Advancing the Localisation of Forced Migration Research

FFVT works together with international partner institutions and networks active in the field of Forced Migration Studies to highlight

• the relevance of localised research and knowledge production, equitable partnerships,

• the promotion of research infrastructure and academic teaching in countries of the Global South,

• the access to tertiary education for forcibly displaced persons, and

• the active participation of refugees in research processes.

The core partners are the Local Engagement Refugee Research Network (LERRN), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the UNHCR Global Academic Interdisciplinary Network (GAIN), and the UNHCR Sergio Vieira de Mello Academic Chairs (De Mello Chairs). This kind of locally grounded research is crucial for humanitarian and particularly development endeavours, as it strengthens local research capacities and, through appropriate local participation throughout the research process, it leads to context-specific solutions that enable more tailored policy advice.

One of the major achievements to date was the presentation of a draft pledge at the closing plenary session at the UN High Commissioner’s Dialoge on Protection Challenges: Development Cooperation in Geneva in December 2022.

Currently, we are expanding the coalition. We are developing a joint pledge for the Global Refugee Forum in December 2023 in partnership with persons with lived experience of displacement, academic institutions, research funders, governments, and the private sector. Take a look at our concept note “Shifting Power: Advancing Localization in Research and Elevating the Voices from Local and Forced Displaced Communities Globally”.

If you are interested in supporting our efforts and sign the pledge (and thereby contribute to the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees) please contact us (...).

Contact persons:

• For FFVT:

  • Merlin Flaig (German Institute of Development and Sustainability, IDOS, Germany; ...)

  • Prof. Dr. Ulrike Krause (Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies, IMIS, Germany; ...)

• For IDRC:

  • Roula El-Rifai (International Development Research Centre, IDRC, Canada; ...)

• For LERRN:

  • Heather Alexander (Carleton University, Canada; ...)

• For GAIN (...):

  • Prof. Geoff Gilbert (University of Essex, United Kingdom; ...)

  • Prof. Liliana Lyra Jubilut (Universidade Católica de Santos, Brazil; ...)

• For UNHCR / the De Mello Chairs:

  • Laura De Somer (UN Refugee Agency, Switzerland; ...)

List of supporting networks and institutions:

• International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM)

• Refugees Seeking Equal Access at the Table (R-SEAT)

• Chair in International Forced Migration, Inclusion and Human Rights, University of Guadalajara-IDRC

• University for Peace - Latin American Observatory on Human Mobility, Climate Change and Disasters (MOVE-LAM)

• Tertiary Refugee Students Network (TRSN)

• U.S. Refugee Advisory Board (USRAB)

• International Institute of Humanitarian Law (Sanremo Institute)

• German Network for Forced Migration Studies (Netzwerk Fluchtforschung e.V, NWFF)

• Organization of Women Scientists for the Developing World (OWSD)

• Robert Bosch Stiftung

• […]

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