Events in the UK
Nowhere People UK
Date: 27th November - 3rd December
Location: Saatchi Gallery, London
Nationality may be a universal human right, but at least 10 million people around the world live without it. These stateless people lack a legal identity, are citizens of nowhere and are among the world's most vulnerable and invisible people.
Without nationality, stateless people are often denied basic rights and prevented from fully participating in society. Many are unable to register births, go to school, work legally, travel freely, own property or obtain vital documents like passports. Statelessness can leave victims with no sense of identity, and little or no voice.
Over 75% of the world's stateless belong to minority groups like the Karana of Madagascar, the Roma in Europe, or the Rohingya, the world's largest stateless population. Almost one million Rohingya have fled persecution in Myanmar for Bangladesh.
Stateless people in the UK may have been born without a nationality, some have fled war or human rights abuses, and some are victims of trafficking. Whatever the reason behind their situation, many face huge challenges navigating their daily existence. Nowhere People UK explores the impact statelessness has on a handful of these hidden individuals.
The UK is signatory to the two key international conventions addressing statelessness and in 2013, it became one of the few countries to introduce a procedure to identify stateless people. Still, stateless people face challenges in being legally recognised. Many are pushed to the margins of society, their daily lives plagued with difficulties. Some have their identities challenged or are rejected and unrecognised by the governments of their past homeland. Unable to return, and lacking legal status, many find themselves isolated and live in fear of being detained.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people around the world since 1951.
Ensuring equal access to nationality rights is a key goal of UNHCR's #iBelong campaign to end statelessness by 2024. UNHCR urges all States to allow children who would otherwise be stateless to gain the nationality of their country of birth, facilitate naturalisation of minority groups, ensure universal birth registration and end laws that deprive nationality on grounds of race, ethnicity or religion.
About the artist
Greg Constantine is a US documentary photographer who has dedicated his career to long-term projects about human rights, inequality and injustice. In 2005, he moved to Asia and spent the next 11 years working on Nowhere People, exposing the stories and struggles of stateless people in nearly 20 countries. His exhibitions have been shown in over 40 global locations including: the Palais des Nations in Geneva, the European Parliament in Brussels, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC and at the UN Headquarters in New York.
He is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Queen Mary University and has a Ph.D. from Middlesex University. He is the author of three books: Kenya's Nubians: Then & Now (2011), Exiled to Nowhere: Burma's Rohingya (2012) and Nowhere People (2015).
With thanks to the British Red Cross, Asylum Aid, European Network on Statelessness, Detention Action, and The Connection at St. Martin in the Fields.
Past Events
Am I My Brother's Keeper?
Date: Thursday 22nd - Sunday 25th June 2017
Location: Migration Museum at the Workshop, 26 Lambeth High Street, London, SE1 7AG
Am I My Brother’s Keeper? is an installation by London-based artist Kate Daudy. The starting point of the installation is a tent taken from the Zaatari Refugee camp in Jordan, and builds upon the artist's own experience of visiting several refugee camps, and speaking with people about their experience of the refugee crisis. The crochet elements of the tent are made by women in Syria and were transported to London in often circuitous circumstances. Daudy commissioned the circles to compose the enormous tree of hope, as well as the crochet which compose the bushes of hollyhocks, so that the tent is inscribed with work and words literally of the refugees themselves.
We are delighted that Daudy's installation will be on display at the Migration Museum, which explores how the movement of people to and from these shores has shaped Britain across the ages. Over Refugee Week come and experience this immersive and thought-provoking piece.
Find out more at the Migration Museum website.
Women on the Move Awards
Date: Friday 10th March 2017
Location: Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, London, SE1 8XX
Time: 6pm
The Women on the Move Awards - part of the Southbank Centre's annual Women of the World festival - are an opportunity to celebrate and support the inspiring work being done across the UK by refugee and migrant women. Join UNHCR and Migrants Organise at this free event to hear these incredible stories of resilience and to honour these refugee and migrant leaders.
Find out more here.
Moving Stories
Date: Sunday 26th February 2017
Location: Theatre Royal Haymarket, London, SW1Y 4HT
Time: 4pm
The Theatre Royal Haymarket is hosting an afternoon of theatre in support of UNHCR. Hosted by Mel Giedroyc (Great British Bake Off, Let it Shine) and featuring top names including Rufus Hound, Anna Jane Casey, and James Bolan, the afternoon promises to be a powerful and unique exploration of the current refugee crisis.
All proceeds to UNHCR.
To find out more and book tickets, click here.
Refugees Welcome March 2016
Date: Saturday 17th September 2016
Location: Park Lane
Time: 12.30 - 17pm
Get involved! Refugees Welcome march planned for 17 September!
This September, world leaders will meet to discuss the refugee crisis at two crucial summits. This is a big opportunity to show our government and the world that Britain stands with refugees.
Come and show your support by marching with us in London.
Full details here: www.facebook.com/events/1563121147327378/
Refugees Welcome
Date: Sunday 19th June 2016
Location: The Southbank Centre, London, SE1 8XX
Time: 1pm onwards
UNHCR is delighted to return to the Southbank Centre this year for this special Refugee Week event. Enjoy a day of free poetry and performance, then come visit us in the Marketplace to find out more about our work to support refugees.
Find out more at the Southbank Centre website.
Moving stories: a Refugee Week special event
Date: 24th June 2016
Location: The British Museum, London, WC1B 3DG
Time: 6 - 8.30pm
UNHCR is taking part in a very special Friday Late event at the British Museum. The evening, which is free to attend, will be on the theme of "welcome" and features a fantastic line-up of events combining art, film, poetry, and theatre. This unique event will also offer the opportunity to talk to UNHCR and other Refugee Week partners about their work with refugees in the UK and elsewhere.
Find out more here.
Welcoming Refugees: A wider community response
Date: 29th June 2016
Location: Tavistock Centre, London, NW3 5BA
Time: 6.30 - 8.30pm
Photographer Giles Duley talks about his experience meeting and photographing refugees around the world, and how he strives to show the strength and resilience of those who have been forced to flee their homes. The presentation is followed by an expert panel including UNHCR's Sarah-Jane Savage.
Find out more and register for this free event here.
For more Refugee Week events, check out the Refugee Week website.
RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
Date: 5-10 July 2016
Step into a garden surrounded by a barbed wire fence to experience what it might feel like to seek sanctuary. Come to the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show to visit the Border Control garden.