World Refugee Day will be celebrated on June 20th at the behest of the UN General Assembly to highten awareness of the conditions of millions of refugees seeking asylum, as they flee war and violence in their own countries. The UN Agency for Refugees has launched the “#With Refugees” campaign, to give visibility to the gestures of solidarity towards refugees, giving voice to those who welcome and strengthen the encounter between local communitites and asylum seekers. But “#With Refugees” is also an appeal, by the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that calls upon governments to ensure that every refugee child receives an education, that every refugee family has a safe place to live, and that every refugee can have access to a job or acquire new skills that will allow them to contribute to the community. The petition will be presented to the UN Assembly in 2018 at the adoption of the Global Compact for refugees. “Today,” says Carlotta Sami, spokesperson for the UNHCR for South Europe, “being on the side of the refugees is not only a humanitarian act; unfortunately, it is an act of bravery. It has become uncomfortable to be on the side of those who have chosen to leave their own countries and face a very heavy challenge – tha of starting again from zero in a new environment, often indifferent and, in the worst cases, hostile.” There have been numerous events at the end of this month. See: www.unhcr.org/withrefugees