World Refugee Day 2025 observed in Cox's Bazar

 
Marking World Refugee Day 2025, a vibrant award ceremony for young participants in an essay and art competition titled "MyNeighbor, My Friend" was held in the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar on Thursday.

As a joint initiative of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC), the United Nations, and humanitarian agencies, the event awarded both Rohingya refugees and local Bangladeshi youth with special recognition and prizes for their powerful written essays and art pieces.

World Refugee Day, annually observed on 20 June, is a global commemoration to foster empathy and raise awareness about the plight of refugees around the world and recognize the communities that host them. Fittingly, this year's World Refugee Day theme is "Solidarity with Refugees." In alignment with this theme, the award ceremony took place on Thursday (19 June) at Camp-4 Darbar hall.

Awards were presented to winners in the essay competition from both the Rohingya and local Bangladeshi communities: Fayazul Islam (Winner, English); Shoaib Bin Hasan (Winner, Bengali); Sarwar Shah (First Runner-up) and Mohammad Arz (Second Runner-up) Winners of the art competition were Ahmed Rafsan (First Prize); Fiona Nusaiba Juha (First Runner-up); Mohammad Shahad (Second Runner-up)

The Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, Mr. Mostafizur Rahman, attended the event and handed over the prizes to the winners. 

Also present were heads of UN agencies operating in Cox's Bazar, representatives from partner organizations, and senior officials.

With support from humanitarian agencies, the competition was organized to nurture and showcase the creativity and talent of local Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugee youth and children. 

Themed "My Neighbor, My Friend," the competition began on 2 June and concluded on 14. It welcomed participants aged 8-16 years for art and 16-24 years for essay writing.

The essay competition promoted messages of peace within and between the Rohingya and host communities, while the art competition conveyed the reason for why the Rohingya fled to Bangladesh and the importance of peaceful co-existence through visual storytelling. Participants also expressed their aspirations, resilience, and hope for the future.