Tune in to listen to an episode where Lorraine, Alpha, Sonia, and Clay reflect on the intakes and lessons from the episodes from Series 1 of the podcast Voices of Resilience. This episode presents the vision and mission of the Migration Summit, happening in April 2023 -   a month-long global convening designed to build bridges between diverse communities of displaced learners, universities, companies, nonprofits and NGOs, social enterprises, foundations, philanthropists, researchers, policymakers, and employers around the key challenges and opportunities for refugee and migrant communities. Make sure you check the Migration Summit website at: https://migrationsummit.org/. To sign up for the events happening during the month of April as part of the Summit, access the Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/migration-summit-2023-1787469. To learn more about Na’amal’s future events and projects, sign up for our newsletter: https://linktr.ee/na_amal. Make sure to keep an eye out for Series 2 of the podcast Voices of Resilience, which is coming out very soon! If you have any ideas about themes for the podcast, do not hesitate to reach out to us at: naamalprojects@naamal.org.

On this week’s episode, we spoke to Nassim Majidi. She is a researcher and the co-founder of Samuel Hall, a social enterprise dedicated to conducting research on migration and forced displacement in Asia, Africa, and Europe with the goal of informing policy action and other forms of positive impact for communities.Nassim speaks to us about her paper titled ‘Storytelling in Research with Refugees’ which explores the potential that presenting research through storytelling has in both capturing the authentic voice of the research participants and connecting the intended audience to the story through constructed points of relatability.Tune in to hear all about this amazing research practice and Nassim’s wisdom around research ethics and better research practice and learn the realities of conducting research on the topic of migration and displacement.

Everyone has a story and each story needs a way of expression. For some, it is poetry, for others through music. Marieke and Sarah create both poetry and music with the refugee community at a refugee center in Belgium. The safe space they created for people to be authentic and share their stories has its own journey of commitment, passion and love for poetry, music, and humans. In this week’s episode, Marieke and Sarah talk about the process of creating songs and poems about migration stories with refugees and asylum seekers in Belgium. The journey is often very transformative as it brings people from different cultures and backgrounds together as a community where everyone’s story is heard and celebrated, all under the umbrella of the universal power of music and words. To change the narrative about refugees and displaced populations, they invite us to participate in active dialogues with those willing to share their stories and learn to honor and respect them.Tune in to listen to “I am a Word”,  “I could be you, You could be me”, and “Open the Borders” - three incredible songs inspired by migration stories. Make sure to check their community-building project through music and poetry at guidingsong.com.

When war broke out in Syria, 31-year-old Baraah Ramadan hoped that she would, somehow, still be able to live in her home and lead an ordinary life. However, when a bomb nearly struck her house, she realized she needed to flee to a safer environment with her husband and three children.In this week’s episode, Baraah talks about how uniquely difficult forced migration is for women and mothers. She speaks about how remote working made it possible for her to be able to support her family while raising her children in her new-found home in Turkey. She walks us through the incredible ways she has had to adapt to her new environment in Turkey and how through all the turmoil, she was able to find her purpose in life: supporting and leading other women to careers in tech.Baraah currently holds a BA in Information Systems Engineering from Syrian Virtual University and she works remotely as a program manager for Paper Airplanes. She invites us all to re-evaluate how we view refugees and to continue to bring their voices and experiences to the mainstream inorder to reshape the narrative around their existence.

Suha has been working on raising awareness and empowering migrants and refugees around the world for many years. She is passionate about storytelling and she finds inspiration and strength in the stories of the people she works with every day. She is the Co-Founder and Strategic Director of Migration Jam, a storytelling platform founded and run by refugees and migrants that seeks to change the mainstream negative narratives about migrants and refugees through ethical storytelling and inter-communal dialogue.In this week’s episode, Suha shares her story from having to flee Syria together with her family and move to Istanbul, Turkey where she currently lives. In Turkey she had the possibility to engage with multiple organizations and stakeholders operating in the development sector and social change. She shares unique lessons and insights from her story of migration and career journey. For her it is not only about the work she does, but the joy she finds in connecting and working with people. This is something that she found at MigrationJam, through the various projects, diverse team, and impactful mission the organization has. Suha invites us to take action and engage in meaningful conversations with migrants and displaced individuals. Listening actively to one’s story is the first step in breaking the stereotypes and changing the mainstream negative narrative about displaced populations and their journeys of migration. For more information about MigrationJam, visit their website at https://migrationjam.com/, https://www.linkedin.com/company/migration-jam/ and https://www.instagram.com/migrationjam/ .

Upon completing his Ph.D. at Brunel University in London in 2001, Nael Yasri was excited to return home to Syria. He was looking forward to being surrounded by his culture and playing his part in bringing quality education to his community. After briefly settling into his role as a chemistry professor at the University of Aleppo and starting a family, Nael was forced to flee his home with his wife and three young children in 2013 following the attacks in Aleppo, Syria. In this week’s episode, Nael speaks about the challenges of rebuilding one’s life after forced displacement and how host communities can make this an easier process for refugees. He also speaks about the untapped professional potential refugees hold that is being overlooked by employers due to biases held against the political title “refugee.”Nael is grateful to have been able to raise his children in safety, and he envisions and actively participates in creating the same reality for displaced families worldwide through efforts like his role as a storyteller at the 2022 Migration Summit. Tune in and become inspired by an incredible story of family, resilience, and hope.

Ziad is a 26-year-old young man from Syria. He is currently residing in Germany, learning the language, and studying to get his degree in medicine and work as a physician. He graduated from the MIT ReACT Computer and Data Science programme in 2021 and participated in the Migration Summit 2022 as a storyteller. This year, he is helping to organise the 2023 Migration Summit as a co-leader of the Communication Committee. He has volunteered with many organizations as a translator, academic mentor, and facilitator, both online and in the field. He is an avid cyclist, a fan of board games, and loves to cook.In this week’s episode, Ziad shares his migration story, from living and studying medicine in Syria to moving and continuing his education in Germany. Throughout his journey, his family, friends, teammates, and his “most successful failure” have taught him valuable lessons that have further led to his success in keeping up with his dreams and sizing each opportunity for personal and professional growth.  His message is powerful and clear: refugees do not want people to pity them, they want chances to prove their limitless potential. Ziad invites us to interact directly with displaced populations whenever we have the chance and to listen actively and learn about their struggles and successes. His story is beautifully summarized by the quote he shares in the episode: “Enthusiasm is found everywhere, but persistence is rare!”

At the age of 12, Alnarjes Harba was forced to flee her home in Syria after it had been bombed seven times She then led her mother to a refugee camp in Lebanon. While in Lebanon, she lived in extremely difficult conditions.  Despite this, Alnarjes achieved exceptional results in her schooling and ultimately landed a scholarship to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Management at Southern New Hampshire University while living in Lebanon. She is currently studying MSc in Global Health and Conflict at the St George’s University of London.In this week’s episode, Alnarjes speaks about the unique way in which refugees are denied access to opportunities that could help remove them from states of dependency and unsafety. She talks about the power of allowing refugees access to opportunities and the potential she sees among refugees to better their own lives and their communities if only they are given the opportunity.Alnarjes finds joy and fulfillment in inspiring those from backgrounds similar to hers to aspire to achieve better for themselves. She is gearing up to apply for her Ph.D. at Oxford University and is actively involved in refugee impact work such as her previous work as a Logistics Co-Lead for the Migration Summit.

Ahmad is originally from Syria. He currently lives with his wife and daughter in Iraq where he works as an English instructor and accountant. His dream is to become a grammarian and specialize in English syntax. The story he shares with us in this episode depicts some of the challenges he faced for not having the official label of being a “refugee" when migrating to another country.When the war started in Syria, Ahmad was forced to migrate temporarily to Lebanon. His journey to achieving his dreams took him later to Iraq where his requests for shelter were denied many times by relevant stakeholders. Despite all of this, Ahmad kept going. Ultimately, his commitment and dedication to finish his education opened up job opportunities for him and his family.Listen to Ahmad’s story to find out more about his education and employment paths, as well as his thoughts on what motivated him to not give up on his dreams, and what we could do as individuals to change the narrative and break the stereotypes about being a refuge.

Na’amal was born out of Lorraine’s research about digitalization, employment, and the economic situation of refugees in the Middle East. We knew that there was a better way for refugees to earn a living and overcome the precarious conditions and indignity of informal work. This led to the creation of Na’amal’s programmes, which provide refugees and other vulnerable populations training in marketable skills required in the global labour market and link them to these jobs.In this episode, we unpack the implications of the “refugee” title. Media often portrays the refugee crisis through statistics and numbers. Yet, every individual holds a story that is no longer a number, but an opportunity to understand the individual challenges and wins when starting one’s life from scratch in another country, another city, another place, even when the basic resources are missing. We envision Voices of Resilience as an opportunity to contribute to the shift in the narrative of refugees across the world and invite stakeholders and listeners to engage with this topic and take action. Most of our speakers participated as storytellers and panelists in the Migration Summit 2022. This podcast will feature their journeys towards claiming the dignified life they deserve, with a focus on their education paths and livelihoods.Through this podcast, we want to invite our audience to participate in the Migration Summit 2023, happening this year in April. The Summit organised along with Na’amal, MIT ReACT, and Karam Foundation will explore the theme “Co-Creating Pathways to Learning, Livelihood, and Dignity” through virtual and in-person events hosted by participating individuals and partners around the world. Make sure you check the Migration Summit website at migrationsummit.org to learn all you need to know about the events, subthemes, or different summit editions, and subscribe to get updates.Don’t forget to check Na’amal’s website at naamal.org and subscribe to our newsletter for more information and updates on our current and future programmes and events!

In this trailer episode, we hear from the founder of Na'amal, Lorraine Charles. She shares her vision of the podcast and what we aim to achieve using the medium of voice to share stories of resilience from refugees and other displaced people. Music: Marieke Slovin Lewis, Ph.D