Funding and Financing for Refugees and Migrants in the Mediterranean: Academic and Civil Society Dialogues with the Anna Lindh Foundation

This event covers two dialogues: Academic and Civil Society. Throughout both sessions, the participants will understand the context and different perspectives on financial instruments for migrants and refugees.

Agenda:

9:00 – 9:15 Welcome and registration

9:15 – 9:30 Welcoming speeches

9:30 – 11:00 Academic Dialogue: Understanding the Euro-Mediterranean Context of Funding and Financing for Refugees and Migrants

11:00 – 11:30 Coffee break

11:30 – 13:30 Civil Society & Practitioners Dialogue: Innovative Finance for Refugees and Humanitarian Responses

13:30 – 13:45 Closing remarks

The Academic Session delves into the topics complementary to the development and the challenges surrounding refugee finance in the Euro-Mediterranean region, with a particular focus on Lebanon and Jordan as host countries. Given the current funding gap in humanitarian and development aid and the rise of innovative finance mechanisms employed, among others, by European donors, it becomes increasingly important to understand the dynamics and geopolitical context surrounding refugee governance and refugee funding, such as the humanitarian-development nexus and the increasing role of international financial institutions, such as the World bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in the region. In this academic dialogue, the speakers will provide an overlook of the theoretical conceptualisations and framework concerning development finance and funding in refugee contexts and the migration agreements governing the Mediterranean. 

The Practitioners and Civil Society Session will explore specific examples of innovative finance mechanisms for refugees and migrants in the Euro-Mediterranean context, with a focus on the Refugee Impact Bond in Lebanon and Jordan, and the Refugee Investment Facility. The session will also analyse the impacts and developments on private partnerships and investments for refugees and their future in refugee protection.  

These dialogues are kindly supported by the ERC Starting Grant project “Refugee Finance: Histories, Frameworks, Practices (REF-FIN)” and organised under the Mediterranean Youth in Action – Voicing Youth Knowledge Programme of the Anna Lindh Foundation (co-funded by the European Union).