Refugee Week Malta (RWM) – the local edition of the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the creativity, contributions and resilience of people seeking sanctuary – is taking place between June 14 and 23 for its third edition. 

This festival, which is part of a global movement that began in the UK in 1998 to coincide with World Refugee Day on June 20, was launched in Malta in 2022 and is coordinated by Dance Beyond Borders. RWM aims to foster understanding beyond labels and build connections across various communities.

The theme for Refugee Week 2024 is ‘Our Home’ and everyone is invited to celebrate what this means to them, say the organisers.

“Home can be more than one place, and finding it can be a journey, as it is for many who leave their countries and rebuild their lives,” they say.

“Sometimes home is a single person, other times a community, and often a gesture of care and welcome. For Malta, a place where diverse backgrounds come together, this theme is especially fitting.”

A scene from a previous edition of Spark Fest, organised by Spark 15. Photo: Charlene Galea

The programme for the festival aims to explore what brings people together, connects them in their differences, and the kind of home they want to build socially and communally.

Through its diverse programming, the festival highlights the rich cultural contributions of refugees and encourages dialogue and understanding among different communities.

For the fill programme of events visit linktr.ee/refugeeweekmalta. Refugee Week Malta is coordinated by Dance Beyond Borders and is made possible through the support of various public and private entities, including Reġjun Lvant, Malta International Arts Festival of Festivals Malta, UNHCR, HSBC Malta Foundation, Accolade, Finco, Medina Asset Management, APS Bank, Melita Foundation, Risk Cap, AQA Capital Ltd., Association for Justice Equality & Peace, Team Humanity, Flutter, and Teatru Malta.

People gather for Word on the Street during the first edition of Refugee Week in 2022. Photo: Emma Micallef

Boat ride explores changing perception of the Mediterranean

Opening Refugee Week this year is Sejjaħ lil Malta on June 14 – an immersive journey on a Maltese water taxi boat, inviting participants to reflect on perceptions of the Mediterranean Sea.

This event will take place from June 14 to 16 between 4.30pm and 7.30pm at Lascaris Water Taxi wharf in Valletta.

Sejjaħ lil Malta in Maltese sounds and means the exact same as in the Arabic: “call Malta.”

The phrase was the response of the Italian Coast Guard on October 10, 2013, when a sinking boat carrying refugees sent out a distress call for help. Thirty-four people died at sea that day – killed through contested maritime borders.

Sejjaħ lil Malta invites the audience to travel on traditional Maltese boats (dgħajjes) while listening to seashells picked up from the shores of Sousse in Tunisia.

This site-specific performance explores our changing perception of the Mediterranean Sea – a fluctuating space of many borders and a death trap for those seeking refuge.

The dgħajjes themselves, once a sign of movement and local craft, now tell a story of a privatised Mediterranean seashore.

Sejjaħ lil Malta invites the audience to travel on traditional Maltese boats (dgħajjes) while listening to seashells picked up from the shores of Sousse in Tunisia

The seashells whisper oral histories from the community of boat drivers in Valletta struggling to make ends meet, refugees who survived the journey in the Mediterranean, and two artists, one in Sousse and another in Valletta, collaborating across the sea.

This site-specific performance by Tania El Khoury features performers Mohamed Ali “Dali” Aguerbi and Chakib Zidi. The boat driver is Rudy Camilleri while narration and music are by Yasmin Kuymizakis.

Singers for the event are Mouheddine “Huita” Chalchoule and Kuymizakis with technical production by Aguerbi and graphic design and illustrations by Haitham Haddad. The English translation is by Ziad Abu-Rish and the one in Maltese is by Kuymizakis.

Booking is available from unfinishedartspace.org/projects/sejjahlilmalta. Sejjaħ lil Malta was produced by Unfinished Art Space, within Figure It Out: The Art of Living Through System Failure, a project funded by the European Union, and the NGO Co-financing Scheme of the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector. The project was was first developed and commissioned as part of Dal-Baħar Madwarha exhibition curated by Maren Richter.

Some event highlights

Sejjaħ lil Malta by Tania El Khoury from June 14 to 16 is an immersive journey on a Maltese water taxi boat, inviting participants to listen to seashells collected from the Tunisian coastal city of Sousse, sparking reflections on perceptions of the Mediterranean Sea.

Għeruq Imħabblin by Chakib Zidi from June 17 to June 22 is an outdoor performance platform for reflection and dialogue on the universal theme of home, shedding light on the challenging journey of refugees and asylum seekers.

A previous edition of Spark Fest. Photo: Charlene Galea

World Refugee Day: Conference and March for Peace on June 20. Hosted by the Malta Refugee Council, this pivotal event aims to foster dialogue and collaboration on refugee issues.

Green Border hosted by El Hiblu3 Coalition on June 21: Directed by three-time Oscar Nominee Agnieszka Holland, this award-winning film sheds light on the refugee crises on the Poland-Belarus border, drawing on real experiences of refugees.

Spark Fest by Spark 15 on June 23 is a family day event to celebrate and connect people from all walks of life.