Opening the doors to dialogue

World Refugee Day

Far too often we just talk about refugees - it is time to let people tell their own story.

The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament is organising a unique project on World Refugee Day, 20 June, to create a global conversation and raise awareness about the situation of refugees around the globe.

We invite you to enter the Portal (container) placed in front of the European Parliament and come face-to-face with people in an identical space somewhere else in the world. The portal includes a sophisticated multimedia which will allow you to connect with refugees in different cities.

Directly from Brussels to Jordan, Palestine, Germany or Iraq, people will be able to communicate, dance or sing together as if they were in one room.

Come by and be part of the dialogue.

Check the full programme of the event below

Brussels Draft Schedule

Date	Time in Brussels	Connecting Site	Notes	Connection Brussels
June 20	10am-12pm	Erbil, Iraq 11am-1pm	The Portal is located in Harsham Camp, on the outskirts of the city of Erbil in northern Iraq. The camp hosts 1,500 internally displaced Iraqi families who fled the so-called Islamic State take-over of Mosul and surrounding villages in mid-2014. Erbil is the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, which hosts around 1.5 million internally displaced Iraqis and almost 230,000 Syrian refugees.	10:15 Official opening Greens/EFA president Ska Keller with Journalists 11:00 Co Presidents of Ecolo Zakia Khattabi and Patrick Dupriez
	12:30pm-2:30pm	Kigali, Rwanda 12:30-2:30pm	In Kigali, we have invited UNHCR Rwanda and refugees and internally displaced Congolese Tutsi’s to visit our Portal at Impact Hub hosted by Kurema, Kureba, Kwiga - a public arts social enterprise using street-arts and art-actions to involve civil society in positive social change.	12:30 School class 1:45 Green MEP Barbara Lochbihler (Germany) with german school class 2 pm group picture with Green Party leaders from all over Europe
	3pm-5pm	Amman, Jordan 4pm-6pm	Our Portal in Amman is located at FABLAB, a collaboration with Refugee Open Ware. Refugee Open Ware works to harness advanced technology, co-creation and open innovation to reduce suffering, fulfill basic needs, and accelerate inclusive development in fragile and conflict-affected areas. Their mission is to catalyze investment in humanitarian technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, with and for conflict-affected communities.
	6pm-8pm	Berlin, Germany 6pm-8pm	Our Berlin Portal is located at Migration Hub, which creates spaces where social entrepreneurs and organizations meet to design solutions for migration challenges. They identify and host promising social initiatives and social entrepreneurs working in the field of migration and integration. Many of the entrepreneurs working in the space are refugees or have been displaced.	6 pm: Introduction by Greens/EFA president Philippe Lamberts 6:15 Concert by “Syrians got talent”
June 21	9am-11am	Herat, Afghanistan 11:30am-1:30pm	The Herat Portal is located on the campus of Hariwa University, in the center of town, and run by the Afghan Development and Inspiration Bureau (ADIB). ADIB is dedicated to empowering young Afghan men and women through the promotion of entrepreneurship.	9am acrobat class by circus artists 9:30 discussion with school class
	11:30-1:30pm	Gaza, Palestine 12:30-2:30pm	Mercy Corps and Gaza Sky Geeks host the Portal in Gaza City. Gaza Sky Geeks was founded in 2011 to build Gaza’s startup movement. They run a vibrant co-working space. In 2013, the Gaza Sky Geeks accelerator began connecting top teams to global resources to transform Gaza’s most talented youth into the Middle East’s business leaders.	11:30 Noah Tauche and school band 1pm MEP Terry Reintke
	2-5pm	Erbil, Iraq 3-6pm	The Portal is located in Harsham Camp, on the outskirts of the city of Erbil in northern Iraq. The camp hosts 1,500 internally displaced Iraqi families who fled the so-called Islamic State take-over of Mosul and surrounding villages in mid-2014. Erbil is the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, which hosts around 1.5 million internally displaced Iraqis and almost 230,000 Syrian refugees.	2pm Discussion with High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini (tbc) 4pm discussion with William Swing, Director General International office for Migration
	6-8 PM	Rye Arts Center, New York 12pm-2pm	Leadership from HIAS - a local resettlement organization in Westchester, New York visit the Portal at the Rye Arts Center to discuss resettlement strategies. Mark Hetfield and Rabbi Jenni Rosen will be in attendance.
June 22	9am-11am	Kabul, Afghanistan 11:30am-1:30pm	The Portal is located at Turquoise Mountain, a non-profit, non-governmental organization regenerating the old city of Kabul, and spurring the sustainable development of the Afghan crafts industry. Refugees from UNHCR Afghanistan’s refugee camp would be invited to the Portal for dialogues.	9.00 - 9.30 discussion with Jean Lambert, Green UK MEP 9:30-10:15 Discussion with School class 10:15 - 11:00 Discussion with German Green MEP Helga Trüpel members of the Committee for Culture and Education
	11:15am-1:15am	Erbil, Iraq 1:15pm-3:15pm	The Portal is located in Harsham Camp, on the outskirts of the city of Erbil in northern Iraq. The camp hosts 1,500 internally displaced Iraqi families who fled the so-called Islamic State take-over of Mosul and surrounding villages in mid-2014. Erbil is the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region, which hosts around 1.5 million internally displaced Iraqis and almost 230,000 Syrian refugees.	11:15 Laura Batalla; coordinator Friends of Turkey 11:30 Noah Tauche and school band
	2:00pm-4:30pm	Berlin, Germany 2:00pm-4:30pm	Our Berlin Portal is located at Migration Hub, which creates spaces where social entrepreneurs and organizations meet to design solutions for migration challenges. They identify and host promising social initiatives and social entrepreneurs working in the field of migration and integration. Many of the entrepreneurs working in the space are refugees or have been displaced.	2pm School class 3pm school class 4pm discussion with Jean Lambert, Green UK MEP
	6pm-8pm	Mexico City, Mexico 11am-1pm	The Habesha Project is a neutral, not-for-profit, non-political, and non-faith based international Mexican-led humanitarian initiative aimed at sending a message of solidarity to the Syrian nation. It does so by making it possible for Syrian students, who have fled the conflict, to travel to Mexico to pursue higher education. In association with leading academic institutions, the Project will foster discussion designed to increase awareness about the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, as well as regional and global implications of the conflict.