In 2001 the United Nations constituted The World Refugee day , an observance dedicated to raising awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world.
Starting from this date, every year on June 20, organizations and offices of the United Nations system, and most importantly, governments, civil society, the public and private sectors, schools, universities and, more generally, citizens are invited to participate with initiatives and demonstrations of solidarity and adhesion.
This year, with the initiative #StepWithRefugees — Take A Step on World Refugee Day , UNHCR literally invites us to put ourselves in the shoes of those who are forced to walk for miles and miles to reach a safe place.
“Together, we are challenging ourselves to cover two billion kilometers in 12 months, just as refugees worldwide do each year to reach the nearest point of safety” we read on the UNHCR site.
For anyone who wants to take part in this solidarity challenge, a fit app is made available. Through this tool the kilometers traveled by each walking, jogging or cycling are added to a global counter.
The symbolic goal is to reach the 2 billion of kilometers amount, which is the distance that refugees around the world have traveled this year. This campaign is reinforced by the testimonies of those who managed to save themselves only following the act of extreme resilience which is walking for very long distances in the most adverse conditions.
The main aim is to build better and deeper understanding of refugees real condition.
We, as New Neighbours, join this wish, with the purpose to contribute moving forward with the project .
