LERRN is pleased to announce that is now Interim Co-Director of LERRN.

Thank you, Mustafa, for your continued leadership in helping LERRN advance our shared ambition that the knowledge and expertise of those most affected by displacement shape forced migration studies, policy and practice, contributing to a global forced migration response system that is more effective, legitimate and accountable for and to those most affected by displacement.

LERRN extends its warmestÌýcongratulations to Rez Gardi as she begins her new role as Special Assistant to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Rez’s courage, vision, wisdom and expertise will be such a tremendous asset to UNHCR as it works to navigate such a challenging moment in its history. Congratulations, Rez! We’re all cheering you on!

Congratulations to Erika Ehrenberg on completing her internship with UNHCR Canada! Supported by LERRN, Erika spent the past four months as an intern in the Durable Solutions Unit at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Canada. We’re excited to share her insights and reflections on this experience.

As an MA student in Migration and Diaspora Studies, the classroom provides space to explore the theoretical foundations of migration-related topics, including forced migration and resettlement. Applying these foundations within a major organization in the global refugee regime offered an unparalleled learning experience that exposed me to new perspectives and challenged my thinking. Being part of UNHCR from September to December 2025 was particularly instructive, as it coincided with major funding cuts and workforce reductions that placed significant strain on staff across the organization.

Through conversations with UNHCR staff, reviewing cases and policy documents, and participating in meetings with partners such as IRCC and other resettlement organizations, I gained insight into the practical dimensions of resettlement and how they both challenge and uphold ideas from migration literature. Beyond knowledge and practical skills, the internship expanded my professional network and connected me with key actors in the resettlement sector. I credit this experience with establishing relationships that will support my future research and career.

Reflecting on the end of my internship, I feel privileged to have worked with UNHCR Canada. The internship had a profound impact on my academic and professional trajectory, as well as my position within the resettlement sector.

LERRN is proud to support students like Erika in gaining practical experience that bridges academic research with meaningful contributions in the forced migration sector.

The SSHRC Impact Awards honour researchers and thought leaders whose work deepens our understanding of people, society, and culture. Finalists represent the leading edge of innovation and insight, helping shape a more just, inclusive, and informed world.

Under the leadership of James MilnerÌýand through our sustained collective efforts, LERRN has played a pivotal role in advancing the interdisciplinary field of refugee and forced migration studies. Through its commitment to equitable and inclusive South-North research collaboration, LERRN has helped shift the landscape of refugee research. Our innovative training programs—developed with and for refugees—create meaningful opportunities for learning, leadership, and knowledge-sharing.

Being named a finalist for the SSHRC Partnership Award recognizes the impact of LERRN’s collaborative approach and the importance of centering refugee voices and experiences in research, practice, and policy!

Through her groundbreaking scholarship and tireless advocacy, Professor Delphine Nakache has emerged as a global leader in migration law. Her work ensures that the lived experiences of migrants and refugees inform legal frameworks, policy decisions, and public discourse.

The Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists recognizes the nation’s emerging intellectual leaders. Members—Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents—are elected for a seven-year term in recognition of early-career excellence.

Professor Nakache will be formally inducted at the RSC’s Celebration of Excellence this fall.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Nakache on this well-deserved and remarkable achievement!

Read more:

The (SSHRC) has awarded a C$2.5 million to a network of 29 organizations and 80 partners to undertake a project entitled Reimagining responses to forced migration through the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN). The project runs from 2025 to 2032, with total support from partners estimated at an additional C$2.5 million.

The focus of the project is to address the complex and pressing global challenge of forced migration. The scale and complexity of forced migration is growing, yet the international community is unable to effectively respond to the challenge. New approaches are needed, especially in the global South where 76% of the world’s forced migrants are now found.

The project is founded on a shared belief in the need to transform our approach to forced migration research by amplifying the agency of those most affected by displacement and by adopting a deeply inclusive, interdisciplinary, collaborative and localized approach to the co-production of knowledge.

The goal of the partnership is for the knowledge and expertise of those most affected by displacement to more reliably and substantively inform forced migration research and the global refugee regime, leading to more effective, legitimate and accountable research, policy and practice.

The project will focus on four strategies:

1. Ensuring the meaningful participation of forced migrants as equal partners;
2. Investing in collaborative, partnered research with those most affected by displacement;
3. Amplifying the agency of traditionally marginalized actors through training and mentoring activities; and
4. Reimagining knowledge translation and mobilization to realize change in policy and practice.

The project aims to mobilize a global partnership that embraces a wide range of perspectives, generates new forms of knowledge and unites diverse actors in designing and promoting transformative, yet practical, responses to forced migration. Ultimately, the project aims to champion research, policy and responses that are more effective, legitimate and accountable.

More details about the project will be available in September 2025.

The prize honors the legacy of Charles H. Levine, a distinguished member of the committee and a former member of the editorial board of its official journal, Governance. The prize recognizes the best book in the field of comparative public administration or public policy published in the preceding year, based on the recommendation of an independent and distinguished selection committee. This year’s committee was composed of Professors Akshay Mangla (Chair, University of Oxford, UK), Diego Salazar-Morales (Leiden University, Netherlands), and Michelle Fernandez (University of Brasília, Brazil).Ìý

This year, the Award Committee has selected The Politics of Refugee Policy in the Global South, by Ola G. El-Taliawi, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, as the 2025 recipient of the Levine Award.Ìý

An excerpt from the committee’s award citation:

The Politics of Refugee Policy in the Global South confronts a central paradox in global refugee governance: countries of the Global South—that share trajectories of limited economic development, colonial legacies, and postcolonial state-building—host 83% of the world’s refugees. While these states grapple with constrained state capacities, limited economic resources, and marginal influence in international politics, scholarly and political debates remain overwhelmingly fixated on the Global North, rendering the experiences and governance innovations of the South markedly understudied. This book addresses this longstanding empirical gap by offering an innovative theoretical and methodological framework for analysing how Global South states respond to mass refugee movements.

Theoretically, the book draws on complex systems theory to develop a heuristic model that traces how specific inputs (international law, humanitarian assistance, and the role of international organizations) interact with weak or uneven institutional infrastructures of Global South states to produce distinct governance outputs. These outputs include how refugee entry and stay are regulated, how livelihoods are structured, and how durable solutions are envisioned and pursued. This framework is both innovative and generalisable, offering scholars and policymakers valuable tools for analysing refugee governance in other Global South contexts experiencing large-scale displacement, often from neighbouring countries.

To learn more about the book visit Book Launch: The Politics of Refugee Policy in the Global South Webinar Event Report – LERRN: The Local Engagement Refugee Research Network

The Parliament of Tanzania and LERRN proudly congratulate Dr. Deo Osmund Mwapingwa on his appointment as Secretary General of the Forum of Parliaments of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (FP-ICGLR). His appointment was confirmed during the 15th General Assembly held on April 25, 2025, in Luanda, Angola.

Congratulations to James Milner!

James was awarded the prestigious Outstanding Faculty Graduate Mentor Award for 2024/25! This award recognizes exceptional ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University faculty members who have demonstrated outstanding mentorship to graduate students and highlights the significant contributions to the success of the graduate students at ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University.

LERRN extends our congratulations and heartfelt thanks to James for his unwavering dedication to shaping the academic journeys of our graduate students!

Professor Nakache is a leading voice on issues of refugee protection. She has dedicated her career to amplifying the voices of vulnerable populations in migration systems, along with making a substantial impact on the protection of their fundamental rights. In this position, she will focus on the relationship between Canada’s actions domestically and internationally regarding temporary migrants and asylum seekers, as there has been little assessment of how Canada’s commitments have translated into concrete action.ÌýÌý

For more information on this incredible achievement please visit

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