Migration Policy Institute Podcasts

Conference - Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion Final Session - From Niche to Mainstream: Unlocking the Potential of Innovation for Lasting Change

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many non-traditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—have pioneered innovative solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers. In the context of this experimentation, business has played a fundamental role, with companies on both sides of the Atlantic leveraging their potential as employers, donors, and partners in innovative alliances. This two-day conference reflected on how innovative initiatives for refugee inclusion can grow beyond pockets of good practice and inspire large-scale, long-term change. The event brought together a diverse group of public officials, business leaders, service designers, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, and refugee initiatives from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

The final interactive panel session “From Niche to Mainstream: Unlocking the Potential of Innovation for Lasting Change” included contributions from:

• Chair: Elizabeth Collett, Director, Migration Policy Institute Europe
• Louisa Taylor, Director, Refugee 613, Canada 
• Ben Mason, Project lead on digital innovation around refugees and migration, Betterplace lab, Germany
• David Manicom, Assistant Deputy Minister, Settlement and Integration Sector, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
• Laura Corrado, Head of Unit Legal Migration and Integration, DG HOME, European Commission

Conference - Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion Workshop - Employer Engagement: Innovative Approaches to Training and Hiring Refugees

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many non-traditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—have pioneered innovative solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers. In the context of this experimentation, business has played a fundamental role, with companies on both sides of the Atlantic leveraging their potential as employers, donors, and partners in innovative alliances. This two-day conference reflected on how innovative initiatives for refugee inclusion can grow beyond pockets of good practice and inspire large-scale, long-term change. The event brought together a diverse group of public officials, business leaders, service designers, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, and refugee initiatives from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

This workshop on Employer Engagement: Innovative Approaches to Training and Hiring Refugees featured:  

• Chair: Laurent Aujean, Policy Officer, Unit Legal Migration and Integration, DG Home, European Commission
• Sayre Nyce, Executive Director, Talent Beyond Boundaries, United States
• Peter O’Sullivan, Resettlement Officer, UNHCR, Bureau for Europe
• Mustafa Alroomi, Web Developer & Askim Kintziger, Innovation Consultant, Cronos Groep, Belgium

Conference - Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion - Opening Session Day II: Refugees as agents of innovation

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many non-traditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—have pioneered innovative solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers. In the context of this experimentation, business has played a fundamental role, with companies on both sides of the Atlantic leveraging their potential as employers, donors, and partners in innovative alliances. This two-day conference reflected on how innovative initiatives for refugee inclusion can grow beyond pockets of good practice and inspire large-scale, long-term change. The event brought together a diverse group of public officials, business leaders, service designers, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, and refugee initiatives from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

In the opening session on the second day of the conference, Maher Ismaail, DaliliNow.com Co-founder and Saeed Kamali Dehghan, a journalist from The Guardian, engaged in a discussion on refugees as agents of innovation. 

Conference - Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion Panel II: Business, not as usual - Private sector innovation for refugee inclusion

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many non-traditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—have pioneered innovative solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers. In the context of this experimentation, business has played a fundamental role, with companies on both sides of the Atlantic leveraging their potential as employers, donors, and partners in innovative alliances. This two-day conference reflected on how innovative initiatives for refugee inclusion can grow beyond pockets of good practice and inspire large-scale, long-term change. The event brought together a diverse group of public officials, business leaders, service designers, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, and refugee initiatives from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

This panel is entitled "Business, not as usual: Private sector innovation for refugee inclusion”, and the speakers are:

• Chair: Irini Pari, European Economic and Social Committee
• Pastora Valero, Vice President, Government Affairs, EMEAR, Cisco
• Justina Spencer, Manager, Global Corporate Responsibility, Deloitte
• Samuel Engblom, Policy Director, TCO Swedish Confederation for Professional Employees, Sweden
• Kavita Brahmbhatt, Co-founder, Action Emploi Réfugiés, France

Conference - Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: Welcoming remarks, Opening Speech, & Panel session "How the field has matured: A progress report, one year on"

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many non-traditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—have pioneered innovative solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers. In the context of this experimentation, business has played a fundamental role, with companies on both sides of the Atlantic leveraging their potential as employers, donors, and partners in innovative alliances. This two-day conference reflected on how innovative initiatives for refugee inclusion can grow beyond pockets of good practice and inspire large-scale, long-term change. The event brought together a diverse group of public officials, business leaders, service designers, social entrepreneurs, civil society organisations, and refugee initiatives from Europe, the United States, and Canada.

This recording includes:

• Welcoming remarks from:
  • Adam Shub, Chargé d’Affaires, U.S. Mission to the EU
  • Daniel J. Costello, Ambassador of Canada to the EU
  • Elizabeth Collett, Director, Migration Policy Institute Europe
  • Cristian Pirvulescu, President of the Permanent Study Group on Immigration and Integration, European Economic and Social Committee

• Opening speech by Yara Al Adib, Design Consultant and Entrepreneur, From Syria with Love, Belgium

• Panel session: “How the field has matured: A progress report, one year on”
  • Chair: Tamim Nashed, Policy Officer on Refugee Inclusion, European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE)
  • Eric Young, The Social Projects Studio/Distinguished Visiting Professor of Social Innovation at Ryerson University, Canada
  • Luisa Seiler, Co-founder and Director, SINGA Deutschland, Germany
  • Mireia Nadal Chiva, Head of Community Development, ReDI School for Digital Integration, Germany

Beyond Stock-Taking: The Path Ahead to a Global Compact for Migration

Representatives of national governments, UN agencies, and key civil-society organizations convened in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at the beginning of December 2017 to take stock of the progress that has been made towards conceptualizing the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM). Formal negotiations are scheduled to begin in 2018 to fulfill the commitment made at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2016 by Member States to negotiate a Global Compact for Migration by the end of 2018—a task that was complicated with the decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the further consultations.

To reflect on the latest developments and the outcomes of the stocktaking meeting, MPI hosted discussion with Eva Åkerman Börje, Senior Policy Advisor in the office of the UN Special Representative for International Migration, and Ilse Hahn, Head of Division on Policy Issues of Displacement and Migration, from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The discussion, moderated by MPI Senior Fellow Kathleen Newland, also drew from the conclusions of MPI's policy brief, The Global Compact for Migration: How Does Development Fit In?

This webinar is part of a project, "Towards a Global Compact for Migration: Rethinking the Links between Migration and Development", by MPI and the German Development Cooperation Agency (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, or GIZ), supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 2018, the project will issue a series of policy briefs aimed at enriching the conversation around migration and development in the context of the Global Compact negotiations.