Empowering emerging scholars in forced migration

About this event

UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Gillian Triggs introduced a vital, virtual discussion about the role of academic research in the protection of displaced people. Emerging scholars from around the world came together to discuss ways to advance implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees through academic research. This one-hour event was held on Tuesday 10 November at 6pm Sydney (AEDT) /9am Kigali(CAT) /10am Nairobi (EAT) / 8am Geneva (CEST)/ 2pm Bangkok (ICT).

As COVID-19 disrupts both humanitarian protection programs and academic life, what are the critical contemporary challenges for all emerging scholars in this field? Does this moment create the opportunity for people with lived experience to take a greater lead in academic research? What impact do academic networks have on policymaking? How can academics from all disciplines empower each other and best support refugee participation and engagement in scholarship?

With UNSW Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) Professor Nicholas Fisk, we will celebrate a virtual signing ceremony as UNHCR and UNSW extend their Memorandum of Understanding to promote scholarship on forced migration and displacement.

Kaldor Centre Director Professor Jane McAdam and Professor Geoff Gilbert, chair of the Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network (GAIN) secretariat, will open a discussion highlighting the experiences of members of the Kaldor Centre’s Emerging Scholars Network, a multidisciplinary and international community of more than 200 graduate and early-career scholars in forced migration studies. Our panel will be chaired by University of Geneva Masters student and co-founder and managing director of Kakuma Ventures, Inc., Innocent Ntumba Tshilombo, and include Emerging Scholars Network members:

• • Anila Noor, refugee researcher, policy influencer, Director of New Women Connectors, Co-founder of European Coalition- GRN / Global Independent Refugee Women Leaders (GIRWL)
  • Abdikadir Bare Abikar, Co-founder of the Dadaab Response Association; 2020 fellow at the British Institute in Eastern Africa, and Master of Education graduate through the Borderless Higher Education for Refugees Project
  • Dr Laine Munir, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Rwanda, faculty member at African Leadership University, and gender consultant
  • Tristan Harley, PhD candidate at UNSW Law, Affiliate of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW