Wars and violence in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Central America, and elsewhere across the globe have driven a record-high 60 million people from their homes. Half of these refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are children. Last summer, unaccompanied children fled Central America for safety in the U.S. This summer, hundreds of thousands of refugees are seeking refuge in Europe. The tragedies borne of their desperation—from toddlers washed ashore to trucks full of corpses—have focused the world’s attention on this long-developing global crisis of unprecedented scale.
Join this webinar to learn how philanthropy can respond—in the U.S. and internationally—to address the needs of the millions of men, women, and children who have been forced from their homes.
Experts in the field will help you understand:
- Complex root causes that have forced refugees and IDPs from their homes
- Current conditions in the countries of origin and of first asylum
- Relevant legal and policy frameworks
- The direct and indirect impacts of this crisis on the United States
- What philanthropy is doing and what more can be done to respond—in the United States, in Europe and other regions of settlement, and in countries of origin—to address this humanitarian emergency.
Speakers will include:
- Bill Frelick, Director, Refugee Program, Human Rights Watch;
- Becca Heller, Director and Co-Founder, International Refugee Assistance Project (formerly the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project); and
- Maria Teresa Rojas, Open Society Foundations.
Organized by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, this webinar will be the first in a series of briefings on Philanthropy and the Global Refugee Crisis. Future webinars in the series will address U.S. refugee resettlement policy, integration challenges, and potential backlash in countries of resettlement.
Please register by Tuesday, September 15. This webinar is free and open only to grantmakers. Dial-in and webinar information will be provided by email the day before the event.