Chris Joseph

http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk

Wow! Is it June already?

Yes it is, and there’s already loads of exciting events happening around the UK in the run up to Refugee Week.

Check out the Events Calendar to see what’s going on near you.

If you haven’t got hold of any of our five fantastic T-shirt designs then there’s still time to get your orders in. The T-shirt’s come in five different colours and sport quotes by Benjamin Zephaniah, Margaret Mead, Ian McEwan or Maya Angelou. The T-shirts are made by American Apparel, a progressive company that guarantees sweatshop free products and who are currently campaigning for immigration reform and speaking out for the human rights of immigrants!

Get hold of our T-Shirts and other promotional materials by visiting the Promotional Materials section of our site!

Got one tiny idea, for one small action, that could make a huge difference?

The Refugee Week UK team are looking for ideas for ’small actions’ that could help change the way British born people and refugees see ach other.

A small action could be anything from inviting a refugee friend to share a cup of tea with your grandpa to learning to say hello in a different language. Any action, when performed by lots of people, can lead to big changes.

Over the few months we will be collecting as many serious, silly and simple actions as we can from all sorts of people from all walks of life. Check out the Small Actions section of our site for inspiration and then add your own!

Tell us your idea today and you could see thousands of people bringing it to life!

Fancy something to Read?

Anna Nelson, volunatary Marketing Officer for the Refugee Week UK team has been doing some great work promoting Refugee Week by pestering bookstores nationwide to get involved with the week.

Anna says…

It seemed appropriate to harass bookstores in particular since this year’s Refugee Week corresponds with the National Year of Reading, whose theme for June is ‘Escape’.

I am happy to say that this venture has so far proved to be a great success! Foyles are promoting Refugee Week online by highlghting a range of literature relating to refugees and a number of Waterstones stores across the UK have enthusiastically agreed to display bookstands with literature relating to refugee experiences or written by refugees.

Pop into your local Waterstone’s today to see if they are one of the many supporters of Refugee Week, and help support the campaign by buying a book or two from the display!

Thanks, Anna

Final call for applications to importing and exporting awards

There are only two weeks left for you to apply to the East Midlands International Trade Awards sponsored by HSBC and created by International Trade Today magazine. The Awards recognise international traders that can convince a panel of judges that they are a success story, looking in particular at results, commitment, training, appreciation of cultural factors, market approach and management strategy.

Companies from a variety of regions, including East Midlands, are encouraged to enter. There will be a total of 12 regional winners - one drawn from each of the nine UK Trade & Investment areas in England, and one each from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Each of these winners will be featured in International Trade Today magazine, online at www.internationaltrade.co.uk and www.internationaltradeawards.co.uk .

The East Midlands winner will be invited, along with the other regional winners, to a gala awards ceremony early in 2009, at which one of the regional winners will be announced as the national winner.

Companies can nominate themselves or be nominated by an advisor (e.g from Invest NI, Business Link, a Bank or a Chamber of Commerce). Entries must be submitted online at www.internationaltradeawards.co.uk by 13 June.