Thank You for Making Refugee Week 2026 a Huge Wave of Love 

Thank You for Making Refugee Week 2026 a Huge Wave of Love 

On behalf of everyone at The Refugee Buddy Project, thank you.

Thank you to everyone who organised events, volunteered their time, shared their talents, presented a Recipe of Courage, opened venues, welcomed strangers, and helped make Refugee Week 2026 such an extraordinary celebration of community.

One piece of feedback we received from a local resident perfectly captured the spirit of the week:

"Refugee Week 2026 felt like a huge wave of love running through our town."

And what a week it was.

From Hands of Hope, organised by James Mathew Thomas, where nearly 600 people gathered in solidarity across the beach at Harbour Arms, the Pier & Dove Cafe to the warm and inspiring Refugee Week Launch at Alexandra Park Greenhouse, organised by Katy Louise, the week began with energy, hope and connection.

We were treated to incredible spoken word, poetry, writing and live music events organised by Maeve and Ted Baxter , bringing together a remarkable community of poets, writers and musicians. Sue Tilley's annual Refugee Week Pub Quiz at The St Leonards has now firmly established itself as a Refugee Week fixture and continues to bring people together through laughter, learning and friendship.

From the exceptional Dove Café and Coquina supper club collaboration , to the beautiful textile and visual arts exhibitions, and finally to the wonderful Sanctuary Festival at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, there was truly something for everyone.

We would also like to thank the many local venues and businesses that embraced Refugee Week, including The St Leonards, The Jenny Lind, The Crown, Cactus Hound, The Hastings Project, and so many others who hosted events, displayed artwork, raised awareness and opened their doors in welcome.

To every one of you played a part in making this year's events so special we would like to offer our most sincerest thank you! Please take a look at our wonderful Refugee Week 2026 Map, designed by the wonderfully talented Laura at MingoMingo Design, where all participating events and partners are listed.

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of this year was just how much was community-led. Our role at The Refugee Buddy Project was to produce and not to direct the huge array of events and Recipes of Courage, to coordinate, support and connect people.

It is clear to us that Hastings is a town of welcome and a town of love.

We are enormously grateful to The Chalk Cliff Trust for providing a small pot of funding which enabled us to support production costs, marketing, social media, design work and event expenses. Their support helped many of these wonderful community-led activities come to life.

This year also saw our Safe Havens Network truly come to life, creating visible spaces of welcome and solidarity across the town.

Our Community Organiser Nancy was busy capturing stories from the Safe Havens Network

She has been creating a short film that beautifully captures the spirit of Refugee Week, and we are delighted to announce that we will premiere her 10-minute film at the Community Conversation this October 2026. Watch this space for a date and venue.

With gratitude, admiration and hope,

The Refugee Buddy Project Team

"Compassion is contagious. Thank you for helping it spread through Hastings." ❤️

Rossana & Lily