Editor’s Note: Previously, the Collegian said the Refugee Awareness Symposium would be at the Lory Student Center. This is incorrect. It will be in Clark Building A 201. 

Rams for Refugees will be holding a Refugee Awareness Symposium on April 18 and 19 at Clark A 201 at Colorado State University.

The symposium was created to bring awareness to CSU about the refugee crisis.

There will be guest speakers, a keynote and refugees attending the symposium. The guest speakers include Professor Eric Ishiwata, Rama Chakaki and a CSU alumnus.

“The First Annual Refugee Awareness Symposium is a two day event where we hope to bring in guest speakers to talk about their experiences and their current involvement in the Global Refugee Crisis,” said Christian Harbert, the founder of Rams for Refugees in an email to the Collegian.

According to the Rams for Refugees Annual Symposium Facebook page, the purpose of the event is to educate the general public and allow people to get a taste of what living as a refugee in different parts of the world today is like.

Rams for Refugees is a student organization on campus dedicated to “raising awareness and bringing attention to the current and ever changing circumstances that Refugees are facing around the world,” according to their biography.

On April 18, Ishiwata from the Ethnic Studies Department will give a short speech followed by a presentation from Rama Chakaki.

There will also be multiple speakers on April 19, including a CSU alumnus who was born in Aleppo, Syria.

Defend Our Future, a student-led climate change activist organization on campus, will also be speaking about refugees and climate change after the alumnus’ talk. According to their biography on RamLink, Defend Our Future’s goal is to educate students about climate change while finding possible solutions to solve climate change.

The event is free and open to the public.

Collegian reporter Katie Marshall can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @katie_marshall3.