*A Path to Self-Sufficiency: Advancing Venezuelan Refugee Integration in the Americas *
VIEW LIVESTREAM: www.migrationpolicy.org/events/-venezuelan-refugee-integration-americas#LIVESTREAM
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TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2022]
*4:30 P.M. ET (DC, New York) / 3:30 P.M. CT (Mexico City, Bogota) / 2:30 P.M. MT (Denver, San Jose, Costa Rica) / 1:30 P.M. PT (Los Angeles)*
WELCOMING REMARKS:
--Luis Almagro, Secretary General, Organization of American States
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS:
--Nora Preciado, Director, Immigrant Affairs, City of Los Angeles
--John Thon Majok, Director, Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative, Wilson Center
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:
--Iván Duque Márquez, President of the Republic of Colombia, in fireside chat with Wilson Center President Ambassador Mark Green
--Guillermo Lasso, President of the Republic of Ecuador, in fireside chat with Migration Policy Institute President Andrew Selee
PANEL: A Perspective from Government
Lucas Gómez, Advisor to the President on the Colombia-Venezuela Border; Silvia Espindola, Vice Foreign Minister for Human Mobility, Ecuador; Eduardo Stein, Joint Special Representative for Venezuelan Refugees and Migrants, UNHCR-IOM, and former Vice President of the Republic of Guatemala; Marcela Escobari, Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Latin America and Caribbean, USAID; Julieta Valls Noyes, Assistant Secretary, State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. Moderator: Benjamin Gadan, Acting Director, Latin American Program, Wilson Center
PANEL: A Perspective from the Private Sector
Paola Buendía, Executive Vice President, National Business Association of Colombia; Dany Bahar, Associate Professor of Practice, Brown University; Tim Docking, CEO, Refugee Investment Network; Juan Carlos Viloria Doria, President, Coalition for Venezuela. Moderator: Diego Chaves-González, Senior Manager, Latin America and Caribbean Initiative, Migration Policy Institute
CLOSING REMARKS
--Peter Laugharn, President and CEO, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
IN-PERSON REGISTRATION CLOSED :
VIEW LIVESTREAM: www.migrationpolicy.org/events/-venezuelan-refugee-integration-americas#LIVESTREAM
Since 2015, Venezuelan refugees and migrants have been displaced in large numbers across Latin America. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 6 million Venezuelans are living abroad, of which over 4.9 million are hosted in Latin American and Caribbean countries. With the increasing numbers of displaced people around the world, the need for more sustainable and efficient solutions to support both displaced people and host communities has never been greater.
In 2021, the Colombian government provided ten-year Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to most of the 1.8 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the country, thereby creating an enabling environment for their integration. Recognizing that regularization is key to long-term solutions, including access to job market, Ecuador also plans to introduce an initiative that would put the over 500,000 Venezuelans it hosts on the path toward socioeconomic inclusion. Because forced migration is both a humanitarian and development issue, tackling its challenges requires the collective efforts of government, development, humanitarian and private-sector partners.
On Tuesday, June 7, 2022, from 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm PT the Refugee and Forced Displacement Initiative and Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in partnership with the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Migration Policy Institute, and the Pacific Council on International Policy, will hold a public event on the margins of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles. The event, "A Path to Self-Sufficiency: Advancing Venezuelan Refugee Integration in the Americas," will focus on the critical need for successful integration of Venezuelans in Colombia, Ecuador, and the rest of the region. The discussion will address some of the ongoing implementation challenges, barriers that limit integration, and the critical roles that the public and private sectors can play in delivering solutions and ensuring the success of these bold government initiatives. Speakers will emphasize opportunities and challenges for refugee employment and entrepreneurship, both vital paths to economic self-sufficiency.
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For more information, email
[email protected] or call 202-266-1910
Migration Policy Institute
1275 K St. NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC xxxxxx
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