#SafeSpace2020 Campaign

How you can get involved - and the rules!

We are writing to formally release our campaign for 2020 Refugee Week. We want to show people how many people stand in solidarity with refugees and how many people truly care. We also want to represent the importance of the fundamental human right of having a safe space and feeling secure. It is absolutely reprehensible that there are people on the planet being denied of this human right - with many political happenings telling them that they are not wanted in the country they truly want to prosper in. We are devastated as the news is constantly updated with seemingly negative stories about refugees and their position in society. We hope our campaign will help to raise some awareness and create a poignant image of solidarity. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that every human has the right to life, liberty and security of person (United Nations). The lack of safe space for refugees totally denies them of this right. We need to promote awareness for this.

What we are asking you to do is send us a photo of you in your safe space. This can be of you in your living room, your garden, your bedroom, wherever! We also want you to hold your hands up in the shape of a heart, as a sign of solidarity. Once you’ve emailed us your photo, we will be using it within a collage of many photos, and posting it on our social media. Please make sure you are comfortable with this, and declare we have your permission to use the photo in this manner in the email. If any under 18s want to take part on their own, we will need written permission from your parent/guardian that we are able to use your photo on our social media pages; they can email us from their own email address, declaring who they are giving permission for in their email. Also, make sure that in your photos, you don’t show any sensitive information, any photos that show anyone who has not given their permission for their photos to be used. This is all really important stuff, so if we don’t get permission or we declare that there is any sensitive information in your photo, we will contact you to either change the photo or get the permission we need. If we don’t receive this information by 15th June, then we will not include you in the campaign.

Once you’ve sent in your photos, we want you to share this campaign across your platform. Tell your family and friends about this campaign. We think that with a great number of photos, we can show people how many people truly stand in solidarity with refugees and how we must respect their human rights. Share the graphic on your instagram story, your Facebook timeline, your Snapchat story, wherever! Just spread the word!

To send us your photos, email us at [ youthforrefugees@outlook.com ]. Your photos will then be used to create the collage, but will not be stored on our personal files. You will be contacted when the final product is revealed! It will be posted on Instagram (@youthforrefugeesuk) and Twitter (@youthforefugees). Follow us on those pages to make sure you are among the first to see it!

We thank you so much for wanting to participate in our first campaign. A lot of planning has gone into this, and we truly think that the final product will be poignant and moving, showing how having security and a safe space is a fundamental human right and how we will not be silenced until everyone’s human rights are respected.

Bruce & Ella.