Voices of Resilience

Na'amal

The number of people who have been forcibly displaced continues to increase alarmingly; as of mid 2022, the UNHCR has reported that for the first time on record, the number of forcibly displaced people worldwide has surpassed 100 million. This is a staggering figure in itself, but another tragedy of the enormity of this number is that it often overshadows the fact that every one of those 100+ million is a distinct individual who has had their life irrevocably altered and their inspiring story tends to be buried under the statistics. During the first edition of the Migration Summit in 2022, we hosted various storytelling sessions where we heard from displaced individuals, with the aim of humanising these statistics. Similar to these sessions, we are looking to amplify the voices of some incredible individuals who have overcome obstacles far beyond our imagination. The aim of this podcast is to share the journeys of six individuals striving for the dignified life they deserve. Given that education and employment are often a pivotal part of the road to a financially stable, dignified life, this podcast will share insight on their journeys, with a focus on their education paths and livelihoods. In this podcast, we hope to contribute to the shift in the narrative of refugees across the world and encourage stakeholders and listeners alike to take action. We do not want the label of refugee to define these individuals as powerless victims, instead, we intend to portray them as the determined individuals that they are with full agency to succeed in any way they desire, given the right resources. This podcast series will consist of seven episodes. It will be released in January, in the run-up to the Migration Summit 2023 which will explore the theme “Co-creating pathways to learning, livelihood, and dignity”. read less
Society & CultureSociety & Culture

Episodes

Voices of Resilience: Suha Nabhan
Feb 23 2023
Voices of Resilience: Suha Nabhan
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/ .
The Story of Na'amal
Jan 19 2023
The Story of Na'amal
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!