Researchers, humanitarian and NGO workers, UN agencies and refugee-hosting governments alike increasingly acknowledge the practical and ethical imperatives to meaningfully consult displaced populations.[1] Many of these stakeholders have made significant efforts to expand refugees’ participatory access through adopting and implementing…
“He’s with me.” Those words were uttered by Tracey, a white researcher, to enable Musa, a Hazara refugee, to enter the UNHCR building in Jakarta, Indonesia, for a scheduled meeting. As Tracey sat inside waiting for Musa, she watched him…
In formulating, designing and implementing policy, practice, and research related to displaced populations, the perspectives of refugees are seldom reflected or prioritised. Instead, the agendas and voices of those with power or those who provide financial funding are put first.…
Over the past five years, Northern institutions have committed in increasingly visible ways to support refugee-led research. Private foundations work to cultivate refugee scholars through flexible academic programming and fellowships.[1] Bilateral institutions use targeted funding calls to amplify the voices…
This article draws on ten in-depth interviews conducted with academics based in Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Peru and the Dominican Republic who are currently conducting research related to the Venezuelan displacement crisis.[1] All interviews were conducted remotely, in Spanish, in January…
Refugee narratives have flourished in recent years both in the media and in academia.[1] Many of these efforts illustrate ways that refugees have begun reclaiming their voice and agency through different narrative forms, with increasing control over their storytelling. Yet…
Syria has endured a conflict of almost 11 years, resulting in 6.8 million people having been displaced from Syria. This situation has generated an enormous amount of research – and research funding – into almost every part of these displaced…
The challenge of increasing diversity and inclusion in global conversations about forced migration is widely recognised. Research and policy decision-making have tended to be led by actors who rarely originate from or represent the voices of people most directly affected…
Refugee researchers are typically included in research projects as assistants and data collectors rather than core or lead researchers. This can lead to exploitation and power imbalances between insider and outsider researchers in individual research projects and in the field…
Over the past decade there has been increasing attention to tensions between refugees and host communities, especially in contexts of protracted displacement. UNHCR has long recognised that mass displacement can have negative impacts on receiving communities. The 2016 New York…