17.11.22: Trafficking in persons (TiP) is a persistent crime that targets people of all genders and ages and is present globally, regardless of whether countries are places of origin, transit, destination, or a combination of all three. 

Samuel Hall’s Senior Research Manager,Rebecca Frischkorn, had the opportunity to present findings from our research at the Cross-Region Seminar on Reintegration of Victims of trafficking, organised under the framework of the EU-IOM Knowledge Management Hub (KMH), funded by the European Union, in collaboration with the IOM’s Cooperation on Migration and Partnerships to Achieve Sustainable Solutions (COMPASS) programme.

The seminar discussed challenges facing and opportunities for sustainable reintegration of VoTs. Financial instability, stigmatisation, inadequate information and mental health issues are the key factors in inducing further vulnerability.  There is a need for systemised monitoring of data of trafficked victims. The new Monitoring Toolkit developed by Samuel Hall for IOM will help identify factors that affect trafficking survivors' reintegration through three key dimensions - economic, social and psychosocial.

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10.11.22: Samuel Hall's Lisa Pfister & Pauline Cherunya, PhD. shared key insights from the ongoing Equal Partnerships & our work with local governments at the The Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility & FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg's workshop on African Intermediary Cities and Migration. Building on our past research, local governments are better placed to respond urgently to needs of IDPs, ensuring protection & access to services. This involves multi-stakeholder engagements with local communities. Oftentimes, urban displaced are not recognised when there are encampment policies. We highlighted this through our work using participatory forums to come up with development-based solutions to displacement together with local actors that can work in their cities. Our past projects suggest that a shared mandate on migration was essential. Multiple government officials are eager to take charge of the local integration of refugees and partner with international and national donors and NGOs. The workshop reiterated the need for multi-stakeholder partnerships. Some of our key takeaways include the importance of the research about urban spaces in secondary cities, having a shared mandate to migration, potential collaboration with local actors, a need for ethical partnerships amongst local government and civil societies and a call for cross-collaboration among funding agencies.

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13.10.22: Samuel Hall organised a workshop on the importance of storytelling in policy making for European University Institute's Young African Leaders Programme.

Led by Samuel Hall’s Advocacy & Storytelling Officer, Devyani Nighoskar; the workshop focused on how identifying, articulating, and disseminating stories can help understand policy implications & the changes that may be required. Through case studies, discussions and group presentations; the session facilitated horizontal learning with insights from talented professionals from across Africa exploring how Africa can build its own positive narrative(s) through storytelling in policies.

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7.10.22: Samuel Hall’s Rebecca Frischkorn discussed opportunities for multi-stakeholder partnerships in Ethiopia where the Khartoum Process and Rabat Process partners met to discuss the impact of climate change and migration. Samuel Hall has been studying the phenomena of mobility and displacement since its inception in 2010 & it is clear that the consequences of climate change are felt more severely by some than others.

Samuel Hall’s conversations with communities across Africa & South & Central Asia confirm that dialogues are often more constructive at the local level - grassroots movements, activists, migrants & displaced people themselves have shown what real action can be.

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6.10.22: In a panel discussion organised by IOM Afghanistan: Samuel Hall's Nassim Majidi, Herve Nicolle, Stefanie Barratt, Najia Alizada, Katherine James & Abdul Habib Khalid, with speakers from IOM Afghanistan and Risha Solutions presented research commissioned by IOM - UN Migration with support from EU Partnerships on climate change, mental health, economics, migration and its intersections impacting Afghanistan since August 2021.

Our key insights from the panel included emphasising the need to link research on displacement and mental health in communities of return and displacement, funding research between climate change & displacement alongside encouraging sustainable resource management and making sure access to basic services is equitable in Afghanistan. Nassim particularly emphasised how the absence of inclusion in representation causes social tensions in the region hence indicating the importance of reaching marginalised communities.

Discussing findings; the speakers called upon the international community continue to maximise the potential of the Afghan population & contribute to its well-being by supporting the development of infrastructure & basic services.

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10.08.22: With August 2022 marking one year of the U.S withdrawal from Afghanistan, our co-founder Nassim Majidi spoke at the Migration Policy Institute’s webinar to share reflections on humanitarian challenges and efforts to secure safe pathways for Afghans.

Sharing insights from our latest work in Afghanistan, her recommendations for humanitarian and development organisations included: incorporating community feedback in policy & programming and designing programs in line with ground realities - particularly through the lens of climate change.

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10.08.22: In a webinar organised by IOM Afghanistan: Samuel Hall's Nassim Majidi, Stefanie Barratt, Sarah Edgcumbe, Katherine James, Abdul Habib Khalid, Najia Alizada with speakers from IOM Afghanistan and Risha Solutions presented research commissioned by IOM with support from European Union on climate change, mental health, economics, migration & its intersections impacting Afghanistan since August 2021.

Discussing findings; the speakers called upon the international community continue to maximize the potential of the Afghan population & contribute to its well-being by supporting the development of infrastructure & basic services.

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27.07.22: As a panelist at the African Climate Mobility Initiative (ACMI)’s Women’s Forum; Samuel Hall co-founder Nassim Majidi called for supporting women’s agency by expanding climate literacy. She said that women have better awareness of climate adaptation as men leave for urban areas as temperatures rise. We need to bring women to the center of conversation; as their solutions are more locally embedded.

Nassim also stressed the need to broaden the conversation from local to inter-regional & learn from each other; so that we engage with partners to learn from each other. “Train women and have them play a role as informants in their communities. Give women greater access to information and have them pass on their knowledge to a bigger group. "

The forum heard from inspiring experts like Ahunna Eziakonwa, Ikal Angelei, Natasha Kimani, Priscilla Achakpa, Constance Okollet, Jane Linekar discussing the role of women in shaping the Climate Mobility agenda ahead of COP27!

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01.07.22: Samuel Hall co-founder and Executive Director, Nassim Majidi was invited to the Migration Policy Centre Summer School’s roundtable discussing key gaps and opportunities facing #migrationpartnerships with experts Olivia Sundberg of the International Rescue Committee - EU and Mehari Taddele Maru, Professor at European University Institute (EUI).

Nassim stress upon how migration partnerships are needed for governments to have a dialogue, and work together. They open the door for other actors - beyond governments - to join the conversation.

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01.07.22: Samuel Hall was pleased to participate in the 6th Refugee Law Initiative Annual Conference held online 29 June - 1 July, with insightful discussion from experts on the theme of ‘Improving the Global Refugee Regime: From Theory to Practice?’.

Discussing the reassessment of vulnerability in contexts of displacement, Sarah Edgcumbe, Research Lead at Samuel Hall spoke about addressing stigmatisation of IDPs and advocated for more funding, collaboration, and inclusion of marginalised groups in locally-led research.

Building on work previously developed by our Children & Youth Pillar, Samuel Hall’s Co-founder and Executive Director, Nassim Majidi, and Research Manager, Mackenzie Seaman called for diversity in our understanding of vulnerability and challenged assumptions that children are necessarily protected when accompanied by states, organisations, and families.

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27.06.22: There is no "one-size-fits-all" reintegration model that can ensure success for returning migrants and the communities into which they are re-entering. Returnees have complex, interconnected economic, social, and psychosocial needs that typically cannot be covered by one single service provider. ‘

Our Operational Framework (OF) for ERRIN [European Return & Reintegration Network] takes a rights-based approach and presents good practices, sets forth common standards on which reintegration & development actors can base their cooperation and collaboration. It provides guidance on how to better bring together reintegration & development sectors.

Samuel Hall co-founder and Executive Director, Nassim Majidi spoke of challenges and opportunities in this context at the Migration Policy Institute Europe webinar that examined how to design referral mechanisms so that returnees receive the core services they need, while also ensuring support is embedded within local contexts.

Nassim particularly focused on where agreements were, where coherence and synergy could be enhanced - not just amongst reintegration & development actors but also with returnees and communities who need to be involved.

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10.06.22 - Samuel Hall participated in the REF [Research & Evidence Facility in the Horn of Africa] Conference on 'Migrants and Forcibly Displaced Persons: Towards Greater Inclusion and Protection', in Nairobi, Kenya.

Samuel Hall’s Hervé Nicolle, Amy Fallon, and Jared Owuor gave a presentation on the digital refugee economy in Kenya, reflecting on the challenges facing refugees in accessing tech & learnings from tech for good initiatives in the country.

Sharing insights from our soon-to-launch study with REF, co-founder, and Executive Director, Nassim Majidi along with field researcher, Joseph Malish of Windle Trust International spoke of displacement, return and reintegration in South Sudan and its implications for practitioners and policymakers.

We were also thrilled to contribute to the photo exhibition at the conference on the phenomenon of 'cross-border families' of South Sudan. The exhibit told the poignant story of the Manut family that is currently split across Kakuma, Nairobi and Juba – with some extended family members in Uganda, the USA and Australia. The photographs capture the impact of the split on childhood development, family relations, and well-being.

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18.05.22: Samuel Hall was pleased to attend the AfriCities Conference in Kisumu, Kenya. As part of the Equal Partnerships Project, Samuel Hall’s Executive Director and Co-founder Hervé Nicolle led a workshop on multi-stakeholder partnerships for migration governance. The conference brought together local & national authorities, refugees, migrants and UN Bodies to discuss equal partnerships.

The events called upon local governments to create platforms in their cities to bring together a wide range of actors addressing questions of migration and displacement to ensure better information sharing, coordination, and open dialogue.

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31.03.22: To improve the well-being & livelihoods of displaced people; participation in urban life & contribution to host cities; Samuel Hall has collaborated with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) led large-scale study to compare experiences of displacement in cities & camps in Afghanistan, Jordan, Ethiopia, and Kenya.

In light of this, Samuel Hall co-founder Nassim Majidi and Regional Operations Officer Jared Owuor attended a participatory forum in Nairobi organised by Muungano wa Wanavijiji (a social movement of 'slum' residents and urban poor people in Kenya)

The forum saw other attendees such as the Mayors Migration Council, regional and government agencies and refugee-led organisations to continue the discussion around this project on 'urban refugees: self-reliance, well-being, livelihoods & host dynamics.’

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16.03.22 - Samuel Hall is a partner in the EU-funded HABITABLE project that aims to significantly advance our understanding of the current interlinkages between climate change impacts, migration, and displacement patterns, and to better anticipate their future evolution.

Recently, at the HABITABLE project’s stakeholder dialogue and engagement session, Samuel Hall’s Regional Operations Officer Jared Owuor discussed 'climate change, habitability and social tipping points for climate migration' in Kenya – to better understand how our findings can inform national and local policies & actions.

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27.02.22: During the last weekend of February, Samuel Hall co-hosted ‘Digital Sprint’ with Techfugees, Xavier Project, and UNHCR. The 2-day event held across three locations in Kenya namely Nairobi, Kakuma & Dadaab, saw 80+ members of refugee and host groups harnessing ideas in the world of entrepreneurship, remote work, and E-commerce.

Through conferences, workshops, and mentoring sessions; participants got the opportunity to work with other tech enthusiasts and network with successful entrepreneurs to create impact projects in any of the 4 themes: Coding, Design, DigitalCommunication and DataAnalytics

Encouraging ideas brought forth by a diverse set of participants from refugee and host communities – Samuel Hall co-founder Hervé Nicolle stressed the need to now go beyond job opportunities and create a resilient eco-system and moving from a sprint to a marathon.

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12.01.22 - Jared Owuor, Samuel Hall’s Regional Operations Officer spoke at Thrive Kenya's online symposium in coordination with International Center For Frugal Innovation on the role of technology and frugal innovations in aiding refugee communities in Kenya to integrate and develop resilience and self-reliance.

From discussing barriers to access, to presenting case studies of local initiatives, the symposium probed a diverse range of themes. Jared called upon development to centre community voices within their research & understand their immediate requirements to improve innovation. He also stressed the need to encourage and support refugee-led tech innovations.

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15.12.21: We’ve partnered with the overseas Development Institute (ODI) to understand public attitudes towards refugees & migrants in Africa.

Samuel Hall co-founder Nassim Majidi chaired an ODI panel to explore how organisations can use this data for programme implementation. Panelists shared insights on how to successfully address tensions between migrants & host communities, including using communications strategies to target false stereotypes. As people continue to move, tracking changing attitudes is vital for policy & practice.

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02.12.21 - Samuel Hall Co-Founder Nassim Majidi moderated the IOM-EU Knowledge Management Hub’s cross-regional seminar on the links between sustainable development and reintegration. Nassim moderated a panel discussion that focused on ways to foster ties between returnees and community members and explored how to best ensure that community needs are met.

Alongside expert panelists from Georgia and Somalia, Nassim explored how development and reintegration can be maximised at the local level by connecting communities with national initiatives, government policies, and development plans.

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30.11.21 - Now, more than ever, the city is the locus of human mobility. The majority of the world's migrants and forcibly displaced live in urban areas, and migration continues to be a fundamental process to the development and growth of cities. Samuel Hall co-founder Hervé Nicolle spoke at the Displacement and Citizenship in an Urban World Virtual Conference organised by the Cities and Human Mobility Research Collaborative, an initiative of the Zolberg Institute of Migration and Mobility at The New School.

Hervé spoke on a panel focused on Refugees and Cities, where he explored the response of Afghan urban neighbourhoods & cities globally to Afghan displacement, looking at how such spaces can become sites of refuge and protection"

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