Durable Solutions for Refugees

Canada is a global trailblazer in feminist international assistance, on girls’ education in conflict-affected contexts, and in providing durable solutions for refugees. This has been demonstrated time again by commitments such as the Feminist International Assistance Policy, the Charlevoix Declaration, and the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.  Recently, Canada once again demonstrated its commitment through…

It has been a little over a year since we participated in the first-ever Global Refugee Forum (GRF), hosted by the UNHCR in Geneva. The Forum was an opportunity to demonstrate international responsibility-sharing, one of the key principles contained in the Compact on Refugees (GCR). During the event, various international actors, such as States, organizations,…

In 2019, there were 26 million refugees around the world, 65% of whom are under the age of 25. Education pathways, such as our Student Refugee Program, offer a unique avenue for displaced youth to build a brighter future for themselves and their families.  Today, only a tiny fraction of the world’s post-secondary education institutions…

Around the world, nearly 1 in 3 women are affected by gender-based violence (GBV) in their lifetime. While men, women, girls, and boys all experience GBV to varying degrees, women and girls are often disproportionately affected. GBV includes, but is not restricted to sexual, emotional, and psychological violence, early and forced marriage, domestic violence, female…

COVID-19 has become an unprecedented global crisis. The pandemic and its associated economic crisis have exposed deep structural inequalities around the world, with disproportionate effects on women and girls. This webinar, organized by Women’s Empowerment in Development (WED) Lab at McGill in partnership with the Institute for the Study of International Development, explores current issues around COVID-19…

The COVID-19 pandemic confirmed what we already knew – girls’ education is most at risk during emergency and crisis situations. Many girls, particularly those in refugee camps and their surrounding host communities, may never return to school. That’s why we quickly adapted our conditional cash transfers (CTs) approach and our radio programming in Kenya to keep girls’…

HIRES is a pilot initiative that resettles refugee youth who currently live in Kenya through a unique private sponsorship pathway that partners with Canadian businesses. This pathway involves vocational training and an employment placement upon arrival. Both, responding to persistent barriers to economic inclusion facing refugee populations and supporting Canadian employers to meet labour market…

How successful referendums across Canadian campuses are creating opportunities for young refugees to access post-secondary education

In response to COVID-19, the Government of Kenya, much like other governments around the world, initiated lockdowns of businesses and schools and implemented curfews to help curb transmission. Despite these measures, in just a few weeks, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kenya almost doubled, bringing the total at the time of writing to…

All of Gabriel Ndayishimiye’s hard work over the past few years has recently paid off. This summer, he graduates with a B.A. Honours degree in globalization studies from Huron University in London, Ontario. Originally from Rwanda, Gabriel came to Canada in 2016 through the Student Refugee Program. He will be attending Columbia University in September…