Refugee Crisis: Roots and Remedies
Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Session Description
Worldwide, an estimated 60 million people have been displaced—a number unprecedented in human history. The war in Syria has been the primary driver of the recent increase, but conflicts in the larger Middle East, Africa, and Asia have all contributed to this global crisis. In a complicated tapestry of actors—NGOs, governments, international institutions—how can we ensure relief is delivered in an effective, responsible manner? How can we develop policies built on equity and opportunity, rather than fear? What opportunities exist to rethink the way we handle future refugee crises—or help us prevent crisis entirely?
FORMAT: PANEL DISCUSSION
Time & Location
Time:
15:45 - 17:00, Wednesday, April 13, 2016
BST
Location:
SBS, Nelson Mandela Lecture Theatre
Speakers
-
Speaker
Innovation Engagement Officer, UNHCR
Corinne Gray is a Fulbright Scholar from Trinidad and Tobago who now works at the forefront of the UN Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) innovation initiatives. As a core member of the Agency’s dynamic new Innovation Unit she leads efforts to engage staff and refugees in coming up with new ideas to address complex challenges faced by displaced people worldwide. Gray is based at UNHCR’s Headquarters in Geneva, but travels to the field regularly, connecting with UNHCR employees working on innovations, and documenting those innovations to foster agency-wide knowledge-sharing of innovation methodologies in action. She travels often to refugee communities where she trains refugee and host community members in principles of human-centered design as a means to foster ‘bottom-up’ innovation among displaced communities.
Gray first became passionate about the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers while working in Southern Africa, traveling around townships in Johannesburg and Cape Town, giving micro-entrepreneurial training and mentorship to asylum-seekers in South Africa and Zimbabwe. She brings a wealth of knowledge as a former marketing executive in the private sector where she worked closely with product innovation teams to help translate audience needs into dynamic user experiences.
-
Speaker
International President, Medecins Sans Frontieres
Dr. Joanne Liu was elected International President of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in 2013. She trained at McGill University School of Medicine and specialized in pediatrics at Sainte-Justine hospital, Montréal. An associate professor at the Université de Montréal and a professor in practice at McGill, she holds a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine from New York University School of Medicine and an International Master’s in Health Leadership from McGill. She began MSF field work in 1996 and has undertaken over twenty missions since, in Central Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East. Her operational contributions range from introducing comprehensive medical care for survivors of sexual violence to developing a telemedicine platform connecting physicians in remote sites with medical specialists worldwide. A staunch advocate of anchoring MSF’s identity in field based, quality-driven patient care, she seeks to introduce the same focus into the global health arena. She has received many awards, including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada’s Teasdale-Corti Humanitarian Award 2013 and Officer of the Government of Quebec 2015.
-
Speaker
Lead UNHCR Innovation, UNHCR
"At UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, Olivier Delarue leads UNHCR Innovation, a multi-year effort seeking to foster and support creative problem-solving, experimentation, and new kinds of partnerships in responding to delivery and programmatic challenges faced in UNHCR field operations. By providing space for the discussion of problems and needs, empowering UNHCR staff to think creatively, and reaching out to a broader community of support, UNHCR Innovation helps to design concrete and tangible solutions as well as develop a culture throughout the organization where innovation is fostered, captured and rewarded. International jurist by training, Olivier is a true UN homebody, having joined UNHCR 20 years ago to tackle large scale and complex challenges. Olivier also co-founded the UN Innovation Network in 2013 together with UNICEF and WFP which now features more than 18 UN agencies working together in harnessing the power of innovation process. From 2015 to 2016 participated to the World Humanitarian Summit process as member of the Pillar Transformation through Innovation and is contributing to the creation of the Global Alliance for Humanitarian Innovation (GAHI) and is a member of the Steering Committee of the the Global Humanitarian Lab (GHL) which will launch in April 2016 in Geneva and globally"
-
Speaker
Program Director, Mayday Rescue
(AKA: Abo Saleem) is 34 years old and a leading civilian revolutionary activist from Homs, Syria. Farouq was instrumental in the formation of the Homs Revolutionary Council and the Homs Quarters Union. He is a banker by training and his position. He holds a bachelors degree in economics, a diploma in international commerce, a masters degree in banking and finance and a doctorate in business administration. He is the founding director of Emissa organization, a Syrian civil society NGO working in Homs to provide humanitarian aids for people in besieged areas.
Farouq is the Syria Program Manager at Mayday Rescue Foundation, NGO channels support and work closely with to Syria Civil Defense (AKA the White Helmets).
-
Moderator
International Director, Centre for Policy Development
Andrew is an international human rights lawyer with 20 years of varied UN and international advocacy experience. Andrew has held many positions at Crisis Action since joining in 2010, including New York Director and Deputy Executive Director. He provides world-class leadership to a global team and has spearheaded some of the organisation’s signature advocacy successes, as well as leading critical aspects of the internationalisation of Crisis Action.
Prior to Crisis Action, Andrew worked for four years at Human Rights First (formerly Lawyers Committee for Human Rights) in New York, where he coordinated UN advocacy, managed the Human Rights Defenders Program and led Latin American work.
Previously, Andrew was a lawyer in Australia representing indigent clients and refugees and spearheading major law reform projects. He has also worked with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Ecuador, the UN Regional Commission in Thailand, the Australian delegation to the UN General Assembly, and the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions. Andrew holds honours degrees in politics and law from the University of Melbourne and a Masters of Laws from New York University School of Law. He is a John Monash Scholar.
