It was in late 2015 that the idea first emerged for a seven-year collaboration between academics and community partners to understand and enhance the role of civil society in the functioning of the global refugee regime. At the time, the world was witnessing the failure of European states to collectively respond to the needs of some 1 million people seeking asylum. Looking back on the past decade, we see how much has changed while so much stays the same. Collective action to realize protection and solutions, both with and for refugees, is arguably harder than ever, but there is a deeper understanding of the inequalities and power asymmetries and frustrate these efforts. While progress is slow, there is a deeper appreciation of the role that refugee participation, diverse forms of knowledge and shifting power must play in the process of change.

LERRN has played an important role in broader collective efforts to encourage this process of change. Through research, training, mentorship, knowledge mobilization and policy engagement, LERRN has demonstrated the benefits that come from being guided by the priorities of those most affected by displacement. This approach has led to new questions, new perspectives, and new possibilities. As the stories in this newsletter make clear, our seventh year has been one of our busiest.

But we aren’t done yet. Stay tuned for exciting details on what comes next for LERRN…

James Milner
Project Director, LERRN

When LERRN began its work in 2018, we didn’t even have a name, let alone a sense of how the journey would unfold. It was during our first partners meeting in 2018 that the focus on local engagement and refugee research crystalized and became our clear focus. The COVID pandemic made us re-think the principles and practice of local engagement. As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, and as we are able to return to in-person meetings and international travel, it has been remarkable to see the sustained commitment from all partners to not simply return to the status quo ante, how things were before. As Oprah Winfrey once said: Know better, do better.

The stories in this newsletter highlight how LERRN’s partners are not only contributing to important discussions about forced migration at the national and global levels; LERRN partners are actively working to change the parameters of those discussions.

And it is important to reflect on the fact that our efforts are being undertaken at a time when fundamental principles of human rights and academic freedom are under threat in so many places in the world. As LERRN prepares for the last year of its current Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), we can look back on the many accomplishments of the past six years while looking ahead to much yet to be done. Behind it all is the remarkable work of the LERRN Secretariat who support the website, publications, webinars, reports and other aspects of the platform that lets us share our work with the world. Please join me in thanking this remarkable team.

James Milner
Project Director, LERRN

As LERRN prepares to start its penultimate year in April 2023, we look back on the many incredible accomplishments of our partners over the years and look ahead – especially to the meeting of the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) that will be hosted in Nairobi by Moi University and LERRN’s wonderful Kenya working group, led by Dulo Nyaoro, in August 2024.

The theme of the next IASFM conference is looking back to look forward. This theme is as important for LERRN as it is for the field of refugee and forced migration studies. Since its launch in 2018, LERRN has contributed to a wider shift in forced migration research, policy and practice that recognizes the value of partnered research with those closest to the phenomenon of forced migration. As we begin this final chapter in this phase of LERRN, our focus is to prepare our research findings to present at IASFM and to document and mobilize the results of our work to contribute to important areas of change.

As detailed in this issue of our newsletter, this includes research on refugee-led organizations (RLOs) in East Africa and the Middle East, and how this research can better inform policy and practice on the role of RLOs in responses to the needs of forced migrants. This evidence has already contributed to UNHCR adopting an organizational definition of a refugee-led organization in . LERRN’s work in this issue is part of a growing coalition of partners mobilizing evidence to encourage a more progressive approach to recognizing and supporting the work of RLOs, including the need to shift power and ensure that RLOs are included as partners in emergency and on-going responses. The critical importance of this shift was painfully illustrated during the response to the February earthquakes that devastated Northwest Syria, Southeastern Türkiye and parts of Kurdistan.

LERRN has continued to collaborate with partners working to advance meaningful refugee participation in the governance of refugee responses. As detailed in this newsletter, this has led to a co-authored publication on the , support to the training and policy engagement activities of , and the on-going engagement of RAN Canada to help shape Canada’s engagement in global refugee issues.

Promoting the value of localized research also remains at the core of LERRN’s work. Our collaboration with Canada’s (IDRC) now includes coordinating a network of 12 Research Chairs on Forced Migration based in regions across the global South, whose work will extend well beyond the end of LERRN. We also continue to support the initiatives of our Working Groups in East Africa and the Middle East, including exciting collaborations with our Thematic Working Groups on issues such as gendered perspectives on durable solutions for refugees in Jordan and critical reflections on the concept of vulnerability in refugee contexts.

As actors within the global refugee regime prepare for the Global Refugee Forum in December 2023, the work of LERRN and its partners will be more important than ever. By amplifying the knowledge and expertise of those closest to the phenomenon of displacement, we can ask new questions, produce new forms of knowledge, and mobilize that knowledge to influence research, policy and practice. This will remain the focus of LERRN as we enter our penultimate year. We look forward to sharing our results along the way through our program of webinars and publications, and plan to share the combined results of this work when we gather in Nairobi for IASFM in August 2024. Karibu sana! See you there!

From everyone at the LERRN Secretariat, stay safe, and stay well.

James Milner
Project Director, LERRN