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Dun Laoghaire marks refugee day

Thursday, 03 July 2008

WORLD Refugee Day was marked in Dun Laoghaire last month for the fourth year running with an event on the campus of Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT).
The theme of this year’s celebration was ‘a place to call home’ and the proceedings were organised by four local organisations – Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Southside Partnership, the Dun Laoghaire Refugee Project, and IADT.
World Refugee Day was first celebrated internationally in 2001 following the adoption of a special United Nations General Assembly Resolution in 2000.
It is intended that the celebrations marking the day focus on the world’s refugees and include extensions of encouragement, support, and respect, themes reflected in the local celebration which was well attended by over 80 people of all ages and cultures.
The event featured information stands, a photo exhibition, a film recently screened on RTE as part of the FOMACS (Forum on Migration and Communications) project, a short-film produced by young people attending the Dun Laoghaire Refugee drop-in centre with support from the Unite network, and African music by Ife Olu.
Jim Devine (Director of IADT) expressed a warm welcome to the attendees.
"I am delighted that IADT can once again host an event to mark the rich diversity of the New Ireland and the colourful and vibrant expression and meeting of cultures,” he said.
Reflecting on the theme of the celebration, ‘a place to call home’, recently elected Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Cllr. Tom Joyce, noted that it can be easy to take for granted the security and safety we enjoy in Ireland.
“As part of the international celebration of World Refugee Day it is important we take the time to recognise that across the globe, there are people who due to conflict or other circumstances are forced to leave behind family, friends, and all that is familiar to them and seek refuge in new places with customs, traditions, and languages differing from their own,” he said.
According to the most recent Census figures, almost 10 per cent of the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown population consists of residents from a minority ethnic background, hailing from a range of countries including Poland, the Philippines, the USA and China.

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