Held annually around World Refugee Day, Refugee Week is an international arts and culture movement celebrated in more than 20 countries. Through exhibitions, performances, discussions and community events, it highlights the creativity and contributions of people with refugee and migrant backgrounds while encouraging dialogue between communities.
The concept originated in Australia when the President of the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) proposed a dedicated Refugee Week in February 1983. The first event was held in Sydney in November 1986, organised by the Australian refugee support organisation Austcare, attracting around 200 people, including representatives from Afghan, Vietnamese and other refugee communities.
The initiative arrived in Greece in 2021 through the vision of cultural practitioner Dina Ntziora, who sought to create a similar platform in Athens that would celebrate multiculturalism and strengthen connections between communities. This year’s Refugee Week Greece was held from 15 to 21 June, bringing together artists, organisations and local communities in a week-long celebration of culture, participation and belonging.
For Ntziora, the festival grew out of years of working at the intersection of culture and community development.
“Through my work in cultural programs, collaborations with municipalities, organizations and European networks, I have had the opportunity to see firsthand how culture can function as a tool for connection, understanding and social change,” she said.
“My engagement with refugee and social inclusion issues was not a theoretical choice, but something that emerged from the need to create real spaces for meeting and participation.”
Having seen Refugee Week become an established institution in countries such as the United Kingdom, where it has been celebrated for more than three decades, Ntziora felt Greece was missing a comparable space.
“When I returned to Greece, and specifically to Athens, I felt that a similar meeting place was missing that would highlight the power of multiculturalism and create meaningful bridges between communities,” she said.
That vision led to the launch of Refugee Week Greece in 2021.
“So, in 2021 I proposed that we start Refugee Week Greece, with the aim of bringing together artists, organizations, cultural institutions and people with refugee, migrant and local backgrounds.”
Today, the festival continues to grow as a community-led celebration of displacement, migration and diaspora, fostering dialogue, cultural exchange and a shared sense of ownership among the diverse communities that call Greece home.
This year’s theme: COURAGE
This year’s festival carried particular significance as it coincided with the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the landmark international agreement that guarantees refugees the right to seek protection, safety and dignity.
Appropriately, the central theme of Refugee Week Greece 2026 was “Courage” — a concept that founder Dina Ntziora believes resonates deeply with the refugee and migrant experience.
“We chose this theme because courage is something that runs through all of our lives,” she said. “But for refugees and migrants it is a daily necessity. It is the strength needed to leave one’s home behind, cross borders, start over in a new country, learn a new language, adapt to a different social and cultural environment, and continue to dream of a better future.”
Over the past five years, Refugee Week Greece has grown into a collaborative effort supported by civic groups, humanitarian organisations, cultural institutions, artists and universities. Organisations including UNHCR Greece, UNICEF Greece and Amnesty International – Greek Section have contributed not only financially but also through expertise, partnerships and community engagement.
For Ntziora, however, the festival’s greatest achievement has been the response from the communities themselves.
“I think the most important achievement of these five years is the great response we have received from the communities themselves and the people who work daily in the field,” she said. “Today, Refugee Week Greece is supported by a wide network of collaborating organizations active in the fields of migration, human rights, education, culture and social participation.”
Despite its growing reach, ensuring the festival’s long-term sustainability remains its greatest challenge.
“The biggest challenge we face is not one of social response, but of sustainability,” Ntziora said. “Specifically, finding stable funding so that we can plan and implement programs throughout the year and not just during the festival week.”
She hopes that securing long-term support will allow Refugee Week Greece to expand beyond its annual celebration and continue creating spaces for dialogue, participation and cultural exchange throughout the year.
A festival built on shared ownership
Ntziora believes the festival’s success lies not only in its program but in the way it is created. Rather than designing events for refugee and migrant communities, Refugee Week Greece is built with them, giving participants an active role in shaping activities and conversations.
The program spans art, culture, sport, play and creative workshops, offering opportunities for people from different backgrounds to connect through shared experiences.
“We always work in close collaboration with the communities themselves, designing actions together and not ‘for’ them,” Ntziora said. “This participatory approach creates trust, security and a sense of co-ownership of the program. Through art, play, creation and collective experience, people meet beyond stereotypes and prejudices, in a more direct and human way.”
Everyday acts of courage
Inspired by this year’s theme, organisers invited artists to explore the many forms courage can take—not only in moments of crisis, but in the quiet gestures of everyday life.
“We wanted to remind everyone that courage is not only manifested in big moments, but also found in small, everyday acts,” Ntziora said. “Opening your door to a new neighbour, hearing a story different from your own, reading a book that broadens your perspective on the world, asking for help, expressing your opinion, or simply having the courage to be yourself.”
That idea came to life through Memory and Courage, an exhibition featuring artists from refugee, migrant and diaspora backgrounds.
Among the contributors was Australian publisher Christopher Lappas, whose collaboration with Palestinian illustrator and cartoonist Safaa Odah was one of the exhibition’s highlights.
“A special place in the exhibition was the work Gaza Girl,” Ntziora said. “It was a collaboration between Palestinian illustrator and cartoonist Safaa Odah with Australian publisher Christopher Lappas and the publishing house Ilura Press.”
Presented through a series of 19 illustrations, the work was built on storytelling and the trust between its creators, inviting audiences to engage with “a deeply human story of resilience, memory and survival.”
Building empathy beyond the festival
For Ntziora, Refugee Week Greece extends well beyond a single week of events. Through art and cultural participation, she believes the festival creates opportunities to challenge prejudice, foster understanding and encourage people to engage with the lived experiences of displaced communities.
“Displacement and the loss of our homeland are not abstract concepts; they are a deeply painful and daily reality for thousands of people, including people in Gaza and in other parts of the world,” she said. “Through art, stories and experiential actions, we can approach these experiences in a more human and direct way, one that goes beyond statistics and headlines.”
She sees culture as a space where difficult conversations can be held without deepening divisions.
“The festival provides a space for the unfortunately still open and painful issues of our time, such as the ongoing violence and war in Gaza, and for people to express themselves through art, speech and collective experience,” Ntziora said.
“In this way, culture not only functions as a tool for raising awareness, but also as a space for memory, expression and democratic dialogue around what deeply concerns us. It has the power to open difficult conversations in a way that does not divide but connects. And through this connection, we can build more awareness, but also greater collective responsibility towards what is happening around us.”
