King's College London

Creative workshops, thought-provoking discussions and an art exhibition are among the events being hosted at King’s this Spring for Universities Refugee Week 2025.

Built around this year’s theme of Community as a Superpower, the activities aim to show the impact of collective generosity, shared resilience and everyday acts of kindness to support displaced people.

The events, which are free to attend, include:

• Humanities Cartoons Exhibition and talk on the asylum experiences of Turkish women, 25 February, 19:00 to 21:00
• Exploring sanctuary through research and perspectives, 4 March, 12:00 to 13:30
• Origami birds: weaving stories of migration and hope, 5 March, 10:30 to 13:30
• Bonds Beyond Borders Workshop with Artist Liz Hingley, 5 March, 12:00 to 15:00

Since 2015 the King’s Sanctuary Programme has initiated and lead on projects that create positive opportunities for forcibly displaced people. Last year, King’s was awarded University of Sanctuary status in recognition its ongoing work to ensure that it is a place of safety, solidarity and empowerment for people who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries.

Refugee Week takes place in June each year but several universities including King’s are also holding events in the Spring when campuses are busier to increase their reach and impact. The hope is that having events held across the country that bring together students, academics and partners will drive meaningful change to help create inclusive space within universities and beyond.

Established in 1998 and growing into a global movement, Refugee Week, takes place around World Refugee Day on June 20, fostering solidarity and community-driven change. This year it has the theme of Community as a Superpower and aims to reinforce the idea that welcoming communities have the power to transform lives and reshape the narrative around migration.