Summary Report

Convening on Refugee and Migrant Youth May 22-23, 2017

Rutgers University-Newark
June 10, 2017

Prepared by Ph. D. Students in The Division of Global Affairs, Rutgers University-Newark:

Rebecca Pena, Alice Benishyaka, Jane Roche, Kathryn Duffy, and Yvan Yenda Ilunga.

Introduction:
The convening of academics and practitioners doing work related to the movement of vulnerable
people focused on the needs of refugees and specifically of todays migrant youth. Dr. Kyle
Farmbry, Dean of the Graduate School at Rutgers University-Newark, opened the session by
highlighting the relevance of this issue both at the global and local levels; and as one which will
have widespread long-term effects if not adequately addressed. The aim of this symposium was
to identify issues pertaining to social, economic and educational conditions at both international
and national levels that impact refugees, migrants, or undocumented students in order to shape a
tangible platform for future work with these groups. Participants engaged in valuable
conversation and idea-sharing on the challenges faced by youth migrants and refugees.

These exchanges produced three outcomes: first, the group pinpointed key steps needed to create
an economic shift for the refugees; second, the convening established a clear network of
individuals (practitioners and academicians) actively interested in advancing solutions and
initiative-building on this issue. As a final outcome of the symposium, participants reached
consensus on key concepts with which to move forward. This summary is structured to highlight
themes and conversation covered on each day of the symposium.

Day One:
The global to local spectrum of the migrant issue was highlighted through three presentations
which addressed how schools serve refugee children, the need for improvement of legal services
handling refugees at the local level, and the need to create economic opportunities that privilege
refugees and other vulnerable population. During her presentation Rama Chakaki, co-founder of
Baraka Ventures, shared an overview of the VIP fund and the utility of venture philanthropy as a
financial mechanism through which to increase educational and employment opportunities of
refugee populations through usage of digital platforms. The goal of the VIP Fund initiative is to
innovate, educate and connect to reduce dependency, provide access to relevant education, create
employment opportunities, and address psychosocial needs by fostering human connections.
The second presentation by Dr. Cathryn Magno (Dept. of Educational Sciences, University of
Fribourg) highlighted the nexus to Switzerland of the refugee crisis. The presentation highlighted
cultural, integration and administrative dimensions to the problem. Dr. Magnos research found
that although education is a priority in Switzerland, refugee students are often aged out of the
system. Furthermore, she found a correlation between successful educational programming and
psychosocial support. Social capital, trust and social cohesion were found to be critical factors in
the migrant equation and need increased attention in light of their importance to the stability of
refugee communities.

Randi Mandelbaum of the Rutgers University Law School addressed legal issues of the migrant
situation at the local level. Her presentation included perspectives on documentation and lack
thereof as hindrances to advancement and integration of refugees in local communities. A
Rutgers initiative which involves the hiring of an immigration lawyer with an aim to protect
undocumented migrant students was also highlighted as a relevant important step. The
challenges facing lawyers representing refugees and migrants were also addressed: lawyers and
interpreters not only have to be culturally competent, but must also be aware of and responsive
to the mental health needs of clients: these can range from PTSD to domestic violence issues.
Refugees may also need ongoing counseling, as well as psychology/social work knowledge;
lawyers therefore need knowledge and training to be able to recognize and address these needs.

Post-presentation discussion expanded on these themes through breakout-group conversations on

the use of digital media as an educational/employment tool (facilitated by Rama Chakaki and
Tim Raphael), the shift to economic integration (facilitated by Carl Fischer and Kyle Farmbry),
and the use of research to improve the situation of refugees and migrant youth (facilitated by
Jamie Lew and Mara Sidney). These conversations were further developed during round-table
discussion on the second day of the symposium.

Day Two:
The goal of this session was to advance the conversation on the three major themes identified
during the first day: 1) digital learning/education; 2) economic integration; 3) research nexus.
The discussion occurred in a round-table setting. The following is a synopsis of themes
discussed.

1. Digital learning/education: a theme that resonated during the discussion hinged on the
idea that refugees are natural entrepreneurs: they have the will to survive and know what they
need to do to keep moving forward- but they need appropriate and relevant tools to do so. Once
given a feasible, realistic educational program to develop their skill set, refugees will use this
knowledge to create economic opportunity. One part of the discussion focused on identifying
ways that refugees could use the tools on hand (most often a cell phone) to learn and produce.
Social publishing was highlighted as a realistic program that refugees can learn, implement and
market: they will- learn what they need to know and become entrepreneurs in their field. A
possible platform discussed was a six-week Social Publishing course where students would learn
design, IT, content marketing, content licensing, and gain entrepreneurial/startup experience.
Students would then rely on social networks to put out news and sell videos to outlets such as
Peace News. Students can then learn and teach others how to get content on the right licensing,
disseminated online, and later monetize this content. The benefits of an educational and
entrepreneurial opportunity would not only stand to provide economic advantages to the
refugees- the benefits of such opportunity might also address psychosocial and social capital
needs by helping participants gain a sense of belonging and community. Furthermore, such a
platform can empower participants: as they gain ownership and control over their learning
process they can positively impact and influence their communities. Having a sense of control
and a sense of belonging are two important indicators for psychological and emotional
resilience. Willing students may also choose to document their stories throughout the program
and then share their stories through new media platforms, online content, documentary, or
podcasts. In this way, they can make their voices heard and motivate the world to act.

This framework can be applied and adapted to other disciplines and fields, including
neuroscience, psychology, data analytics, and translation. Other possible courses include data
modelling, crowd funding and social research. As to format, classes are need and skill set-based
and adaptable to market-field and location. Local students would then be identified and trained
which gives any model produced a bottom-up train the trainer component. Additionally,
students and trainers can also act as researchers/research participants.

2. Economic Integration: Conversations on economic integration resulted in three main

points: first, educational programs need to lead to economic opportunity, alternative currencies
may be worth exploring as a tool, and finally, proposed projects need to be broadly applicable to
secure funding. With regard to the first point, to create economic opportunities for refugees and
empower them with tools to be independent entrepreneurs, they need skills sets and materials
realistic to their situation. Secondly, they must be also able to conduct financial transactions;
given their limitations, different forms of currency and transactions were discussed. The block-
chain transaction concept was highlighted as one possibility which could simultaneously
promote financial transparency as well as offer anonymity and protection for the refugee
entrepreneurs. Fundraising for proposed initiatives was the other main issue addressed. Proposals
that will be more attractive to potential investors must take the form of models that are both
transferable to other situations/segments of vulnerable populations and which can provide a
substantial return on investment. The Chobani yogurt company was highlighted as one example
of a successful job-building mechanism. Additional ideas included securing funding for an
online course on Podcast creation and marketing skills. Participants agreed that it was imperative
to tap into existent economic structures within refugee communities and see how these models
could be scaled. Also, to ensure sustainability of these initiatives, the economic ramification on
local communities where refugees are hosted must also be explored.
3. Research component: The group discussed the intended target market for research
dissemination and identified advocacy groups, practitioners, and policy makers as important
recipients. With regard to a research agenda, one concept developed during the conversation
entailed building a research consortium, which has access to a broad base of researchers and
available research to tackle the multi-faceted issues related to the refugee/migrant youth
dilemma. Possible research themes were also discussed. Among these were the need for more
work on the importance of social capital building, the power of the arts as a medium for
communication, crowd funding possibilities, and the need to further explore the mental health
impact of the refugee status. The group also agreed on the importance of and need for further
data collection on the refugee situationwith the possible participation of refugees as part of the
research team. Data collection can include information on patterns of migration such as
assimilation, consumption patterns and retail marketing. A research consortium would also have
the capacity to offer research tools to educate and inform lawyers who represent migrants.
Finally, participants also discussed the development of a journal for quarterly publication as a
product of the research consortium. This would involve innovative digital components and with
possible digital participation from refugees.
The session concluded with the identification of planned next steps: a field visit
(Lebanon/Jordan); application for MIT Solve program; further development of social publishing
concept to wider populations; participation at the University of Fribourg conference (2018).
 A CONVENING ON REFUGEE AND
IMMIGRANT YOUTH
Rutgers University-Newark
Hahne s Building
Express Newark - Lecture Hall #213
Newark, NJ 07102
_____________________________________________________________________________________

MONDAY MAY 22, 2017

8:30AM REGISTRATION/BREAKFAST

9:00AM OPENING
Kyle Farmbry Dean, Graduate School Rutgers University-Newark

9:15AM PANEL DISCUSSION AN OVERVIEW OF ISSUES PERTAINING TO REFUGEE

AND MIGRANT YOUTH
Rama Chakaki Founder, VIP Fund
Giancarlo Tello Co-Founder - UndocuJersey (invited)
Cathryn Magno - Professor, Dept. of Educational Sciences
University of Fribourg, Switzerland
Colleen Thouez Senior Advisor, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
(invited)

10:30AM INTRO DISCUSSIONS

Participants will be asked to introduce themselves and participate in a dialogue around
projects in which they are engaged pertaining to refugee and migrant youth. They will
also be asked to share any projects that they are working on that might benefit from input
by a cross-national team of researchers and practitioners working on issues pertaining to
refugee and migrant youth.
11:30AM FILM - SYRIA'S LOST GENERATION
Syrias Lost Generation is a 15-minute film by Newest Americans partner Talking Eyes
Media that documents what is at stake for the two million Syrian refugees under the age
of 18 if we don't figure out how to provide them with an education and opportunities for
making lives for themselves outside of the refugee camps.

11:45AM LUNCH

12:30 PM FILM - REVERSE MIGRATION

Reverse Migration is a 15-minute film that documents the back-and-forth migration
between Guatemala and the U.S.

1:00PM SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS

Digital Media and Education (Rama Chakaki and Tim Raphael)

Research Agenda Development (Jamie Lew and Mara Sidney)

Economic Development Economic Integration (Kyle Farmbry and Carl Fischer)

2:00PM GROUP REPORT OUTS

2:30PM CONCLUDING THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY/NEXT STEPS

 TUESDAY MAY 23, 2017

8:30AM REGISTRATION/ BREAKFAST

9:00AM CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS AND SPECIFIC NEXT STEPS

(PLANNING/WORKING SESSIONS)

Tuesday will consist of workshop to build action around the agreed upon results from
Mondays sessions.

11:30AM LUNCH