INTER’ACT: Year 9 Students Raise Awareness of Refugee Rights

As part of the 75th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Directorate of International Cooperation (DCI) and the Department of Education, Youth and Sport (DENJS) of the Prince’s Government organised the third edition of Inter’Act, an initiative aimed at raising awareness of the refugee cause.

During a day dedicated to sharing and discovery, participants had the opportunity to hear personal testimonies, visit an exhibition, take part in sports workshops and enjoy a Central African-inspired meal.

On the eve of World Refugee Day, celebrated each year on 20 June, two Year 9 classes from Institution François d’Assise–Nicolas Barré (FANB) were introduced to the realities faced by refugees around the world, with the aim of fostering a better understanding of their status.

To this end, an exhibition entitled “The Most Important Thing” was presented throughout the school. It featured a series of portraits of refugees holding the one object they considered most important and had taken with them when forced to flee their country. Following the exhibition, students were invited to undertake the same exercise by identifying their own “most important thing” — the object they would choose to take with them if they were forced to leave their country.

The students then had the opportunity to meet and speak with two young refugee women from Syria and Venezuela. After sharing their personal stories, they led sports and dance workshops for the two classes.

While the students took part in workshops and discussions throughout the morning, a refugee chef from Central Africa worked alongside the school catering team to prepare a traditional meal from her home country. This convivial moment brought the third edition of Inter’Act in the Principality to a close.