The Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI-F) pleased to announce the receipt of a grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Program on Religion in International Affairs. The project, titled “Religion, Refugees, and Forced Migration: Making Research-informed Impact in Global Policy Processes” will be in collaboration with Dr. Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh at University College London and with the support of Atallah Fitzgibbon at Islamic Relief Worldwide, the co-chairs of the JLI Refugees and Forced Migration Learning Hub. Dr. Olivia Wilkinson, JLI Director of Research, will oversee the work focused on the translation of research for impact on policy and practice.
Project activities included the production of a policy brief and a Resource Brief that synchronize existing research on faith and refugees with the three main themes of the programme of action for the Global Compact on Refugees (reception and admission, meeting needs and supporting communities, durable solutions). Other activities focused on outreach through newspaper articles, infographics, press releases, and social media messaging. These research translation activities will coincide with the final stages of the development and the adoption of the Global Compact on Refugees. They will help to inform new audiences in the humanitarian and development field of the existing and growing evidence base on religious belief, practice, and faith-based work related to refugees.
To ensure that these activities reach the right people, the researchers will also undertake a mapping exercise of key influencers and then arrange a series of consultations and briefings to reach out to specific groups in global hubs of decision making and activity on refugee response. Briefings were coordinated on local humanitarian leadership and refugee response in Amman and Beirut.
For more information please contact the Joint Learning Initiative’s Director of Research, Dr. Olivia Wilkinson at [email protected].
Progress Summary & Resources
Recommendations on the role of local faith communities submitted to the Global Compact Process
- See related Policy Brief and Resource Brief
- JLI Webinar, Dec 2019: Marking the Global Compact. See video recap here
- Opinion: Faith organizations are key in global refugee response
- Beirut Regional Meeting and press release
- Amman Regional Meeting