ORANGE RIBBON CAMPAIGN
June 20th is observed as “World Refugee Day” to honour the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. Building on this, CFN will officially launch our 4th annual Orange Ribbon Campaign on June 1st to engage the broader community in showing your support for our new Calgarians.
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How can you get involved? Let us count the ways! Show support for your fellow Calgarians by wearing an orange ribbon, become a workplace / school / university champion by heading up an Orange Ribbon Campaign, book an impact speaker through CFN who can share their own compelling refugee story with your staff or student body, use social media to spread the word and make an impact, have a day to celebrate diversity at your school or business and so much more.
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To learn more about the campaign and how you, your organization or your school can get involved visit orangeribbon.ca where a packed toolkit is waiting for you.
WHAT DOES BEING A REFUGEE MEAN?
A large component of the Campaign is stressing the importance of understanding the definition of the term refugee, as developing both an awareness of the complex nature of refugees is important toward acknowledging the international community's role in aiding the refugee population. According to international law a "refugee" is specifically someone who is fleeing armed conflict or persecution and has sought refuge across international borders.
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The UNHCR puts it plainly: "These are people for whom denial of asylum has potentially deadly consequences." Misunderstanding the term can have dangerous consequences for refugees, and often gives way to political debate and xenophobia in place of relief during a humanitarian crisis. No one chooses to be a refugee.
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Stay tuned for more throughout the month of June and thank you from all of us here at CFN for helping make our community the best it can be.
Find out more about our Annual Orange Ribbon Campaign:
403-805-1750
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Get your super soft tee or hoodie on June 20th during our World Refugee Day Celebrations at CFN. 50% of the proceeds will be donated back to the Centre for Newcomers.