Schools of Sanctuary Ireland presented its first winter webinar on Friday December 9th. 

 “The Refugee Journey” was billed to mark Human Rights Day 2022. With 128 registrations from schools all around Ireland and a large majority of those registrations representing a classroom of children, it would have been quite a packed conference hall if all attendees were present in real life! 

Recommended for 4th-6th primary students and all post-primary, the one-hour webinar presented information about the origins of Human Rights Day, the meaning of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 1951 Refugee Convention. The audience also learned about the differences between the various statuses of someone who is a newcomer to a country (refugee/asylum-seeker/migrant) and about the difficulties and barriers that many people face. 

But the highlight of the event was undoubtedly the contributions of our 5 guest speakers. Our Sanctuary Ambassadors told their stories about coming to Ireland in difficult circumstances and how they have built their new lives here in Ireland. In order of appearance, we heard from Olga Iamstun from Ukraine, Hashem Badran from Syria, Raneem Abubaker from Sudan, Obianuju Ekedozie from Nigeria and Fayaz Shirzad from Afghanistan, a student at Mount Sion CBS Waterford, who was interviewed by his teacher Jacinta O Rourke. The honesty, bravery, openness and eloquence of each speaker was absolutely inspirational and invaluable to all listeners. We thank you and we love you Sanctuary Ambassadors!

Feedback from attendees:

“Hearing the accounts by the speakers helped the students to understand the impact of being a refugee”

“Most useful for us was hearing the  voices of the ambassadors and their stories, their courage and their resilience”

“This was a great way to teach geography syllabus outside of books”

To view the video of the recording (45 minutes duration) and the follow up resources (slides and activity sheets), please check here or for any questions please email us: [email protected]

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