Umbrella Refugee Committee

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Umbrella Refugee Committee

✊🏼 Refugees Empowering Society in Belgium
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26/03/2026

🇺🇳 Meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees

The URC and our Refugee Committees had the honour of meeting the 12th United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Barham Salih. His displacement background brought a constructive perspective to the exchange, underscoring the importance of lived experience in shaping inclusive responses.

During the meeting, we:
- Presented the work of the URC and partner committees.
- Shared the concerns and the forced displacement realities of our communities.
- Discussed the current challenges faced by our Refugee Committees.
- Engaged in a solutions-oriented dialogue where we agreed on the urgent need for more direct funding for refugee-led organisations, and for more meaningful and structured refugee participation from the earliest stages of policy design.

We also aligned on strengthening collaboration between UNHCR and refugee-led organisations to raise funds and support their work, and on promoting initiatives such as the Umbrella as a model of good practice across Europe.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the High Commissioner and UNHCR Belgium for convening this fruitful conversation and for reaffirming a shared commitment: that refugees are key partners in shaping initiatives that affect their lives.

18/03/2026

🎓VUB Community Service Learning Session

On 6 March, we welcomed VUB - Vrije Universiteit Brussel students to the URC Community Centre for a Community Service Learning session as part of the Migration and Diversity course at the Brussels School of Governance (BSoG).

🤝 This course is taught in partnership between VUB and the Umbrella Refugee Committee, allowing students to engage directly with refugee-led organising and advocacy in Belgium. The session was a true example of mutual learning: students bringing fresh perspectives and skills, while our community offered first-hand insights into what bottom-up migration governance really looks like.

🌍At URC, we believe refugee voices must not only be heard, they must also be meaningfully included. Exchanges like this create spaces where academic knowledge and lived experience can meet and enrich one another.

A big thank you to all the students who joined with open minds, curiosity, and genuine commitment. We look forward to continuing this collaboration.

09/03/2026

🏃‍♂️ URC is running the 20km de Bruxelles!🏃‍♂️

On 31 May 2026, we’re bringing together a team of runners to take on the 20km de Bruxelles / 20km door Brusselto run for solidarity, participation, and belonging in Brussels.

Our team includes refugees, asylum seekers, and supporters running side by side.

💛 Want to support the run?
Donate here: https://www.solidaireactie.be/project/umbrella-refugee-committee/donate

🫴🏽 Where will your donation go?
• Covering the race registration fees for refugee and asylum-seeker runners
• Supporting our refugee-led mobile patrols
• Funding our educational and cultural workshops

🎁 Bonus: Donations of €40 or more are eligible for a 30% tax deduction.

Help us run for a more welcoming Brussels. Every step is a reminder that everyone deserves a place in the community.

26/02/2026

Hi everyone! 👋

💻 We’re excited to launch our Digital Workshops for young people starting in March! ✨

📅 Every Wednesday | 4:00–5:00 pm
📍 Rue de la Loi 89, 1040 Bruxelles
🆓Free entry & refreshments provided.

🔗 Register here: https://forms.office.com/e/6JhfaZUwT6⁠�

21/02/2026

❄️ Snowy Streets. Human Warmth.

🚇 As the cold and the snow hit Brussels, our refugee-led patrols walked the streets and metro stations to bring warmth and support to people experiencing homelessness.

🫴 Take a look at the work of our patrol from last Sunday and keep helping us support others by donating through this link:
🔗 https://donate.stripe.com/cN201Nbgpg2549ybII

🙏 Thank you to:
- Everyone who contributed to the Winter Solidarity Campaign, for allowing us to distribute your generous donations of clothing and emergency materials.
- IOM - UN Migration for the support through the 2025 Incentive Fund.
- Fedasil for the financial support provided through the Conex project.
- UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, for the support through the Refugee-led Innovation Fund.

20/02/2026

Hello there!🌍

🗞️Have you heard about our New Umbrella Refugee Newsletter?
A space for updates, powerful stories, and collective action.

⤵️ Subscribe through the link and keep an eye on your mailbox!
🔗 https://refugee-committee.beehiiv.com/

16/02/2026

⚽️ International Football Tournament🏟️

🌍 Throwback to an unforgettable day! 14 teams came together for the “Kick” Football Tournament, welcoming 80+ players from Afghanistan, Burundi, DR Congo, Eritrea, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and beyond.

📈 This tournament marked the final step of a journey that began in May with an introductory session, included 30 weeks of training, and followed our first tournament in June. It was inspiring to see the community grow from 50 participants at the start to over 80 by the finish!

🤝 At the URC, we continue to use sport as a bridge for inclusion and togetherness. For 4 hours, players showed heart and respect, creating a safe space where shared smiles, energy, and solidarity were at the centre of every match. Seeing so many familiar faces and new friends together highlighted the strength of our community.️

Congratulations to:
🏅 All participants for the fair play spirit.
🥇 The Burundian Team for winning the tournament.
🏆 The women's teams for winning the fair play prize.

A big thank you to two great partners for standing with refugee communities:
1) 🇧🇪 The Royal Belgian FA, for making this tournament possible through their “Play Together Impact Fund”.
Special appreciation to their Belgian national coaches, whose EU certifications and advanced expertise in player development and team building were instrumental in bringing this event to life:
- Zelfa Madhloum, for her outstanding leadership as coach and referee of the women's team.
- Firas Salah Shattour, for his dedication in coaching the other teams and serving as referee across both men’s and women’s matches.
2)👟 To Runners' lab for the donation of over 20 boxes of shoes that made our participants play in comfort and to UNHCR Belgium for facilitating the partnership.

12/02/2026

🌈 Rainbow Refugee Committee Magazine Article! 📰

✍️ The Rainbow Refugee Committee recently published a piece in Ket Magazine under the title "No one should go through this alone".

🗞️ This article tells a story of LGBTQIA+ refugees forced to flee, often in silence and fear, who chose to transform this experience into collective strength.

🌈 Born out of a significant gap during asylum journeys, the Rainbow Refugee Committee emerged from a vital need: to create a safe space, by and for the people concerned. This press spotlight reminds us why it is important for organisations like Rainbow RC to exist — so that no one has to face exile and the asylum process alone.

👏 Bravo to our colleague Axel from the Rainbow Refugee Committee for this article, for your work, and for being an important voice for thousands of people.

🙏 Special thanks to Ket Magazine, to Iker Del Rio for the great article, and to Eléna Leleu for the picture.

🔗 Read the full article here: https://www.calameo.com/read/0072541912911823d2ac3

05/02/2026

🫴🏼Victims Protection Workshop⬇️

❔How can we better identify and protect victims of human trafficking and human smuggling in Belgium?

📍The URC recently took part in a dedicated training session to better understand Belgium’s protection framework and the realities faced by victims.

🔍 The session focused on:
• The difference between human trafficking and human smuggling.
• Key indicators and signs of exploitation.
• Different forms of exploitation & the sectors where they occur.
• The protection procedure and available support pathways.
• The role of specialized centers such as PAG-ASA, Payoke, and Sürya, including support for minors.

🛡️ We also reflected on why victims often cannot leave on their own — fear, dependency, manipulation, and lack of safe alternatives play a major role — and on our responsibility to listen carefully and refer people safely.

💙 Strengthening our knowledge is an essential step toward better protection and meaningful support.

🙏🏽 Thanks to PAG-ASA for delivering this insightful session and to Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen for the invitation.

Afghan Refugee Committee in Belgium, Iraki Refugee Committee, ملتقى اليمنيين بلجيكا Yemeni Forum in Belgium vzw, Rainbow Refugee Committee, Women Refugee Committee Belgium, Ukrainian Voices RC

04/02/2026

Engaging with Policymakers

As the new EU Pact on Migration and Asylum enters into application on June 2026, the Umbrella Refugee Committee attended a presentation by UNHCR on its Recommendations to the Cypriot and Irish 2026 Presidencies of the Council of the European Union.

Representing refugees with a unified voice, our members raised questions to the Presidencies on implementation details related to inclusion, housing, and the solidarity mechanism under the .

Thanks to UNHCR for involving civil society organizations in this key political moment and to the Presidencies for exchanging views with us.

UNHCR Belgium, Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU 2026, Council of the European Union

Afghan Refugee Committee in Belgium, Iraki Refugee Committee, Ukrainian Voices RC, Rainbow Refugee Committee, Syrian Refugees Committee in Belgium, Women Refugee Committee Belgium ملتقى اليمنيين بلجيكا Yemeni Forum in Belgium vzw

10/12/2025

🦺 Over the past months, our Mobile Patrols have expanded their presence across Brussels. 🦺

👥 With more than 40 trained volunteers and over 15 languages spoken during each patrol, we have been able to support people who often cannot access help due to language barriers or lack of information.

🤝 Thanks to the support from IOM Belgium and Luxembourg and Fedasil we now distribute around 30 pairs of high-quality shoes per patrol, warm drinks, emergency items, referrals and personalised guidance. Our teams offer clear legal and social information, and the follow up occurs through our dedicated help line.

✏️ Each encounter is documented to map needs, hotspots and gaps in services, helping strengthen support for people facing homelessness and displacement in Brussels.

📷 These photos reflect the work, the training, the impact and the community behind it.

Adres

Rue De La Loi 89
Brussels
1040

Website

http://refugee-committee.org/

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