Refugee Week 2026 brought RLRH affiliates and colleagues together across the globe to explore this year’s theme of Courage. Through film screenings, creative activities, shared meals, and honest conversation, each gathering made space to reflect on what courage looks like in the daily lives of affiliates and colleagues with experience of forced displacement.
In Oxford, colleagues and affiliates gathered for an informal social at the RLRH office, joined by colleagues visiting from Nairobi. It was a lovely chance to catch up on what everyone has been working on across the network. In between conversation, the group took part in a body mapping activity to explore what courage means to them.
The Kampala hub created a Courage Carousel: a collection of reflections from affiliates on what courage means to them, compiled by Amani, one of RLRH’s Graduate Traineeship trainees based in Kampala. In Kakuma, the hub created a Courage Tree, a hand-drawn tree with reflections on courage written on each leaf. The Southeast Asia hub held a film screening and reflection session, and the team valued the opportunity to come together, engage with the film, and hold meaningful conversations about the week’s theme.
In Nairobi, the hub marked Refugee Week with a full day of activities on Friday 19th June. In an opening session, affiliates and colleagues each defined what courage means to them, sharing quotes, personal experiences, and the people who embody courage in their lives. The day’s centrepiece was a screening of a documentary created in Kakuma with refugee filmmakers, depicting the economic lives of five refugees in the camp. The film is set to tour film festivals across East Africa later this year, so we have been asked to not share its title publicly yet. During the Q&A, attendees highlighted that the film depicted economic realities in Kakuma with clarity and care, and appreciated having one of the filmmakers present to answer questions and share his perspective on the filmmaking process. We hope to plan more screening events like this in the coming months!
