LERRN Partners Present at REF Conference 2022
LERRN partners Linda Oucho, Mark Oyat, Pascal Zigashane, Dulo Nyaoro and Kiya Gezahegne, along with LERRN Research Officer presented on refugee led organizations and localized knowledge ecosystems at the Research and Evidence Facility Second International Conference on Migrants and Forcibly Displaced Persons: Towards Greater Inclusion and Protection, held at the Trademark Hotel, Village Market, Nairobi on the 9th and 10th of June.
This conference brought together refugees living in Kenya and in other countries to speak about inclusion and what it looks like from their perspective. The conference was a good example of “Nothing ÐÓ°ÉÔ´´ us Without Us” since it gave refugees a platform in discussions and offered recommendations on how best to include refugees in discussions about policies and programs going forward. It engaged participants from Africa, Europe, and North America in the fields of academia, implementing agencies providing services to refugees, and funders (EUTF), to understand how migration has changed due to COVID. The conference also showcased art produced by refugees in partnership with local artists and supported by UNHCR. It was a very successful event that highlighted striking differences between Kakuma/Kalobeyi and Dadaab which relate to the framing of Dadaab as a security risk and a space about to disappear, and the framing of Kakuma/Kalobeyi as a space of self-reliance.