
A New Belonging – Stories to celebrate World Refugee Day
Wednesday June 15, 7pm in the Alice McKay Room, Vancouver Public Library Central Branch: 350 West Georgia Street
5 stories from ‘The Shoe Project’
‘For those who have embarked on the long journey to a new life in a new country, shoes are a powerful metaphor for their journey’
Five women from Syria, Eritrea, Kurdistan and Russia will share their experiences on life before and after coming to Canada as part of MAP BC’s celebrations for World Refugee Day 2022.
They are all part of ‘The Shoe Project’ a cross-Canada collaboration of writer mentors and women who learn how to write and perform their deeply personal stories. They have performed in Halifax, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver (most recently at the Granville Arts Club stage) and go on to use their skills to further their careers and connections.
World Refugee Day is about celebrating the strengths, resilience, talents and contributions of refugees as neighbours. Join us to hear from Waad, Ranim, Bisrat, Touran and Malena about their ‘New Belongings’ in this new land.
The event will be accompanied by traditional acoustic music, and introduced by local Shoe Project Coordinator Shanga Karim and Vancouver Writing Mentor Caroline Addison.
The stories will be accompanied by music on the santoor played by Saeid Kooshki. Find Saeid on YouTube
Free event – arrive early to enjoy the music and mingle
Questions? Email MAP at info@mapbc.org
*June 20 – World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations in 2001 to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the UN Convention (1951) regarding the status of Refugees. World Refugee Day is an international day to honour refugees around the globe. It falls each year on June 20 and celebrates the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.