FAQs

WHAT IS A REFUGEE?

Refugees are persons fleeing armed conflict or persecution. Their situation is often so perilous and intolerable that they cross national borders to seek safety in nearby countries, and thus become internationally recognized as "refugees" because it is too dangerous for them to return home, and they need sanctuary elsewhere. Refugees are defined and protected in international law under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Over half of refugees are children. More than half (53%) of refugees worldwide come from just three countries: Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.

WHAT IS A MIGRANT?

Migrants choose to improve their lives by finding work, or in some cases for education, family reunion, or other reasons. Migrants do move not because of a direct threat of persecution or death. Unlike refugees, who cannot safely return home, migrants face no such impediment to return.

IS AN ASYLUM SEEKER THE SAME AS A REFUGEE?

No, an asylum seeker is someone who has applied for asylum and is waiting for a decision on their claim. A refugee is someone who has had a positive decision as has been granted protection.  

No, in fact developing nations host 86% of the world’s refugees. Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran and Ethiopia are the world’s largest refugee hosts. Turkey is home to 2.7 million Syrian refugees. Within Europe in 2016, Germany had 10 times more asylum applications than UK. Both Sweden and Hungary, with much smaller populations than the UK, had more than 4 times as many applications.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established in 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. In more than six decades, the agency has helped millions of people restart their lives. Today, a staff of more than 9,300 people in 123 countries provides protection and assistance to nearly 55 million people.

University of the Arts London (UAL) offers an extensive range of courses in art, design, fashion, communication and performing art. UAL graduates go on to work in and shape creative industries worldwide. The University draws together six renowned colleges, each with its own world-class reputation.

London College of Fashion has an international reputation as a leading provider of fashion education, research and consultancy.  The unique portfolio of specialist courses range in level, from short courses to Postgraduate.  The subject range corresponds to the process of the creation, production and promotion of fashion and the management and marketing of those activities.

Centre For Sustainable Fashion (CSF) is a Research Centre of UAL based at London College of Fashion (LCF).  CSF's work explores vital elements of 'Better Lives' LCF's commitment to using fashion to drive change, build a sustainable future and improve the way we live.

Holition is a synthesis of luxury marketers, retails specialists and cutting edge leaders in innovative and emerging digital technology.

Met Office carries out a broad range of research, from weather and ocean forecasting to climate prediction, their research and development team are at the forefront of scientific research.

UNHCR, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established in 1950, the agency is mandated tolead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide.

Helen Storey Foundation is a London based, not for profit arts organisation, inspiring new ways of thinking across art, science, design and technology by instigating cross-collaborative projects.

St Pancras International has been home to some of the finest and most discussed pieces of public art - from the Martin Jennings statue of Sir Betjeman to Paul Day's Meeting Place Statue (also known as "the lovers").  As well as welcoming visitors to London, St Pancras want to serve the people who travel through the station with something magical.

Tapastreet capture and display real-time social media content for both digital and mobile, increasing engagement and activating viral content with social media galleries.

COP21 (Conference of Parties) also known as the Paris Climate Conference is the gathering of the governments from over 190 nations, with the aim to meet, discuss and achieve an agreement on climate.  You can find out more at The Guardian and COP21 Paris.

The climate science data shown on the Dress was extracted from a major study of the global risks of future shifts in ecosystems - A multi-model analysis of risk of ecosystem shifts under climate [1]. The science was led by Dr Lila Warszawski, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, D-14412 Potsdam, Germany.   The study builds on the foundation of climate modelling projects in many countries including the Met Office Hadley Centre in the UK.  The models used were HadGEM2-ES, IPSL-CM5A-LR, MIROC-ESM-CHEM, GFDL-ESM-2M, and NorESM1-M. The sample shown was selected to reveal the complexity, subtlety, and global nature of a changing, warming world. This work is independent of the scientific results, the purpose being to share our fascination with this scientific endeavour and encourage appreciation and discussion. [1] Warszawski L et al 2013 A multi-model analysis of risk of ecosystem shifts under climate change Environ. Res. Lett. 8 044018

http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/8/4/044018

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“WE ARE NOW FACED WITH THE FACT THAT TOMORROW IS TODAY. WE ARE CONFRONTED WITH THE FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW. IN THIS UNFOLDING CONUNDRUM OF LIFE AND HISTORY, THERE “IS” SUCH A THING AS BEING TOO LATE. THIS IS NO TIME FOR APATHY OR COMPLACENCY. THIS IS A TIME FOR VIGOROUS AND POSITIVE ACTION.”
— MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

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