Conferences and debates

Index / Activities / Conferences and debates / World Refugee Day

World Refugee Day

June 20, 2019
CORDOBA
Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9).

In order to commemorate this day, held on June 20, Casa Árabe has organized a full series of activities at its Cordoba headquarters, with the participation of specialists on the topic, who will allow us to get a closer look at a reality which, despite being so nearby, feels worlds away.

The total number of refugees has set historical records, reaching more than 25 million people around the world. According to data from the World Bank (2017), the number of Arab refugees has surpassed eight and a half million. These are individuals forced to abandon their countries because of wars, violence, major human rights abuses or persecution. According to data from Amnesty International, in 2016 the drama had already stricken nearly five million people in Syria, who had been displaced to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt.

Throughout history, different civilizations have suffered from or found themselves caught up in different migratory crises, resulting in a major exodus of their populations. The most recent, which occurred in 2015, led to the arrival of over one million people along the coasts of Europe, mainly of Syrian, Iraqi and Somali origin, but also of many other nationalities.

This latest crisis, in which we remain immersed, undoubtedly one of those to get the most media coverage in history, has left behind images which are hard to forget, like the inflatable boat in which Aylan’s family traveled along with other Syrian refugees who had left from the Bodrum Peninsula (in southwestern Turkey) to reach the island of Kos but unfortunately did not make it to their “destination.” This image, which has so greatly affected consciences all over Europe, is just the tip of the iceberg forming the full drama, because every year the dead can be counted by the thousands.

On World Refugee Day Casa Árabe attempts to place the emphasis not only on the strength, courage and perseverance of the families forced to abandon their homes, but also to reflect upon the role which society can or must play. To do this, we have invited specialists on the topic, who will give us a closer look at it from the local to international levels, to view a reality which, despite happening so nearby, feels a world away.
World Refugee Day
  • World Refugee Day. Morning session

    World Refugee Day. Morning session

    June 20, 2019From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
    CORDOBA
    Casa Árabe headquarters (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9). From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Free entry until the event’s capacity is reached.
    In Spanish.
    Casa Árabe, with the cooperation of the association Accem, has organized the morning session in this program held to commemorate World Refugee Day. It will be taking place from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at our headquarters in Cordoba.
    Accem is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to defend basic rights, and to assist or accompany people in a situation of or at risk of social exclusion.

    Specializing in asylum and migration, it does so much more, including work to promote inclusiveness for people and seeking to ensure equal rights, duties and opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their origin, gender, race, religion, opinions or social group.

    Schedule:
    • 10:00 a.m.: Reading of the World Refugee Day manifesto.
    • 10:30 a.m.  Colloquium/talk given by applicants seeking international protection,  in which they will discuss the socio-political realities in their countries of origin.
    • 12:30 p.m.: Screening of short-subject films.
    - Penélope.
    - Sólo las palomas vuelan (“Only Doves Fly”) by Concha Fernández
    • 1::00 p.m.  Closing event.

    Session schedule

    Organize: ACCEM, Spanish Ministry of Labor, Migration and Social Social Security, European Union (European Social Fund) and Casa Árabe
  • World Refugee Day. Evening session
    Photo: Alaa Chnana

    World Refugee Day. Evening session

    June 20, 20197:00 p.m.
    CORDOBA
    Casa Árabe headquarters (at Calle Samuel de los Santos Gener, 9). 7:00 p.m. Free entry until the event’s capacity is reached.
    In Spanish.
    Casa Árabe’s day of events will continue throughout the afternoon of June 20 with a conference on international mobility and a round table discussion on the topic.
    The afternoon/evening session schedule is as follows:

    7:00 p.m.    Opening event. World Refugee Day
    Rafaela Valenzuela, Assistant Delegate of the Spanish Government in Cordoba
    Pedro-Martínez Avial, General Director of Casa Árabe

    7:15 p.m.    International mobility in the twenty-first century
    María Jesús Herrera, mission director at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Spain

    7:45 p.m.    Round table discussion
    Riace (Italy), utopia or reality
    Maite López (anthropologist), and Paloma Manzano (with a degree in Political Science and Sociology)

    Full program for asylum and integration of applicants and beneficiaries of International Protection. Spanish Red Cross migration centre in Puente Genil.
    Germán Ayala Alcalá-Zamora (director of social intervention for the province of Cordoba), and Gema López Alba (a technician at the migration center)

    8:25 p.m.    Debate

    Information sheet for the day of events 

    Platform for “Cordoba, a Refuge City,” City Council of Cordoba

    Organize: Casa Árabe