Local Faith Communities Role in Forced Migration
Focus on Urbanisation and Localisation
January 26, 2018
Webinar hosted by
JLI Refugee Hub Co-Chair: Atallah Fitzgibbon, Islamic Relief Worldwide
Study Speakers: Olivia Wilkinson, PhD (now JLI Research Director)
In 2017, over 65 million people in were forced to flee their homes due to conflict, violence, and persecution. Over the last year, the Refugee Hub Study researchers worked to synthesise and analyse evidence about the roles played by Local Faith Communities (LFCs) in supporting protracted urban refugees and internally displaced persons across the globe, particularly focusing on the global South.
The webinar introduced the JLI Refugees & Forced Migration Hub. This Hub is co-chaired by
Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, University College London and Atallah Fitzgibbon, Islamic Relief Worldwide.
In 2017, the Refugee Hub collaborated on the first stage of the scoping study addressing localization and urbanization. This specifically looked at Refugees, Forced Migration as linked to intersection with localization (local faith actors (LFAs) and the localization agenda), in urban contexts (urbanization). This was coupled with an advocacy brief on RFM for the Localisation of Humanitarian Need Forum. A panel discussion on this topic will be part of the conference report to be released shortly.
In 2018, the Refugee Hub will continue the next part of the scoping study on the stages and spaces of local faith community engagement with refugees. This will also be coupled with a policy brief. A lot of the research has already been completed for this as part of the work done for the first study, but we will also be reaching out again for more interviews and any new publications.
Join as a member to collaborate on next steps in the 2nd scoping study.
Olivia Wilkinson gave a brief overview of major points from the scoping study. As noted in the presentation, more detailed description of case studies can be found in the scoping study above.
Atallah introduced the scoping study in the video below.
Discussion
- Question on what is the experience of children, migration and the role of faith communities? Not a large part of the past scoping but could be a part of the 2nd scoping study. Examples were given of future work to support faith communities as safe places and referral points
- Discussion held on joint work on the Global Compact through the JLI Refugee Hub- agreed to meet as a hub in early- mid February to discuss hub response
Please feel free to continue the discussion in the comment section or join as a member to collaborate on next steps in the 2nd scoping study.
See here for a the webinar slides
Go to the Refugee Hub