Refugee Week 2025 : Community as a Superpower

For a week in June 2025 refugees will be recognised by arts and cultural organisations, grassroots movements and individuals around the world, celebrating the creativity and resilience of refugees in the UK and globally. At Kazzum Arts we work with refugees and asylum seekers throughout the year and are constantly inspired by the young people that we meet through our workshops.  

This year, Refugee Week will be marking their campaign with the phrase ‘community as a superpower’, highlighting the ways that coming together as a community and connecting with others can be a catalyst for positive change. The word ‘community’ suggests friendship, belonging and space for healing: all radically powerful tools. The antithesis of ‘community’ are conflict, polarity and isolation, and the devastating truth is that today these words are often a more accurate description of what refugees and asylum seekers face when they come to the UK. 

In recent years, the UK has seen a dramatic rise in the number of people who support a far-right rhetoric, which includes fascism and alt-right politics. The ubiquitous use of social media, ironically an invention designed to bring people together, has meant the rapid spread of misinformation leading to people pitted against one another in bitter feuds online. In the summer of 2024, there was a surge of racist violence across the UK, fuelled by a false rumour shared online. Many of the riots took place in areas of high levels of deprivation and ill health and left deep scars on communities across the UK. These events were a terrible reminder that anti-immigration hate is still rife across the country and it’s clear that movements like Refugee Week are sorely needed to bring people together and promote positive community engagement. Prioritising inclusivity, advocating for the rights of others and reporting hate speech are just some ways that community can be used as a superpower to stand in solidarity against far-right narratives. 

At Kazzum Arts we work in community settings for most of our programmes. We build deep, long-lasting relationships with the young people that we support, through weekly delivery models and a cycle of co-production that promotes collaboration. We believe wholeheartedly in the ethos behind ‘community as a superpower’ and will always stand with refugees and asylum seekers against hostility. We are proud to work alongside refugee community groups and support so many creative young people to feel welcome in the UK.