Volunteer Opportunity - Volunteer Festival Rep (Refugee Festival Scotland)

Time Commitment Some hours in support of our pre-festival preparations (such as mailouts) from mid-May
At least 5 shifts across the time period of
Friday 12 - Sunday 21 June 2026
Evenings and weekend work will be available.

Responsible to Festival Manager, Festival Coordinator

Location Venues across Scotland (mainly Glasgow)
There will be festival events to support across Scotland.

Duration Between 12 and 21 June, and some additional induction and training days mid to late May.

Refugee Festival Scotland celebrates the richness and diversity of Scotland's communities. The festival brings people from refugee and local communities together to celebrate the contribution refugees make to the vibrancy and richness of Scotland's cultural life and the welcome offered by local people.

Coordinated by Scottish Refugee Council, our festival of arts, culture and community gives people from different backgrounds the chance to meet, share stories, get to know each other better and discover how much we all have in common.

Refugee Festival Scotland's programme of events offers communities the chance to speak for themselves, to define themselves on their own terms and in their own voices. The festival is centred on World Refugee Day, 20 June, established by the UN in 2000. Over the last 26 years, the festival has grown from a one-day Glasgow based music and food event, to a ten-day programme of more than 150 events across Scotland.

In 2026, we will be marking the 75th anniversary of the UN Refugee Convention, and inviting events to engage with ideas of celebration, collaboration and building a shared future. Everyone is welcome to take part!

Join us to be part of this year's festival and help build and energise a movement of welcome and inclusivity for people seeking sanctuary in Scotland.

The full Festival programme will be announced mid-May.

Refugee Festival Scotland is about celebrating and having fun, but it also has a serious purpose. By opening doors and building bridges across communities, we help increase understanding about the need for a fairer and more just asylum system and for a more welcoming reception for people seeking refugee protection in Scotland.

Refugee Festival raises the profile of refugee issues and helps people to understand why refugees flee their homes and seek safety in Scotland and other countries. It challenges negative perceptions and attitudes and provides a platform for refugee voices to be heard - on the stage, in arts venues, communities, and the media.

Festival Volunteers assist us by representing Scottish Refugee Council at events; carrying out evaluation and interviews with participants; providing feedback to the Festival Team; supporting the delivery of events organised by the Festival team (one per volunteer); helping promote the festival and put together mail outs; and helping us document the festival through photography, social media and blogging.

Duties will involve:

• Helping with promotion activities in the run up to the Festival, such as poster mail outs
• Giving hands on support at events organised by the Festival team (one per volunteer)
• Attending Refugee Festival Scotland events on behalf of Scottish Refugee Council
• Giving information to members of the public about Refugee Festival Scotland and Scottish Refugee Council
• Ensuring people complete the evaluation questionnaires
• Speaking with attendees about their experience of coming to Refugee Festival Scotland events
• Filling an evaluation form for every event that you attend to provide feedback

• An interest in arts and community events.
• Ability to work with a range of different people including asylum seekers and refugees.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Reliability, punctuality and enthusiasm.

• The opportunity to welcome people, including asylum seekers and refugees, to the festival
• The opportunity to attend exciting events and be part of a dynamic team
• The chance to meet new people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences
• The opportunity to contribute new ideas to the development of Refugee Festival Scotland 2026
• Training in working with asylum seekers and refugees
• A Refugee Festival Scotland 2026 t shirt!