Many thanks to the University for hosting our AGM this year, so appropriate since the university has been so committed on its journey to become our first University of Sanctuary in Northern Ireland.

This year, we awarded Denise Wright with our Sanctuary in Community Award. Denise started us off on our journey to become Belfast City Of Sanctuary, with the City of Belfast itself declaring itself to be a City of Sanctuary.

We operate Sanctuary through Streams. Paul Nolan presented our annual report demonstrating the work done the past year.

One of our Streams is Schools and Colleges of Sanctuary of which we now have 74, with 25 more on their way to be awarded as Schools and Colleges of Sanctuary.

Refugee Week 2025 will shortly be amongst us with the theme: ‘Community as a Superpower’. Watch out for our events held during the Week from 16th to 21st June 2025. Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people making their home here. Our Week will end with the Great Refugee Week Picnic at Ulidia Playing Fields on Saturday 21st June. Last year 1600 people attended.

Our thanks to Queen’s University Belfast for the hospitality extended to us at our well attended AGM, to our Chair Mehrshad Esfandiari, our Coordinator Israel Eguaogie, our Treasurer Alexis Ekwueme and to our Secretary John O’Neill for their hard work during the past year.

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24Dympna McGlade, Laura Flynn and 22 others