Protest Movements and Refugee Inclusion in Civil Society

Date and time: Friday, August 21, 2020, 10 am Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4)

Register here.

For more information, contact the Programs Department, events@mei.edu, tel. +1 202-785-1141 ext. 202

Protests in Iraq and Lebanon have drawn global attention as protestors advocate for political and economic reform and an end to corruption, especially in the wake of the Beirut blast and Lebanon’s disaster response. These countries also face economic crisis and socio-political challenges relating to the millions of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) within their borders and the lack of sustainable policies to address displaced people’s needs. In Lebanon and Iraq, refugees and IDPs face discrimination and lack of access to educational and public health resources in addition to the widespread economic pain and disenfranchisement that these countries protest movements aim to confront.

How have refugees in these countries been active in or left out of these movements? How can access gaps and discrimination be overcome to integrate refugee rights into these protest movements? How do protest movements reflect a desire to integrate refugees and IDPs into the social fabric of these countries?

This webinar is the third in a series on displacement during COVID-19, an initiative to highlight the perspectives and personal impacts faced by displaced people across the MENA region.

Speakers:

• Sawsan Abdulrahim, associate professor, public health, American University of Beirut
• Noof Assi, women’s protection and empowerment coordinator, Emergency Response Team, International Rescue Committee; co-founder, IQ Peace

Joyce Karam, moderator, Washington correspondent, The National

*additional speaker to be confirmed.