Event

12 April 2018

 - 

Geneva

Uncovering the hidden cost of internal displacement - research launch and expert discussion

Although much of the discussion on forced displacement focuses on cross-border movements, internal displacement is not a secondary issue: the vast majority of the 65 million people who were forced to leave their homes in 2016 remained within their own country. Beyond humanitarian, human rights and security concerns, this phenomenon also has a considerable, but largely ignored, economic impact on countries and communities.

In 2017, IDMC launched a new research project to assess the economic impact of internal displacement. In partnership with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), we have developed the first conceptual framework for assessing the cost of internal displacement on a country's economy.

On 12 April, join us to learn more about our innovative approach and take part in lively discussions on how to take this research forward for better informed policies on internal displacement.

Programme

14:00 - Welcome by Alexandra Bilak, Director of IDMC
14:10 - Opening remarks by the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance
14:20 - Presentation of the conceptual framework by Bina Desai, Head of Policy and Research, IDMC
14:50 - Q&A and discussion with the audience
15:20 - Expert commentary and contributions on the challenges of assessing direct and indirect impacts of crises, including by:

  • Ewen Macleod, Special Adviser to the High Commissioner at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: World Bank-UNHCR efforts to assess the socio-economic impacts of displacement
  • Asjad Naqvi, Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis: Agent-based modelling to understanding the impacts of internal displacement
  • Artjom Ivlevs, Associate Professor, University of the West of England, Bristol: Socio-economic impacts of migration and lessons learnt for internal displacement
  • Justin Ginnetti, Head of Data and Analysis of IDMC: Using system dynamics models to assess displacement impacts and policy options

16:50 - Closing remarks 
17:00 - Cocktail

for more information or to receive an invitation please contact us at info@idmc.ch