Deputizing for His Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal, the former Minister of Social Development Hala Bseiso Lattouf, inaugurated the activities of the Fifth International Conference “Refugees in Jordan: A Vision for the Future”, which was organized by the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center and the ALECSO Chair for Refugee, Displaced and Forced Migration at Yarmouk University in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
Reciting his Highness’s speech, Lattouf emphasized that the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center at Yarmouk University was established to be an institute for research and policy-making that aims at preserving the human dignity, determining the needs of refugees, and finding some sources of meeting the refugees’ needs. She then indicated that empowering refugees and displaced persons depends on activating the role of host communities and developing a regional center for exchanging knowledge, experiences and data based on scientific evidence. Also, she stressed the importance of identifying priorities by knowing the needs of refugees based on the multiple deprivation index, which depends on the areas of health, education, and living standards that fall under the nexus of water, energy, and food.
For his part, the President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, delivered a speech in which he expressed the pride of Yarmouk University in Prince El Hassan’s follow-up and interest in the theme of the conference, which is a great opportunity for the exchange of knowledge and experience among experts and researchers. He explained that the university, through the activities of the conference, seeks to shed light on the future for Jordan with regard to the consequences of the several waves of asylum and migration to Jordan. He also pointed out that the University, through its Refugee Center, works to strengthen cooperation with local, regional, and international partners to better understand the conditions of refugees and promote their issues among experts and decision makers.
The Director of the Refugees, Displaced Persons, and Forced Migration Studies Center, Dr. Reem Al-Kharouf, referred to the Center’s strategy of dealing with refugee issues stressing the need to transcend the reality of the situation towards a creative and innovative future that contributes to solving problems, developing capabilities, and creating work opportunities. For his part, the Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa of the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Jörg Dienert, indicated that Jordan embraces a large number of refugees compared to its population and that hosting refugees poses great challenges in various fields, especially in the field of work. Dienert then stressed that the Foundation is keen to deepen the partnership with Yarmouk University to implement projects in the field of integrating refugees into host communities, giving them education, and empowering them in various fields.
As part of the conference, Lattouf inaugurated a drawing exhibition about the stories and suffering of refugees as depicted by a group of refugee artists from Zaatari camp and a group of students with visual impairments under the supervision of the visual artist Suhail Baqaeen and the artist Duaa Talafha. Besides, an Edu Box laboratory was opened with the aim of helping refugee and Jordanian students alike in developing their creative and distinguished projects.
