World Refugee Day 2025: Showing Solidarity Through Arts

Next June 20, 2025 is World Refugee Day and the theme for this year’s edition is “Solidarity with Refugees.” As part of commemorative activities to mark the celebration of the event, an arts competition highlighting stories of forgiveness and tolerance was organised at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Yaounde on June 12, 2025. Participants are refugees from neigbouring countries and the competition is known as the “Tolerance Show.” The arts competition embodies essay, drawing and poetry, with participants illustrating their interpretation of the theme, “Community as a Superpower.” Some of the arts present compelling human-interest stories and visuals that bring to the limelight Cameroon’s inclusive approach to refugee protection. Other arts present the motivation of the refugees, tracing their story from their home countries to their current host communities. A jury is slated to meet on June 16, 2025 to select the winners. Certificates and prizes will be awarded to winners at the end. The event which is jointly organised by UNHCR and a civil society organisation by the name Afrogiveness Movement seeks to raise awareness, celebrate resilience and promote solidarity around the management of refugees in the country. This was highlighted by the Senior Protection Officer of UNHCR, Felicité Koko in her words of encouragement to the young participants, about 40 in number. The arts competition, she said, is intended to further assure refugees that the specialised UN agency, government and civil society organis...