On World Refugee Day, Ecolint joins forces with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to honour the courage and resilience of those who have had to flee their homes. As the world faces an unprecedented number of families fleeing their homes, the highest number yet since World War II, Ecolint is organising several events in partnership with the UNHCR, on 20 June 2018 – World Refugee Day.
From 17:00 to 18:30, Ecolint will welcome Special Advisor to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Athar Sultan-Khan, for a round-table discussion on the current refugee crisis. With over 30 years of experience working with the UNHCR, Sultan-Khan will be sharing his thoughts on how to better conditions for refugees the world over. What is more, Athar Sultan-Khan is an Ecolint alumnus (LGB '74). Please register for this event at the following link: http://bit.ly/2oXGVCw
The cornerstone of this day will be the charity concert “One-Way Ticket from Moscow to Hollywood” to commemorate the talents of Sergeï Rachmaninoff and his life in exile. The concert will feature the Russian-Swiss pianist Irinia Chkourindina along with a soprano and texts read by an actor. This concert will pay tribute to Sergeï Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, a brilliant composer and conductor, and the greatest pianist of the 20th century, and will mark the 100th anniversary of his departure into exile on 23 December 1917. In 2017, one hundred years will have passed since Rachmaninoff had to tear himself away from his native home and abandon all his personal possessions, including his property of Ivanovka, near Tambov, in Russia. His sole luggage consisted of one suitcase containing a few musical scores. Like artists Wagner, Stravinsky and Bartok, Rachmaninoff suffered terribly while in exile – an exile from which he would never return.
All proceeds from the concert will be donated in equal shares to the following projects and organisations, all of which work closely with the UNHCR:
- Early Care Intervention Programme, a humanitarian NGO (founded by Ecolint alumnus Marc Salzmann - LGB '12) working in the field of early childhood development in difficult environments which currently runs projects in the Ritsona refugee camp in Greece.
- SEP Jordan, an NGO working in the field of ethical fashion, the empowerment of women and the preservation of traditional Middle-Eastern craftsmanship.
- The "I Love Syria" project by artist and jewellery designer Rania Kinge, in support of displaced women in Syria.
- The UNHCR, whose mandate it is to save the lives, protect the rights and build a better future for refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people
