More than 15,000 people in 100 countries, including Ireland, will gather today to run, jog, walk and roll in solidarity with people forcibly displaced by war, extreme poverty and the climate crisis.
The Global Solidarity Run, now in its second year, is spearheaded by the Irish not-for-profit Sanctuary Runners movement. It will bring together participants in places including Addis Ababa, Toyko, the West Bank, New York, Buenos Aires Sydney, Copenhagen and the Solomon Islands in calling on governments to show “respect and decency to human beings” forced to migrate and find safety abroad.
“None of this is actually about running; it’s a vehicle to start conversations and show no one human being is inferior or superior to anyone else,” said Graham Clifford, founder of Sanctuary Runners, which brings asylum seekers, refugees and migrants together with Irish residents through running. “We should celebrate each other, not be afraid.”
Sanctuary Running groups will hold global runs at 40 locations across Ireland today.
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Hirohiko Katayama, a retired businessman based in Tokyo and graduate of the University of Galway’s Irish Centre for Human Rights, said the global run was needed to highlight the “humanity” of refugees and asylum seekers. The rhetoric of “xenophobic and populist political parties” in Japan, and across the globe, dehumanises people forced to seek safety in other countries, said Mr Katayama, who took part in the launch of the 2025 Global Solidarity Run at the World Expo in Osaka in July.
Mr Katayama, who advocates for refugee rights in Japan, said he was “impressed and inspired” by the Sanctuary Runners movement during his time in Ireland from 2018-2019. “It’s an excellent way to connect people with those living in direct provision, those waiting for asylum, people from places like Syria and South Africa. Here in Japan refugees are very limited and I feel embarrassed by that. We are still a very monocultural society. But once you get to know people from abroad, regardless of what they look like, you realise we are all the same, human beings.”
Betty Perry, who moved to Tipperary in 2009 and has brought up her four children in Ireland, helped to bring the Sanctuary Runners movement to her home in the Solomon Islands. About 30 people from her village will take part in today’s run to highlight the impact of climate change on their community and livelihoods.
“We are directly affected by rising sea levels with global warming and the run helps to highlight that. Our houses are built on stilts; we live by the sea. Now the sea stretches right into our village, the houses are standing in the ocean. Our ancestors have lived by the sea for generations but now people are leaving.”
Taking part in the run makes Ms Perry’s family and home community “feel they are being heard”. “People never talk about or think of the Solomon Islands. But with this run they can stand with people from other countries and raise awareness of human rights and dignity. We feel seen and heard. It’s an action that speaks louder than words.”
Mr Clifford said the international event was not “tokenistic” but a channel for people who feel frustrated and concerned about pushback against immigrants to “let their feet do the talking”.
“It increasingly feels like we’re screaming into a void. It feels like no one hears what we’re seeing. This is a chance for people to show their solidarity with people forcibly displaced and living in extreme poverty.
“It’s also a message to our respective governments and leaders that we want policies rooted in respect of human beings, not soundbites and populism. We’re dealing with men, women and children’s lives.”
Mr Clifford expressed concern about what he says is the Irish Government’s failure to engage with groups like Sanctuary Runners as part of its proposed migration and integration strategy, which it committed to in its programme for government. “Community integration is not just for the benefit of those who come here, it’s also about our kids and their futures in Ireland.
[ Sanctuary Runners: ‘The transformation in people’s lives has been amazing’Opens in new window ]
“Even if you’re just thinking of it with self-interest, community integration leads to safer, more economically prosperous communities. It’s short sighted not to have a strong, robust, informed integration strategy.”
Asked for an update on the programme in September, Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan said the strategy was “being developed” and would be published in 2026.
The Global Solidarity Run is an Irish solidarity-through-sport initiative and is supported by Irish Aid, the Ireland Funds and The European Commission.
