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Blog → June 10, 2021

2021 TSOS World Refugee Day Events

World Refugee Day 2021

This year we will be holding in-person and virtual events for World Refugee Day.


IN-PERSON EVENTS

June 18

UTAH

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and Celebration

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

415 East 3900 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84107

World Refugee Day Celebration

6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Cottonwood Regional Park
4300 S 1300 E
Salt Lake City, Utah, 84117

Highlights of the evening include

  • introduction of the Global Refugee Archive
  • Photobooths celebrating tradition, individual stories, and refuge
  • Live performance of multimedia composition “The Story of Our Journey”
  • Reading children’s books “Samir’s Bike” and Lubna and Pebble” and more.


VIRTUAL EVENTS

June 17

Instagram Live Panel Discussion

8pm ET

View details at We Welcome Refugees

Join a We Welcome Refugees Instagram Live featuring Their Story is Our Story as we honor the stories of refugees.

June 19

Virtual Presentation and Panel Discussion

4:00 - 5:00 PM CET (10 AM EST/7AM PST)

View details and reply

This event is organized and hosted by TSOS Community Program Coordinators for Europe (EU/UK/Egypt)

Virtual World Refugee Day Event sharing videos, personal stories, and a panel discussion celebrating the wonderful ways refugees are bringing more joy, culture, and healing to our communities.

We invite you to take a moment to learn more and open your heart to every individual displaced, who is looking for a home.


June 20

Virtual Multimedia Composition

“The Story of Our Journey“
1 PM EDT (10 AM PST/7PM CET)

https://fb.me/e/1ryC6fXia

This event is organized and hosted by Sunset Run for Refugees and will be followed by a panel discussion.

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The musical score and accompanying film amplify first-hand refugee stories through a multimedia artistic experience. Authentic audio and video interview footage provided by TSOS supports the clarinet and fixed media electronics, providing the viewer with an opportunity to reflect as refugees share details of their personal, arduous journeys from a home lost to a home found.

To learn more about the composition visit https://tsosrefugees.org/conversations/the-story-of-our-journey

In preparation for World Refugee Day, check out our new playlist:

Other Posts

Official Statement on the Detention of Refugees and Ongoing Community Violence

With another death in Minnesota and continued violence toward individuals and groups standing up for their communities, we acknowledge the profound fear and uncertainty people are feeling--not just locally, but across the country.

On top of this, there are reports that refugees invited and admitted to our country through the U.S. Refugee Admission Program are now being detained, meaning that our new friends and neighbors feel that fear most acutely.

Refugees have already fled violence and persecution once. They came here legally, seeking safety. In moments like these, we reaffirm our commitment to building communities where refugees and immigrants can live without fear. Where they can go to work, send their children to school, and build lives of dignity and belonging.

We call for due process, accountability, and humanity in all immigration enforcement operations. We call upon our leaders to demand the demilitarization of our neighborhoods and cities. And we call on all of us to continue the work of welcoming and protecting those who have been forcibly displaced from their homes.

January 28, 2026

Official Statement on the Shooting of the Members of the National Guards

December 1, 2025

Official Statement on the FY2026 Refugee Admissions Cap and Prioritization of White South Africans

November 17, 2025
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What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2024, more than 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, or human rights abuses.

An increase of 7.2 million over 2023, that’s more than 19,619 people every day — roughly one person every 4.4 seconds.

They arrive in refugee camps and other countries, like the US, seeking the one thing they’ve lost: safety.

Fleeing political imprisonment, ethnic violence, religious persecution, gang threats, or war crimes, they come with what little they managed to carry:

Legal papers – if they’re lucky.

A single backpack.

Sometimes a child’s hand in theirs.

They also carry the weight of what they left behind: fractured families, homes they’ll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

They carry loss most of us can’t imagine – but also the truth of what they’ve endured.

At TSOS, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares their experience of forced displacement, they reclaim their voice. And when we amplify that voice – through film, photography, writing, and advocacy – the world listens. Hearts soften. Communities open. Policy begins to shift.

That shift matters. Because when neighbors understand instead of fear…

when lawmakers see people, not politics…

when a teacher knows what her student has survived…

Rebuilding life from the ashes becomes possible.

We’re fighting an uphill battle. In today’s political climate, refugee stories are often twisted or ignored. They’re reduced to statistics, portrayed as national threats, or used to score political points.

The truth – the human, nuanced truth – gets lost, and when it does, we lose compassion.

We are here to share their truth anyway.

At TSOS, we don’t answer to headlines or algorithms. We are guided by a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and welcomed.

Our work is powered by the people we meet — refugees and asylum seekers rebuilding after loss, allies offering sanctuary, and communities daring to extend belonging.

Your support helps us share their stories — and ensure they’re heard where they matter most.

“What ultimately persuaded the judge wasn’t a legal argument. It was her story.”

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, TSOS

Will you help us keep telling the truth?

No donation is too small — and it only takes a minute of your time.

Why give monthly?

We value every gift, but recurring contributions allow us to plan ahead and invest more deeply in:

  • New refugee storytelling and advocacy projects
  • Resources to train and equip forcibly displaced people to share their own stories
  • Public education that challenges fear with empathy
  • Local efforts that help communities welcome and integrate newcomers

As our thank-you, monthly supporters receive fewer fundraising messages — and more stories of the impact they’re making possible.

You don’t have to be displaced to stand with those who are.

Can you give today — and help carry these stories forward?

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