written by Desareé Williams, iACT for Refugees Program Assistant

The United Nations established World Refugee Day to recognize the courage, resilience, and strength of refugee families and individuals who have fled their home countries because of conflict and persecution. Austin, Texas will host its annual celebration of World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 23, 2013, from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM at The Bullock Texas State History Museum (1800 N. Congress Avenue). This event is sponsored by agencies in Austin, such as Caritas of Austin, Refugee Services of Texas, Multicultural Refugee Coalition and, iACT, and several others to educate the community and to celebrate refugees living in Austin and the surrounding areas.

A citizenship ceremony welcoming our newest American citizens will begin at 12 noon. There will be live music and performances by various refugee and local artists. Educational activities for everyone will focus on the refugee journey and other activities like mask-making, face painting, and beading will be available. A new addition to this event will be storytelling from Africa. X8 Interactive Drumming (formerly known as ZaBoomBa) will close out the celebration with a drumming activity where attendees are encouraged to drum along and create their own music. The Austin World Refugee Day celebration is free and open to the public.

We hope to see you there!