Simple acts, powerful voices: Refugee Week 2025 launches with Moomin Magic

Some of the UK’s leading artists, actors and creatives are coming together for Refugee Week 2025 to champion the Simple Acts campaign - simple, everyday actions we can all do to stand in solidarity with refugees and help build more welcoming communities. 

This year’s Refugee Week runs from 16–22 June under the theme “Community As a Superpower”, and invites individuals, schools, workplaces and organisations to participate in Simple Acts such as sharing a meal, reading a book, or meeting a neighbour - small steps that, together, create big change. 

Among those lending their voices to the campaign are actors Brian Cox, Dame Joanna Lumley, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Michael Palin and Tamsin Greig; filmmakers Waad Al-Kateab and Babak Jalali; photographer, activist and filmmaker Misan Harriman; composer and activist Anoushka Shankar; artist and activist Paloma Faith; content creators Lucy Sally Sommer, Bynusieba Kitchen, Outside with Lira; environmental activist and campaigner Dr Mya-Rose Craig AKA Birdgirl; cultural organisations such as BAFTA, Barbican, British Museum, Kew Gardens, Southbank Centre and V&A; and streaming platforms such as BFI Player, Nowness, Bandcamp and more. 

There’s also thousands of events and activities taking place across the country from city-wide festivals to group walks, exhibitions, film screenings, museum tours, football tournaments, public talks, activities in schools and so much more. Artists set to take part include presenters and comedians such as Big Zuu, Fatiha El-Ghorri, Nish Kumar and Shappi Khorsandi. Poets and writers Inua Ellams, Lemn Sissay and musicians anaiis, Asian Dub Foundation, Auclair, Black Obsidian Sound System, Douniah, Goat Girl, Nadine Shah, Nu alongside many others. 

A special collaboration with Moomin Characters marks the 80th anniversary of the beloved characters with a series of illustrated Simple Acts inspired by the Moomins’ values of belonging, inclusivity and care. This year’s Refugee Week Simple Acts are: Meet Your Neighbours, Share a Film, Explore Outdoors, Read and Listen, Share a Meal, Learn Something New, Get Creative, Get Active, Join the Movement 

Dame Joanna Lumley is calling on the public to “Learn Something New” this Refugee Week: “One of the most wonderful things about life – and which I feel the Moomins embody so deeply - is our enormous capacity to learn. About each other, about the world around us, about ourselves. This Refugee Week, I invite you to take part in the Simple Act of Learning Something New. As you discover the stories, cultures or contributions of people who have sought sanctuary, you might find something that surprises you. Moves you. And most importantly, connects us all a little more.” 

Actor Brian Cox and filmmaker Babak Jalali are encouraging audiences to “Share a Film” that opens up conversations about displacement, compassion and our shared humanity: “Film has the power to take us into other people’s lives, experiences and imagination,” said Cox. “We live in a world where we need shared stories more than ever, so Refugee Week is the perfect time to watch a movie and connect with our common humanity.” 

Lucy Sally Sommer, content creator and chef, is one of several influencers taking part in in “Share a Meal”, alongside influencer Bynusieba Kitchen: “A shared meal is a shared memory - a generous gift of heritage, human connection, and tradition,” said Lucy Sally Sommer. 

Writer, actor and presenter Michael Palin offered this reflection: “Put yourself in their shoes. If you were a refugee, uprooted from your own country, often torn away from family and friends, what would you be looking for? I’d be looking for someone to talk to, someone to listen, someone to give me a helping hand in a world of change and confusion. Not a lot to ask, but small simple acts can make a very big difference.”