Senior governmental representatives, World Bank specialists and United Nations officials as well as members from the civil society gathered in Paris for a cross-regional exchange between Middle Eastern and European countries hosting refugees, on the analytical findings, and policy implications, of the World Bank/UNHCR study “The Welfare of Syrian Refugees: Evidence from Jordan and Lebanon”. The report sheds light on the socio-economic situation of Syrian refugees in both countries, and warns against the poverty trap refugees could fall into, arguing that this would be a policy impasse for refugees, host governments, host communities, and the future of Syria alike. It presents valuable analytical data and insights into the economic welfare and labor market impact of refugee communities in the Mashreq, and illustrates the extent to which the welfare of refugee and host communities are inextricably linked. This implies that economic welfare and inclusion policies must address refugee and host communities together in order to succeed. Lebanon and Jordan in particular have especially valuable experiences to share in this regard. This set of video recordings documents the interactions and thoughts exchanged between the panelists, the speakers and the audience during the four sessions of the conference.

Session 1: Presentation of “The Welfare of Syrian Refugees: Evidence from Jordan and Lebanon”, WB/UNHCR report

Presentation:

Paolo Verme Senior Economist, Poverty Global Practice, World Bank

Ewen Macleod Head of the Policy Development and Evaluation Service, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

Discussion Panel:

• Feda Gharaibeh Director of the Humanitarian Relief Coordination Unit, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan
• Bashir Osmat Advisor on Social Policies to the Minister of Social Affairs, Lebanon
• Andrew Harper UNHCR Representative for Jordan
• Mireille Girard UNHCR Representative for Lebanon
• Sami Atallah Director, Lebanese Center for Policy Studies (LCPS), Lebanon
• Dawn Chatty Emeritus Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration and Former Director of the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford, UK

Moderator: Ferid Belhaj Country Director for the Middle East, World Bank

Session 2: Presentation of the White Paper: “The Syrian Refugee Crisis in the Medium-Term: What Next?”

Presentation:

Paolo Verme Senior Economist, Poverty Global Practice, World Bank

Ewen Macleod Head of the Policy Development and Evaluation Service, United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

Discussion Panel:

• Alain Bifani Director General, Ministry of Finance, Lebanon

• Hayder Mustafa Saeed Sinjawi Director General for Coordination, Ministry of Planning, Kurdistan Regional Government, Iraq
• Mukhallad Omari Director of the Policy Division, Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan
• Abdullah Al Dardari Deputy Executive Secretary, UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UN-ESCWA)
• Nadim Karkutli Manager of the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian Crisis, DG NEAR, European Commission

 Moderator: François Reybet-Degat Deputy Director for the Middle East & North Africa, UNHCR

Session 3: Bilateral Experiences towards Supporting Refugee and Host Country Welfare (AFD), France

Presentations:

• H.E. Prof. Nidal Alkatamine Minister of Labor, Jordan Hala El Helou Advisor on Humanitarian & International Affairs to the Minister of Social Affairs, Lebanon
• Asterios Bouzias Diplomat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece
• Bruno Codispoti Head of Program Development and Fundraising, Italian Refugee Council, Italy
• Kristof Tamas Director and Head of Secretariat of the Migration Studies Delegation (Delmi), Sweden

Discussants:

• Regina Bendokat “Save Me”, NGO, Konstanz, Germany
• Natassia Fry Kompis Sverige, NGO, Sweden

Moderator: Olivier Ray Head of Crisis Prevention & Conflict Unit, Agence Française de Développement

Session 4: Creating Conditions for Shared Prosperity and Economic Growth for Refugees’ and Host Communities’ Welfare - Spotlights on Innovative Actions and Experiences

Presentations:

• H.E. Sejean El Azzi Minister of Labor, Lebanon
• Rami Adwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Lebanon: “Employment and Incentives for Return (Lebanon STEP Program)”
• John Speakman Advisor, World Bank: “Special Economic Zones in Jordan”
• Ahed Zyadat Project Director, Emergency Services and Social Resilience Project, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Jordan
• Önder Yalçın Head of the Migration Office, Gaziantep Municipality, Turkey
• Matthias Schulze-Boeing Head of Department for Employment, Statistics, and Integration Policies, City of Offenbach am Main, Germany: “Local Labor Market Integration”

Moderator: Haneen Sayed Program Leader, Human Development, World Bank

Photos

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