Workshop: Livelihoods and Socio-Economic Inclusion of Syrian Refugees in Host Countries

livelihoods of syrian refugees in host countries

The world is facing its biggest displacement crisis since the Second World War, with 68.5 million people forced to flee their homes. Syrians continue to be the largest forced migration population in the world, with more than 13 million people displaced. That is more than half of the Syrian population. Of these millions, only 5.5 million are registered and hosted in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, and about 1 million have requested asylum in Europe. In Lebanon, one in five people is a refugee, and in Jordan, one in 15. What of their livelihoods and inclusion in these host countries? This workshop examines the livelihoods and inclusion of refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.

This workshop will examine the socio-economic impacts of displacement on Syrian refugees from a variety of perspectives, including using a gender lens. The workshop will focus on five questions:

  • How and why do Syrian refugees choose these host countries?
  • How do Syrian refugees adapt to their livelihoods in the host countries?
  • How does the host country’s policy affect Syrian refugees?
  • What are the challenges refugees face in participating in the economies of the host countries?
  • What should the humanitarian community do to improve the lives of refugees?

Click below for the event poster (PDF):


Programme

10:30am-11am Registration

11am-11:10am Introduction by session chair

11:10am-11:45am Prof. Dawn Chatty: Reflections on Syrian displacement in the Levant: living in dignity

12pm-1pm Dr Saja Taha Al Zoubi: Syrian refugees in Lebanon: limited livelihoods and untold challenges

1pm-2:15pm Lunch

2:30pm-3:15pm Dr Aden Aw-Hassan: Economic development options for Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon

3:20pm-4:05pm Dr Aitemad Muhanna-Matar: The resilient resistance of displaced Syrian refugees in Jordan

4:05pm-4:35pm Break

4:40pm-6pm Open interactive panel

About the Speakers

Dawn Chatty is Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration and former Director of the Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford.

Saja Taha Al Zoubi is Gender and Forced Migration tutor at Christ Church, University of Oxford, development economist and a visiting researcher at the Oxford Department of International Development.

Aden Aw-Hassan is an independent development consultant. Previously, he was the Director of Social, Economic and Policy Research at the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA).

Aitemad Muhanna-Matar is assistant Professorial Research Fellow at the London School of Economics and gender impact lead for the ‘Syrian displacement in Jordan and Lebanon’ project.


To reserve a place for the workshop please contact Jackie Webber, jackie.webber@chch.ox.ac.uk, by 10 June.

Photo by Saja Taha Al Zoubi