance & drumming and a Football Australia soccer installation.
All welcome! World Refugee Day is a day to extend an open-hearted welcome to people who have recently arrived in Australia with refugee experience. It is also a day to celebrate the strength, resilience and contribution that people with refugee experience bring to the communities. On Sunday, 19 June they are bringing people from the refugee community and the local community together to meet, talk, share and connect, building a warm and welcoming multicultural community.
This event is supported by the NSW Government and UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency.
What’s happening on Sunday 19 June?
Beginning with a Welcome to Country, they welcome all participants together in this shared celebration. After introductions, you will be placed in smaller walking groups – refugee and local community members mixed together – to set off for a walk-and-talk. During this walk-and-talk you can learn about the refugee experience, help teach some useful English phrases, perhaps even learn a few words in Urdu, Arabic or Tibetan. After the walk we welcome you back to James Meehan Reserve where there will be African drumming, Tibetan dance performances, and music. You can purchase lunch from one of our refugee-run or multicultural food trucks and extend your friendship with your walking group as you enjoy your meal together.
Making a difference, one step at a time You’re not the only ones who love the walks. Both people with a recent refugee experience and locals alike have shared with them the value that this simple community connection means to them: “This was the first time I felt like I was treated simply as a human being rather than being defined as a refugee” – OneStep Walks participant with refugee experience “I just loved being able to say ‘welcome” to two young women who had only been here for 2 months” – OneStep Walks participant.
Location: James Meehan Reserve. Clyde Road, Dee Why