A Dialogue with the UN-HCR: Global Refugee Crisis and the Role of Higher Education - TALAB

The university community is invited to the next lecture in Ateneo Global's EmbLEM: Embassy Lectures, Encounters, and Masterclasses, in partnership with TALAB 2025, entitled:

A Dialogue with the UN-HCR: Global Refugee Crisis and the Role of Higher Education

Keynote speaker at the event will be Ms Maria Ermina Valdeavilla-Gallardo, Head of National Office, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Philippines. Fr Chester A Yacub SJ, PhD will be the host and moderator, while Atty Francis Tom F Temprosa will be discussant.

Persecution within and displacement from one's own country, with the inability or fear of return, is the definition of exclusion at its most extreme. Apart from the obvious socioeconomic upheaval involved in the loss of one's homeland and the struggles of resettlement, it is necessary to deal with mental health and wellbeing issues surrounding trauma, acculturation stress, and integration challenges, which are at the forefront of sustainable and culturally sensitive support for refugees around the world.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (established on 14 December 1950 by the UN General Assembly) remains at the forefront of humanitarian work on refugee matters, as well as internally displaced people. With dwindling percentages of those displaced vs those who are able to return (from 1.5 million in the 1990s to 385,000/year), the global problem is outpacing previously conceived solutions.

In the current age of insecurity and growing skepticism towards immigration, what prospects do refugees face? How might countries like the Philippines help, and specifically what role can higher education play to contribute to long-lasting and just solutions?

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