On March 7, 2023, Bahati Ernestine, RefugePoint’s Economic Mobility Consultant, will deliver a keynote address at the first-ever Global Refugee Labour Mobility Summit in Amman, Jordan. Ms. Ernestine, a former refugee from Rwanda, was part of the first group of refugees to relocate from Nairobi, Kenya, to safe, permanent new homes in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, through Canada’s Economic Mobility Pathways Project (EMPP) with the support of RefugePoint’s economic mobility program. In her keynote address, Ms, Ernestine, trained as a nurse, and hired as a Continuing Care Assistant in Nova Scotia, will speak about how many skilled refugees like her are eager for the opportunities offered by labour mobility. “It will be a privilege for me to show the different stakeholders at the Summit a glimpse of refugee talent and what refugees bring to the table professionally through my own example. I also hope to break the myth that refugees can’t do anything for themselves, when in reality, the cause is a lack of opportunity.”
Ms. Ernestine’s address will be presented alongside Commissioner Ylva Johansson, Home Affairs, European Commission.
The Global Refugee Labour Mobility Summit, happening from March 6-10, 2023, aims to convene the global community that is working to expand employment pathways for refugees and others who’ve been displaced. This event, hosted by Talent Beyond Boundaries and Fragomen, is supported by UNHCR in coordination with the Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility.
Around the world, many thousands of refugees have the skills and experience to apply for jobs that would allow them to relocate to safe, new countries and begin to rebuild their lives. Due to policy and logistical hurdles, however, these work visa pathways are generally unavailable to refugees. RefugePoint, an NGO that advances lasting solutions for refugees, is working to expand labour mobility pathways for refugees. RefugePoint’s economic mobility program, one of the first of its kind in the world, helps qualified refugees overcome these challenges.
The goal of The Global Refugee Labour Mobility Summit is to convene the global community that is working to dramatically expand employment pathways for refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. This event will be a unique blend of planning and acting, strategizing and getting the job done.
The Summit will bring together leaders from businesses, governments, NGOs and international organizations for focused discussions on the week’s theme: Growing Employment Pathways for Displaced Talent: Obstacles, Solutions, Commitments.
RefugePoint has a growing reputation as one of the very few NGOs with operational experience in multiple pathways from many countries of asylum to many destination countries. RefugePoint is proud to be a leading voice in major international policy conversations like the Global Refugee Labour Mobility Summit.
Watch the live stream below, which can also be accessed here: