College community comes together for Refugee Week

Capital City College marked Refugee Week with a number of activities that encouraged students and staff to reflect on the experience and resilience of those who have been displaced.

Capital City College (CCC) marked this year’s Refugee Week by encouraging students and staff to recognise and reflect on the strength and resilience of refugees. Refugee Week, which took place this year from 16 to 22 June, is an arts and culture festival celebrating the creativity, resilience and contribution of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. 

The theme of Refugee Week 2025 was “Community as a superpower”, encouraging people to remember the importance of generosity and kindness through a number of Simple Acts. 

The Simple Acts highlighted by Refugee Week 2025 are:

• Meet your neighbours
• Share a film
• Explore outdoors
• Read and listen
• Share a meal
• Learn something new
• Get creative
• Get active
• Join the movement.

There were a number of events that took place across the college to mark Refugee week. The college hosted multiple screenings of the film The Swimmers at the Enfield centre, the Tottenham centre and the  Finsbury Park centre. The film tells the moving true story of sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini who fled war in Syria and flew to Turkey before ending up on an overcrowded dinghy headed towards Germany. When the motor on the dinghy stalled, the sisters jumped into the water and used their incredible swimming skills to pull everyone on board to safety. Yusra and Sara Mardini went on to represent the Refugee Olympic Team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

In addition to the film screenings, the college ran various information stalls and exhibitions throughout the week. At the Tottenham campus, students were invited to visit an information stall and photo booth and reflect on what community meant to them. Meanwhile, at the Finsbury Park campus, a lunchtime stall and weeklong display encouraged students to spend time thinking about Refugee Week. 

At the Regent’s Park campus, staff and students marked Refugee Week with a specially curated display showcasing the voices and experiences of CCC learners. The weeklong exhibition shared personal stories, creative writing and poetry that relayed experiences of displacement, identity, longing for home and loved ones left behind.

The moving display of creativity and self-expression encouraged students and staff to reflect on the stories being shared and think more deeply about the strength that comes from community.

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