AN interactive exhibition and workshop series highlighting refugee issues begins in Newcastle today.

The exhibition, called Far From Home, has been organised by Newcastle's Student Action for Refugees, Newcastle YMCA student project and Newcastle College. It will run at the college's Rye Hill campus, in Scotswood Road, until Thursday.

The free event hopes to encourage people to think about why refugees come to Britain and the treatment they receive here.

Ruth Gilchrist, of the YMCA student project, said: "Far From Home will be an experience which challenges racism against refugees within the media and UK legislation.

"It is based around an interactive, multimedia exhibit, Fortress Europe, which aims to recreate the experiences faced by many refugees when they are forced to flee their country of origin."

As well as providing information, the exhibition will also have photographs on display, including a series of black and white photographs called Images in Exile, which shows refugees from around the world and was recently displayed at the Royal National Theatre, in London.

The exhibition will be open from 10am to 4pm today. In addition, it will also be open to community groups from 6pm until 9pm.

To launch the exhibition, there will be talks by Lindsay Cross, of the West End Refugee Service, and Tariq Mizra, racial harassment officer with the Asylum Seekers Support Unit. The talks begin at 1pm.

Specially-tailored activity sessions will also be organised for students from Newcastle College and local secondary schools.