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The Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and the American Library Association invite libraries to commemorate World Refugee Day 2017. 

Did you miss World Refugee Day 2017 on June 20th? There’s always next year! Commemorate this day by pledging, sharing, and learning.  Learn more at ALA 2017.

As partners on the IMLS-funded planning grant: Project Welcome: Libraries and Community Anchors Planning for Resettlement and Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers, we are in the process of developing recommendations and an action plan to serve refugees and asylum seekers.  Also, please join us at the 2017 ALA Conference in Chicago to learn what we and other librarians are doing to support refugees.

Pledge #WithRefugees

Support UNHCR’s #WithRefugees Campaign by adding your signature and sharing the petition with your community: http://www.unhcr.org/refugeeday/us/.

Share #WithRefugees

The following document, World Refugee US Toolkit, provides you with image and video downloads and text to share on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Use #WithRefugees, #WorldRefugeeDay, #RefugeeDay, #TeamRefugees, and other hashtags to activate the World Refugee Day Emoji! (It goes live June 16 and will be available for 10 days.)  Project Welcome uses #projectwelcome #refugeeswelcome

Learn #WithRefugees

Are you attending the ALA Annual Conference 2017 in Chicago, June 22-27? We invite you to attend the many sessions focused on libraries serving refugees. See: http://tinyurl.com/wrd2017-ALA2017.

What else can you do #WithRefugees?

  • Read a book or watch a film to learn and better understand the experience of a refugee. Visit your local branch library to check out our books with inspiring and compelling stories about “real people with real needs.”
  • Wear light blue, the international color of UN aid workers, on the day of the event and let others know why you are wearing this color.
  • Join the Justice for Immigrants Campaign so that you can learn about further advocacy related activities in which you can participate.
  • Hold an information session or speaker panel with a refugee or immigrant member of your community or parish.
  • Host a potluck or dinner with newcomers in your community to try new foods and encounter and learn about new cultures.