UNHCR and the "la Caixa" Foundation paint the celebration of World Refugee Day with solidarity
UNHCR and the "la Caixa" Foundation paint the celebration of World Refugee Day with solidarity
Participants in the UNHCR event in Madrid on the occasion of World Refugee Day pose in front of the Boa Mistura mural.
- UNHCR, "la Caixa" Foundation and the Spanish Committee for UNHCR, highlight the importance of solidarity and alliances in the face of unprecedented numbers of forced displacement.
- The testimonies of refugees reflected the positive impact of the initiatives promoted at the Forum Spain #WithRefugees and the Global Refugee Forum, organized by UNHCR in 2023.
- Three simultaneous actions in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia by the artistic collective Boa Mistura symbolized how citizen participation can transform societies and make a difference in the lives of refugees.
- The main event, hosted by TV presenter Anne Igartiburu, featured the participation of actress and UNHCR collaborator Elena Anaya and the hip hop group Superiors Crew, made up of Afghan refugees, including Olympic b-girl Manizha Talash.
The Office in Spain of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, together with Fundación "la Caixa" and the Spanish Committee for UNHCR, commemorated this morning the World Refugee Day, in a year that again recorded record figures in forced displacement, with 120 million people forced to flee around the world. In a context marked by new conflicts, entrenched crises and the multiplying effect of climate change, the event highlighted the importance of solidarity with refugees and displaced people, and the search for solutions that allow them to rebuild their lives and restore hope.
One year after the Spain with Refugees Forum and the 2023 World Refugee Forum, where commitments and pledges were made to support the inclusion and integration of refugees at the national and international level, UNHCR wanted to demonstrate that this participatory "whole of society" approach changes lives.
UNHCR and the "la Caixa" Foundation have been joining forces for 22 years to improve the lives of refugees and displaced persons. More specifically, among the positive international experiences presented was the MOM project, promoted by "la Caixa" Foundation and aimed at fighting child malnutrition in refugee camps in Ethiopia. Since 2017, this project has reached more than 1.5 million people, 920,000 of them children, helping to reduce child mortality by 18% and the rate of severe malnutrition by 58%.
The testimonies of refugees from Nicaragua, Ukraine and Sudan also provided an insight into the impact of the actions launched as a result of the Forum in 2023. These initiatives are the result of commitments made by various stakeholders at the Forum, and enable the reunification of separated families, facilitate access to training, mentors and coaches who provide guidance and advice, and employment opportunities. These are actions that contribute to the integration of refugees and stateless persons, while fostering social cohesion, growth and enrichment of host communities.
Authorities and participants at the World Refugee Day event in Madrid posing on the stage at CaixaForum.
Superiors Crew, a hip-hop and break dance group composed of Afghan refugees during their performance.
B-girl Manizha Talash, member of the Refugee Olympic Team participating in the Paris Games, during her performance at CaixaForum.
The CaixaForum audience applauding the performance of the Afghan hip-hop group Superiors Crew.
Elma Saiz, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration during her opening speech.
Sophie Muller, UNHCR Representative in Spain, emphasized the importance of solidarity and finding solutions for refugees.
Anne Igartiburu in conversation with Michelle, Steven, Ahmed, and Oksana, refugees from Nicaragua, Sudan, and Ukraine.
Presenter Anne Igartiburu conversing with Ahmed, a refugee from Sudan.
Actress and UNHCR High Profile Supporter Elena Anaya participating in the mural painting by Boa Mistura.
"My battle as minister in the field of migration will be to defend that the talent and employability of people does not understand colors, origin, age or status. Talent is "simply" value", stressed the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, at the opening of the event.
The UNHCR Representative in Spain, Sophie Muller, also stressed the importance of weaving alliances with which to advance towards lasting solutions for refugees, when the figures of forced displacement are once again breaking records, as reflected in the UNHCR Global Trends report, presented last week. "Let us not be discouraged by the numbers, but let us strengthen our commitment to upholding the rights of those who have been forced to flee and continue to open paths for them to have a present and a future of security and opportunity," she said.
For her part, Ariadna Bardolet, Director of the International Programs Department of the "la Caixa" Foundation, pointed out that "in contexts of chronic humanitarian crises such as the one in Ethiopia, one of the countries with most refugees in the world, collaboration between institutions based on trust and common objectives is crucial, such as the one that has united "la Caixa" Foundation and UNHCR for more than 20 years".
The transformative power of urban art
World Refugee Day also had a participatory and playful dimension, through the murals of the artistic collective Boa Mistura, installed in front of the CaixaForum in Madrid and Valencia, and CosmoCaixa in Barcelona. The three spaces held simultaneous events with the presence of refugees and representatives of the organizing entities, in which the public and visitors were invited to participate in the painting of the mural. Through this collective action, the words CONFLICT, DROUGHT and INEQUALITY, some of the main causes behind forced displacement, were transformed and gave way to the word REFUGEES, which is the consequence of many of them. This awareness-raising action highlighted how solidarity, expressed through art, can transform societies and mobilize collective effort to improve the lives of refugees and displaced people.
The Madrid event, hosted by television presenter Anne Igartiburu, also featured actress and UNHCR collaborator Elena Anaya, who gave voice to the poem "Despatriada" by Nicaraguan poet Gioconda Belli, and a performance by the hip hop and break dance group Superiors Crew, made up of young refugees from Afghanistan, including the b-girl selected for the Refugee Olympic Team that will participate in the Paris Games next July.
Spain turns blue for refugees
The Neptune Fountain in Madrid was one of more than half a hundred monuments and emblematic buildings that were lit up blue in solidarity with refugees.
On the night of June 19-20, the eve of World Refugee Day, some 50 Spanish cities joined the Blue Night, a global initiative promoted by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, by lighting up their most emblematic buildings and monuments in blue as a sign of support for all refugees.
In addition, at the international level, iconic buildings and monuments in Albania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Montenegro, Peru, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago, among others, will also be lit up blue.
You can check here the list of buildings and monuments that have joined the Blue Night.
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