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Syria has faced one of the worst humanitarian crises since the 21st century with over 11.5 million people displaced and over 12.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The Syrian diaspora is playing an important role in supporting the refugees and the reconstruction of Syria. Development partners have a strong commitment to finding ways of supporting Syrian refugees and would like to support these efforts. Over the years, the diaspora has been recognized as first movers for economic recovery and reconstruction during or after a conflict or crisis. Evidence has been seen in countries such as Nepal, Palestine, Haiti and Rwanda. Through means such as remittances, skills transfer, diaspora connected FDI, diaspora entrepreneurship, heritage tourism & nostalgia trade, philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy.
In order to analyze the contribution of the Syrian community, consultations with the Syrian diaspora business community were conducted in ten countries and thirteen cities. The consultations aimed to accomplish the following objectives: i) identify the major incentives and challenges hindering diaspora enabled development; ii) assess the willingness of the Syrian diaspora to invest either in a refugee oriented initiative in the host communities or to invest for the future reconstruction of Syria; iii) gather actionable feedbacks that would help in designing inclusive solutions; iv) engage and encourage commitment from the Syrian community as development partners; v) collate information on already existing or planned initiatives so as to avoid redundancies and; vi) identify the unique opportunities and challenges that women and youth face.
The forum will take stock of the key findings from the consultation meetings and aims to:
Interview with Ola Hisou, Consultant, Trade and Competitiveness Department, The World Bank
Welcome Address
Mrs. Ilse Hahn, Head, Policy issues migration and forced displacement,
German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Program overview
Benjamin Herzberg, Program Lead, World Bank Group
Development response to the Syrian crisis – the role of the Private sector
and other stakeholders -Panel discussion
Moderator: Line Rifai, Business Editor, Economist, France 24
Panelists:
- Klaus Tilmes, Director, World Bank Group
- Andreas Proksch, Director General, Sector and Global Programmes Department,
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
- Gervais Appave, Special Advisor to the Director General, International Organization for Migration
- HE Yarub Qudah, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
- Mumtaz Daaboul, General Manager, Orbit Aluminum Industries
Opportunities for Syrian Investors
Speaker: Mukhallad Omari, Secretary General, Jordan Investment Commission (JIC), Invest in Jordan - Supporting the Syrian Refugees Employment
Global experiences on facilitating diaspora engagement -Panel discussion
Moderator: Sonia Plaza, Senior Economist and Co-chair diaspora KNOMAD, (Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development), World Bank Group, Mobilizing Diaspora Resources as Agents of Social and Economic Change
Panelists:
- Tauhid Pasha, Senior Specialist, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
- Valerie Wolff, Project Manager, Migration and Development, International Centre
for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)
- Nora Jasmin Ragab, PhD Fellow Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, UNU Merit
A snapshot of the Syrian Diaspora Findings
Speaker: John Speakman, Advisor, World Bank Group, The Syrian Business Diaspora: A World Bank Investigation on their Present Situation and Future Aspirations
Open discussion: Challenges and Opportunities
Moderator: Benjamin Herzberg, Program Lead, World Bank Group
- What are the challenges of implementing policies for engaging with the diaspora?
- How are diaspora initiatives implemented in the field?
- How to create opportunities and clear obstacles for diaspora to contribute?
My Story, Your Story –Lightning Talks
Moderator: Line Rifai, Business Editor, Economist, France 24
Stories by:
- Massa Mufti, Co-Founder & Chair Sonbola Group for Education and Development, My Story, Your Story “Why Education Matters?
- The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), SAMS Foundation
- Mazen Iebado, Manager, Afak food processing, Jordan
- Samer Shamsi Pasha, Vice president, International Humanitarian Relief
- Rami Sharak, Deputy Executive Director, Syrian Economic Forum (SEF)
- Ahmad Sufian Bayram, MEA regional manager, Techstars global ecosystem LLC
Conclusion of the day: Main takeaways
Klaus Tilmes, Director, World Bank Group
Day 2 – Coordinating actions and networks: Ideas to Action – Developing structures for Syrian diaspora engagement
Strengthening links between Syrian Diaspora business and host country’s private sector
-Panel discussion, hosted by GIZ
Moderator: Arno Tomowski, Head of Corporate Ventures, Coordinator Refugee and Migration Issues, GIZ
Panelists:
- Dirk Palige, Managing Director, German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH)
- Salah Husseini – Manager, BSR (Business for Social Responsibility)
- Salah Isayyied, Founder/CEO, International HuMan Power
- Rama Chakaki, Co-founder, VIP.fund
Speed Dating: 8 Syrian diaspora initiatives
-Learning activity
Tables:
Shall we create a “Syrian Diaspora Business Chamber of Commerce”? -Group discussion
Moderator: Benjamin Herzberg, Program Lead, World Bank Group
Develop operational action plan –Team work
Moderator: Benjamin Herzberg, Program Lead, World Bank Group
Groups:
Facilitated by John Speakman, Advisor, World Bank Group
Facilitated by Salah Husseini, Manager, BSR (Business for Social Responsibility)
Facilitated by Maha Katta, Crisis Response Coordinator, International Labor Organization
Facilitated by Mourad Ezzine, Manager, Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI), World Bank Group
Facilitated by Laurent Gonnet, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank Group
Develop operational action plan –Team work (continued)
Moderator: Benjamin Herzberg, Program Lead, World Bank Group
- Report from each group
- Q&A for each group
- Compilation of each action plan into a single document to be distributed to all participants
- Adoption of the Action Plan
Closing Remarks – The Way Forward
Moderator: John Speakman, Advisor, World Bank Group