World Refugee Day Community Festival June 23, 2007

World Refugee Day Community Festival

Sunday June 24 @ Annerley Soccer Club Fields

'A huge multicultural celebration of arts and culture’

What is World Refugee Day?
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recognises World Refugee Day as a salute to the indomitable spirit and courage of the world's refugees.

In 2000 the United Nations General Assembly designated June 20 as World Refugee Day to recognise and celebrate the contribution of refugees throughout the world.

World Refugee Day celebrations are set to take place in Brisbane throughout Refugee Week 2007 beginning Sunday June 17, providing the entirety of Brisbane with the opportunity to 'congregate, participate and celebrate' our rich and diverse local refugee communities.

What's Happening?

Taking place Sunday June 24 at the Annerley Soccer Club Sportsground, The WRD Community Festival is the apex of Brisbane's World Refugee Day 2007 celebrations. A colourful, engaging and free entry family event open to people of all nationalities and backgrounds, the festival will showcase and celebrate the wealth of talent and diversity harboured by our refugee communities.

This will include: music and dance performances (both on stage and throughout the venue grounds), a huge range of ethnic food and cooking stalls, refugee art exhibitions, kids' rides and activities, a jumping castle, circus performers, art and craft stalls with traditional handicrafts, a traditional dress fashion parade from a variety of countries, volleyball, races, a 12 team soccer tournament + a guest appearance from Brisbane's own Queensland Roar.

The WRD Community Festival provides a rare opportunity for Brisbanites to indulge in the cultural multiplicity that is the south-east Queensland community. A recent influx of refugees from Africa, the Middle East and Burma has only seen Brisbane's rich tapestry of multicultural diversity grow stronger, and a quick glance at what's on offer at the festival speaks for itself: Iranian Persian dishes, Sierra Leonean dance, traditional Rwandan Cuisine, Burundian drumming, Somalian Foods, Sudanese Art & Craft, Ethiopian dancing, traditional Eritrean food and coffee, Persian Art Exhibition, Ugandan drumming, Middle Eastern belly dancing, Origami and Flower Folding workshop's, traditional Henna tattoos + lots, lots more.

Workshops

Running alongside the festivities at the World Refugee Day celebrations will be a vast assortment of workshops allowing people of differing cultures to interact in a fun and safe environment. Taking place at the festival are workshops in:
• Circus performance;
• Drumming;
• Hip Hop and Theatre Sports;
• Belly dancing, jewellery making, beat boxing; and
• AFL/soccer/volleyball Skills

Running in tandem with these workshops on the day is a collection of programs leading up to the festival. Held over a 4-6 week period, these workshops facilitate members of the refugee and greater Brisbane community to unite around topics of music, dance and food. These workshops aim to develop linguistic and artistic skills of the participants, as well as increase their confidence and self-esteem through professional mentoring.

Current workshops include:
• 'Can U Dance?' Hip Hop Dance Workshops – Facilitated by Industrie One hip hop dance academy and running for six weeks leading into the festival, the workshop takes participants through basic to more advanced hip hop moves. A final dance routine is being crafted by the group to be performed alongside the Trick Nasty crew at the World Refugee Day Festival.
• Cooking Workshops – A series of four workshops providing a forum for participants to share their favourite dishes, ingredients, and cooking methods from their home countries. The workshops will develop a menu incorporating dishes from different countries and cultural backgrounds to be sold at the World Refugee Day Festival.

For more information on World Refugee Day 2007 Workshops contact Alexandra Gasteen at worldrefugeeday@refugeetutoring.org or 0409 341 873.

What Else Is Going On?

An array of activities will be taking place in the lead up to the festival on Sunday June 24, including:

Brisbane Leaders' Breakfast

Kicking off the event on Wednesday June 20 is the Brisbane Leaders' Breakfast, held at the Stamford Plaza in the city's heart. Key note speaker is Phillip Adams; acclaimed broadcaster, film producer, writer, humanist, social commentator and satirist, and a current patron for the UN Association for Australia. The breakfast is sponsored by Corrs Chambers Westgarth Lawyers, a commercial law firm who pride themselves on pro bono and community work. Other speakers include Dr John Cole, Assistant General of MAQ, and Constantin Mukendi, the leader of the local Congolese community.

Official World Refugee Day Launch

World Refugee Day will be officially launched at 12:30 on Wednesday June 20 in the Queen St Mall. Taking place on the main stage, the launch will provide a taste of what is yet come in the celebrations, including cultural performances from the local refugee community, short presentations focusing on rasing awareness of refugee issues, as well as a fashion parade of traditional dress.
The Honourable Lindy Nelson-Carr, Minister for Environment and Multiculturalism, will also be in attendance to launch World Refugee Day festivities.

World Refugee Day Cocktail Evening

VoRTCS will be hosting a free cocktail evening at the City Gardens Café in the traditional homestead of the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens on Friday June 22. The event gives the wider Brisbane community the opportunity to engage and celebrate World Refugee Day 2007. Attendees will be entertained by cultural performances and artworks from Brisbane's new and emerging communities, and will be given the chance to reflect on issues facing the refugee community.

About VoRTCS

The Volunteer Refugee Tutoring and Community Support Program, ( VoRTCS - pronounced "vortex"), is a non-profit, volunteer run program that provides free, in-home English language and cultural support for refugee families in Brisbane through Vinnies. VoRTCS is rapidly growing and now has over 700 volunteers who visit over 270 families weekly. The Team has been recognised with a number of state awards, most recently, with the Suncorp Queenslander of the Year Community Spirit Award for 2007.

For more information, please visit the VoRTCS website www.refugeetutoring.org or email info@refugeetutoring.org .

– WORLD REFUGEE DAY 2007 COMMUNITY FESTIVAL –
Sunday June 24 10am – 5pm Annerley Soccer Club

Activities Include: Cultural Performances, Ethnic Food Stalls, Traditional Dress Fashion Parades, Sports Tournaments, Live Bands, Circus Performances, Rides/Jumping Castles, Art & Craft Stalls, Art Exhibition, + heaps more!

www.refugeetutoring.org/worldrefugeeday

Come and celebrate our ethnic diversity on World Refugee Day 2007

For more information, contact VoRTCS at worldrefugeeday@refugeetutoring.org or phone 0409 341 873

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