Tag: UNHCR

Five footballs designed by young artists will raise funds for refugee sports programmes

Stuart Mitchell

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced the winners of the second annual Youth with Refugees Art Contest, which celebrated the power of sport to bring people together. Five of the winning designs are featured on footballs available for sale online and proceeds will go toward sport programmes for refugees. Over 1,600 young artists from 100 countries submitted artwork and football designs related to the “Together through Sport” theme. A third of participants were themselves refugees, asylum-seekers or internally displaced people. The full list of winners can be found here. “For…

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UNHCR releases powerful social video in support of Refugee Olympic and Paralympic teams

Stuart Mitchell

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, havelaunched a powerful social media campaign calling for the world to support the Refugee Olympic and Paralympic Teams. At the centre of the global campaign is ‘The Journey’ – a social video dramatically depicting the extraordinary stories of the refugee Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls. Released on 6 April, to mark the UN’s International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, ‘The Journey’ tells the dramatized story of a refugee who is forced to flee her home on foot escaping conflict and persecution. Travelling by land…

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Alphonso Davies becomes the first footballer to take UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador title

Stuart Mitchell

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has announced the appointment of Alphonso Davies, FC Bayern Munich’s left-back and player for Canada Men’s National Football Team, as its newest Global Goodwill Ambassador. Accepting his new role as UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, Davies said: “I am proud to join the UN Refugee Agency, as a Goodwill Ambassador. My own experiences make me want to speak up for refugees, to share their stories and to help make a difference.” Welcoming Davies on UNHCR’s Goodwill Ambassador team, Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,…

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UN agencies, together with the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, call for reform of nationality laws that discriminate on the basis of gender

Stuart Mitchell

At a high level event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, UN Women, the UN Development Programme, UNHCR, and the Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights called for reform of nationality laws that discriminate on the basis of gender. Twenty-five countries retain nationality laws that deny women the right to confer citizenship on their children on an equal basis with men. More than fifty countries have nationality laws with gender-discriminatory provisions, with most denying women the same right as men to pass nationality to a non-citizen spouse. Gender…

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Children’s storybook released to help children and young people cope with COVID-19

Stuart Mitchell

A new storybook that aims to help children understand and come to terms with COVID-19 has been produced by a collaboration of more than 50 organizations working in the humanitarian sector, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Save the Children. With the help of a fantasy creature, Ario, “My Hero is You, How kids can fight COVID-19!” explains how children can protect themselves, their families and friends from…

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