Artists paint the faces of athletes from the Rio 2016 Olympics refugee team on the facades of old warehouses in Orla Conde (Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil). Agência Brasil Fotografias, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
World Refugee Day: Celebrating Refugee Talents and Host Country Leadership
World Refugee Day honors refugees around the globe and shines a light on their rights, needs, and dreams. The United Nations has designated June 20 to focus global attention on the plight of those fleeing conflict or persecution and to create opportunities to support them. In observance of this day, the Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative (RAFDI) will host an event, “Celebrating Refugee Talents and Host Country Leadership,” to celebrate the many talents that refugees have and to enhance public awareness about their positive contributions to improve lives, engage in constructive dialogue, and find innovative ways for sustainable solutions.
Overview
“Refugees have talents, they have skills… The only difference between anybody out there and them is that they had to cross a border running for their dear lives,” says Collins Onyango of the Lutheran World Federation at Kakuma Refugee Camp. When host countries create a policy enabling environment for refugees and give them safety, freedom, and opportunity to utilize their talents, they will in turn enrich and impact their respective host communities in different ways. “Refugees are a valuable asset… bringing a wealth of diverse backgrounds and talents. They contribute to… competitiveness in the global market, igniting innovation, fostering diversity, and driving economic growth. Their resilience and skills enrich our nation, making it stronger, more vibrant, and more inclusive,” says Bassel Ramli of the Jumpstart Refugee Talent.
How do refugees positively impact host communities and what lessons can we learn from them? What policy environment will help them thrive? Join the Wilson Center on June 20 for an engaging discussion with people with lived experience who have shaped refugee narrative through their work and host country and industry leaders who have made opportunities available for refugees. Speakers will discuss the flourishing of refugee talents when host country leadership gives them opportunities and recognizes their human agency and potential.
Keynote Speaker
Panelists
Tsehaye Teferra
Anton Lungu
Lourena Gboeah
Gary Slaiman
Sherzod Odilov
Hosted By
Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative
The Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative (RAFDI) provides evidence-based analyses that translate research findings into practice and policy impact. Established in 2022 as a response to an ever-increasing number of people forcibly displaced from their homes by protracted conflicts and persecution, RAFDI aims to expand the space for new perspectives, constructive dialogue and sustainable solutions to inform policies that will improve the future for the displaced people. Read more
Africa Program
The Africa Program works to address the most critical issues facing Africa and US-Africa relations, build mutually beneficial US-Africa relations, and enhance knowledge and understanding about Africa in the United States. The Program achieves its mission through in-depth research and analyses, public discussion, working groups, and briefings that bring together policymakers, practitioners, and subject matter experts to analyze and offer practical options for tackling key challenges in Africa and in US-Africa relations. Read more
Indo-Pacific Program
The Indo-Pacific Program promotes policy debate and intellectual discussions on US interests in the Asia-Pacific as well as political, economic, security, and social issues relating to the world’s most populous and economically dynamic region. Read more
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more
Middle East Program
The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program serves as a crucial resource for the policymaking community and beyond, providing analyses and research that helps inform US foreign policymaking, stimulates public debate, and expands knowledge about issues in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Read more
Thank you for your interest in this event. Please send any feedback or questions to our Events staff.
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